Kentucky Bourbon Beef Jerky

Looking for a rough and tough beef jerky made for a REAL jerky fanatic? You just found it. Bourbon + Beef Jerky = A BOLD Beef Snack!

Not only is this a beefy jerky, it tastes fantastic as well. The bourbon gives it a nice kick and amazing flavor. FYI, I drink a lot of Bourbon!

Original Post Date - November 4th, 2015

Jump to:

• Choosing the best cut of BEEF
• Slicing the meat
• Making the bourbon beef jerky marinade
• Dehydrating
• Testing for when it's finished drying
• Storing jerky
• FAQ
• Old Pro Tips:
• Kentucky Bourbon Beef Jerky

Choosing the best cut of BEEF

There are several different cuts of beef to use when making beef jerky. You can either slice up a big piece of meat or use ground meat. Beef is easily found at your local grocery store. All of the ingredients for this beef jerky recipe can be found at your local store.

Whole muscle

Whole muscle jerky is what you think of when you think beef jerky. It's thin strips of meat sliced from a large piece of beef that is then marinated and dried. There are several different types of beef to use, read more about them all on my best meat for beef jerky page.

My favorite cut to use in Beef Eye of Round. This is a lean and tender piece of meat. It's easy to slice and tastes great.

Ground beef

This beef jerky recipe can also be made into ground beef jerky. Simply cut in half the amount of ALL liquid ingredients and mix into 1lb of ground beef. So instead of ¼ cup bourbon, only use 2 tbsp.

Make sure to use a ground beef that has 10% of fat or less when making ground beef jerky. This will prevent the jerky from being greasy when finished and will also last longer when stored.

More information: How to make ground beef jerky

Slicing the meat

Don't let this intimidate you into not making jerky. Slicing meat into thin strips is actually quite easy. If using ground beef, then skip right over this section.

Bullet points for slicing meat for jerky

• Place beef roast in the freezer for 1-2 hours to partially freeze. This helps in slicing the meat and maintaining a consistent thickness.
• Slice jerky strips ⅛" to ¼" in thickness. This is the best thickness when making jerky.
• Use a VERY sharp knife. My favorite knife is the Victorinox 8" chef knife.
• Slice WITH the grain of the meat for a chewy jerky.
• Slice AGAINST the grain of the meat for a tender jerky.

If you want more in depth instruction and video on how to slice beef for jerky, visit my slicing meat for jerky page. It has EVERYTHING you need to know about perfectly slicing the jerky meat.

Making the bourbon beef jerky marinade

The number one ingredient in this beef jerky marinade recipe is the BOURBON! I have several different bourbons that I love to use when making this recipe.

Maker's Mark is a strong and bold bourbon that has a great flavor. Most everyone has heard of Maker's and might even have a bottle in the cabinet.

Bourbon's

Any bourbon can be used when making this jerky. Some other bourbons I recommend are:

• Woodford Reserve
• Buffalo Trace
• Elijah Craig
• Basil Hayden's

Mixing

Once you have chosen your favorite bourbon, simply mix together all of the ingredients and mix well. This recipe has a little bit of everything to make a sweet and strong tasting jerky.

You can totally mix this by hand, but if you want to make sure the sugar is fully incorporated and dissolved into the marinade, bust out a blender to really get the brown sugar and molasses mixed well.

*If using curing salt, make sure to include the curing salt along with all of the other ingredients into the marinade.

Marinating

Place your jerky strips in a 1 gallon ziplock bag and pour the beef jerky marinade over the meat.

Marinate in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours to allow the meat to soak up the great flavors of the marinade.

Straining

Once the jerky is finished marinating. Remove from the fridge and strain the meat in a colander to remove any excess jerky marinade. Now it's time to dry the jerky!

Dehydrating

After the meat has finished marinating, it's time for the fun part of dehydrating! This can be accomplished by either using a smoker, dehydrator, or oven.

Dehydrator

This is one of the most popular ways to make beef jerky. Dehydrators produce great tasting jerky and also heat the meat to a safe temperature of 160°F to kill any potential bacteria.

My favorite dehydrator to use when making jerky is the Excalibur 9 Tray Dehydrator.

Simply arrange the jerky on the trays leaving space between each piece of meat and dehydrate for 4-6 hours at 160 degrees.

More information: How to make beef jerky in a dehydrator

Smoker

I love using my smoker to make beef jerky. It gives the jerky a great smoke flavor and really produces extraordinary jerky.

Either use a pellet smoker or traditional smoker. Light woods such as hickory or apple and cherry wood is the best for jerky. You don't want to use a very harsh wood such as mesquite.

Smoke at 180°F to 200°F for 2-5 hours until the jerky is finished. It's easy to over cook/smoke jerky, so make sure to be careful if you decide to use a smoker. The main problem comes when testing for when the jerky is finished.

The key to not overdoing it here is removing a piece from the smoker and allowing it to cool for 5 minutes before bending and testing it.

More information: How to make beef jerky in a smoker

Oven

Using a home oven is the most inexpensive way to make jerky simply because most everyone already has an oven. No need to go out and buy equipment, try using your oven to make sure you LOVE making jerky.

Then you can go out and buy the fancy dehydrators and smokers.

Using an oven is a lot like dehydrating. Set the oven to 170°F and allow it to dry for 4-6 hours. The key tip when using an oven is to place a wooden spoon in the door of the oven when you close it.

This small space that the wooden spoon makes allows for moisture to leave the oven and helps dry the jerky.

More information: How to make beef jerky in an oven

Testing for when it's finished drying

Testing for when the jerky is finished is very important in achieving your desired texture. Start checking to see if the jerky is finished 3 hours into the drying process.

Step 1 - Allow to cool

Remove a piece of jerky from the dehydrator, oven, or smoker and allow to cool to room temperature for about 5 minutes before proceeding to step 2. Jerky is more pliable when it is warm, so if you check the jerky without letting it cool, you will ultimately over dry the jerky.

Step 2 - Bending the jerky

Bend the jerky in half and see if it cracks. The goal here is to have the jerky bend and crack, but not break in half. If it breaks in half, it's over dried. If it doesn't create a crack where bent, it's not finished and needs to be dried longer.

Step 3 - Rip the jerky

Another way to test if it's finished is by ripping the jerky in half. When perfectly dried jerky is ripped in half, you will see white fibers where it has been torn. If you see these, the jerky is finished and ready to be packaged.

Storing jerky

Jerky can last several days to several months depending on how you package it. I tend to make jerky in small batches and eat it very fast. Therefor I don't package it often with the intent on it lasting long.

Decide how much you made and how long you want it to last. Then store and package it accordingly.

1 week - Store in ziplock bags and keep out of sunlight in a dark place such as a cabinet.

1 month - Store in ziplock bag or vacuum seal, use curing salt, and keep in the refrigerator.

2 months or longer - Vacuum seal, use curing salt, and keep in the fridge or freezer.

For more in depth information on storing beef jerky, visit my page on storing jerky.

FAQ

Old Pro Tips:

• Slice the meat at ¼" thickness for best results. Partially freeze the meat before slicing.
• Use a Jerky Slicer if you are making a lot of beef jerky.
• Pork can also be used when making this jerky recipe. Use pork loin or tenderloin.

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