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This is my Buddy's go to deer jerky recipe every year after we harvest a couple bucks during hunting season. He was nice enough to give me the recipe to share with you guys, so I named it after him. Jimmy's Teriyaki Deer Jerky!
Making deer jerky
So after processing our deer, I kept a couple of roasts to make jerky out of. One of the first recipes I made this year was this deer jerky. I started with a roast (cut out of the hind quarter of the deer).
I had vacuum packed and sealed this roast and let it defrost partially in the refrigerator before pulling it out to trim and slice. I sliced at about ¼" with the grain of the meat.
I recently started using a Weston Jerky Slicer to cut my strips of jerky. It slices all the strips the same thickness allowing them to dry evenly in your smoker or dehydrator.
Making the marinade
The recipe for this deer jerky is very simple, but extremely tasty! For 1lb of venison, I mixed 1 cup of Allegro Teriyaki Marinade and 2 tablespoon of Liquid Smoke (Mesquite).
Both of these can be found at your local grocery store. I found the teriyaki marinade near the BBQ sauces, NOT in the Asian section, so make sure to check both places.
I marinated the venison for 20hrs and strained in this colander. This is where you will want to sprinkle on some garlic powder for a little extra flavor.
If you want a true teriyaki deer jerky, you can start to dehydrate the jerky right here. I split this recipe and made half with some black pepper as well.
Just dredge one side of the jerky in a bowl of fresh cracked black pepper and wipe off any excess. I found that one side was enough to give this deer jerky a great pepper flavor.
Dehydrating
Using my Excalibur Dehydrator, I arranged the venison strips on the trays with enough space between strips to allow for proper air circulation.
This jerky was dehydrated for 2.5hrs at 165F & 1hr at 145F. Yep, it was finished and perfect in just 3.5hrs! Jimmy's Teriyaki Deer Jerky had a nice strong Teriyaki flavor. The pieces with pepper also had that great flavor with the extra little kick of the fresh cracked black pepper. I love spice and pepper, so the peppered pieces were my favorite.
Pro Tips:
- Keep game meat very clean while butchering and wash thoroughly with fresh water
- Partially freeze meat or use a jerky slicer for even strips. This allows all jerky to finish drying evenly and at the same time
- Using cracked black pepper instead of ground pepper really enhances the flavor and spice on this recipe
- Start checking deer for doneness after 3 hours in the dehydrator, it tends to dry faster than beef
You need to make this jerky! This recipe would also be great when making beef jerky. But if you still have some venison in the freezer from this past hunting season, get some out and start marinating it now!
I really liked this recipe and can see why Jimmy makes it EVERY year. Thanks for sharing the recipe Jimmy!
!!All of the Beef Jerky Recipes on this site can also double as Venison Jerky Recipes!!
For more in depth directions on how to dry your beef or deer jerky, Click the links below
How to make beef jerky in a Dehydrator
How to make beef jerky in a Smoker
How to make beef jerky in an Oven
Ingredients
Lean Beef
- 1 lb Venison Roast
Marinade
- 1 cup Allegro Teriyaki Marinade
- 2 tablespoon Mesquite Liquid Smoke
Optional
- ¼ teaspoon Curing Salt (Prague Powder #1)
Extra
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 3 tablespoon Fresh Cracked Black Pepper for dipping
Instructions
- Trim all visible fat from the venison and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
- While the meat is in the freezer, combine all the ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag and mix well.
- Remove the meat from the freezer and slice ¼" strips against the grain for an easy chew. Cut with the grain for a more chewy jerky.
- Add sliced venison to the mixture in a ziplock bag or bowl and marinate for 8-24 hours in the refrigerator.
- After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and strain excess marinade in a colander.
- Sprinkle meat evenly with the garlic powder.
- Dredge one side of each strip of meat in fresh cracked black pepper if you want a peppery flavor *Optional
- Dry with your favorite jerky making method. I used my Excalibur Dehydrator and dried for 2½ hours at 165F & 1 hour at 145F.
- The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half.
Pro Tips
- Keep game meat very clean while butchering and wash thoroughly with fresh water
- Partially freeze meat or use a jerky slicer for even strips. This allows all jerky to finish drying evenly and at the same time
- Using cracked black pepper instead of ground pepper really enhances the flavor and spice on this recipe
- Start checking deer for doneness after 3 hours in the dehydrator, it tends to dry faster than beef
Nutrition
You Might Also Like:
How to Make Beef Jerky with a Dehydrator
The Best Dehydrator for Making Beef Jerky
Kat says
Do you think this type of recipe would work if doing jerky in your oven?? If so...any tips??
Will says
It would totally work if using an oven. Check out my page on making jerky in an oven for tips and info.
Tim Holland says
Would we remove the liquid smoke if we use a smoker?
Will says
Yep, you don't need it if using a smoker.
Dan says
I just wanted to say thank you for all of the hard work you put into this website. My Dad and I recently started making jerky together with an old dehydrator I found in the basement as a way to bond while he is struggling with health issues. This is our number one resource and it has brought us a lot closer together.
Will says
I am so happy that my site could take part in you guys spending some quality time together. Thanks so much for this comment Dan, it means a lot to me. I wish your father all the best and a healthy New Year!
Kevin says
Tried this and it’s a hit! Thanks. I’m going to do 3 lbs next. Do I just triple the ingredients? May seem like a silly question- just want to make sure I don’t use too much of the curing salt.
Will says
Great! For the main marinade, you just have to have enough to cover the meat. So you might be able to double it and have enough. When it comes to curing salt, you need to do 1/4 tsp of Prague Powder #1 for every 1 pound of meat. So you will have to use 3/4 tsp of curing salt even if you only double the marinade ingredients.
Lee Moerland says
I'm getting ready to try this recipe out for the first time but I'm using an oven, would your directions for doing oven beef jerky be the same for venison jerky?
Will says
Yep. They sure are.
Pauline Coss says
Picked up a deer from a processor that the original shooter never picked up. Most of the meat was made into hamburger. Does this recipe work good with hamburger style venison for the marinating process, or would you recommend a different recipe? I have a jerky maker that will shape the venison into slices or rolls.
Will says
This recipe would not be a good one to do with ground meat, there is too much liquid in the marinade. This would prevent the meat from sticking together and the strips would break apart. Look for any recipe that has a little bit of liquid ingredients, about 1/4 cup or so max.
G says
Getting ready to try out your recipe - sounds amazing! I wanted to ask about the curing powder salt. It says it's optional....but if we do use it so I simply add it to the marinade ? This will be my first ever jerky experience. Trying to use up some of our leftover Bambi - thanks!!!
Will says
Yep. Just add it to the recipe. Let me know how it turns out!
Chris says
Love deer can't wait to try this recipe some day looks wonderful when I try it I'll let you know how it went JERKY IS MANS BEST FRIEND.
Will says
Thanks. This was a really good recipe... and you are correct, Jerky IS mans best friend! Haha.