Teriyaki is one of the most consumed flavors of beef jerky today, so it goes with out saying that you need a great teriyaki beef jerky recipe on hand for when those cravings hit.
Well get ready, because this is that quick and easy recipe! This Teriyaki beef jerky has a sweet and salty flavor. Imagine soy sauce mixed with honey soaked into heavenly beef. Yeah, it's as good as it sounds!!!
Original Post Date: March 15th, 2015 *Recipe updated with more pictures and step by step instructions*
Slicing meat for jerky
The first step to making this teriyaki beef jerky is choosing a lean cut of beef. I used Beef Bottom round when making this savory beef jerky. You can find a complete list of the best cuts of meat for making beef jerky by clicking here!
The second step is to trim the beef of all visible fat. Trimming the beef now will help the teriyaki beef jerky last longer when finished.
Fat spoils faster than the meat resulting in a shorter shelf life once finished and packaged. So get all of the fat off that you can now!
Slice the beef strips into a size of your liking. 1/4" thickness is my go too thickness and whether I slice with or against the grain depends on how I'm feeling when making the recipe.
The way the jerky is sliced has a big effect on the consistency of the finished jerky. I have A LOT of information on slicing beef jerky, so when you are ready, check out my slicing beef jerky page to learn everything you need to know.
I didn’t use it on this recipe, but a jerky slicer is a TERRIFIC piece of equipment to help get even strips when slicing jerky.
Making the jerky marinade
I have used Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade on steak and chicken, so it only makes sense to use it for some beef jerky. This is a very popular marinade that can be found at practically ANY supermarket.
The marinade is added to a bowl and then a couple more spices added. Since a dehydrator was used, adding liquid smoke gave the jerky a smoky flavor.
Once the marinade is mixed well, place the beef jerky strips in a ziplock bag and add the marinade.
Mix the strips within the marinade very well so they are all evenly coated. More importantly, marinate in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours, not on the kitchen counter. Food Safety is very important, don't leave raw meat out on the counter! Take the bag out of the fridge and mix the beef jerky strips around several times while marinating to further make sure the strips are covered evenly with the teriyaki marinade.
RELATED PAGE: Beef Jerky Recipes
Drying the jerky
Once the meat has finished marinating, strain any excess beef jerky marinade in a colander. We had this marinating for about 18 hours, the longer the marinade process the more intense teriyaki flavor the jerky will have!
After straining the teriyaki beef jerky strips in a colander, place paper towels down and lay the strips on top to soak up any more excess marinade. Pat them dry and get ready to start dehydrating!
A Nesco Gardenmaster Dehydrator was used when making this recipe, but you can use an oven or smoker if you prefer. Make sure to leave space in between the teriyaki beef jerky strips so air can flow around and dry the jerky evenly.
Put the dehydrator setting to 160F or 165, whatever the highest setting is, and dehydrate for 2 hours. After 2 hours, you can turn it down to 145F to finish it off.
Testing for when the jerky is finished
While drying the jerky, you want to start testing to see if it has finished at about the 3-4 hour mark. Take a piece of beef jerky out of the dehydrator, oven, or smoker and allow it to cool for 5 minutes to room temperature.
Bend the jerky in half; it should bend and crack but not break in half. You will also see white fibers in the meat. The fibers are really visible when a piece is ripped or bent in half.
This teriyaki beef jerky took 5 hours to be finished. 90% of the jerky I make is finished within 4-6 hours when using a dehydrator or oven and 6-9 hours when using a smoker. If pre-heating the meat in the oven, drying time can be as little as 2.5 hours.
How to store jerky
To make the jerky last as long as possible, curing salt will really help along with keeping in air tight containers. I have put together a page on storing beef jerky and steps you can take to make your jerky have an extended shelf life.
One word, YUMMMMMM! This Teriyaki beef jerky was just fantastic. I really enjoyed the ease of the recipe and the tremendous flavor it packed.
I like to enhance the flavors of the garlic and onion by adding some extra, but these to are already incorporated into the teriyaki sauce. Like always, feel free to play around with the recipe so it suites your liking.
Old Pro Tips:
- Add apple, hickory, or mesquite liquid smoke if you want a smoky flavor
- Other brands of teriyaki marinade can be used
- Use Prague Powder #1 to increase the shelf life of the jerky and help kill any bacteria
- Store in vacuum seal bags for 6 month shelf life
Related Posts
Ingredients
Lean Beef
- 1 lb bottom round
Marinade
- 1/2 cup Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp liquid smoke (hickory)
Optional
- 1/4 tsp Curing Salt (Prague Powder #1)
Equipment
Instructions
- Pick a lean cut of beef and trim off all visible fat. After trimming the fat, place the beef in the freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
- While the meat is hardening in the freezer, add all ingredients in a plastic bag or container with a tight fitting lid.
- After meat has hardened, but is not fully frozen, take out of freezer to slice. Using a sharp knife, slice the meat 1/4" to 1/8" thick with or against the grain.
- Add beef strips to your marinade and shake the container coating evenly. Allow 6-24 hours to marinate the jerky. Shake the container every couple hours to allow the marinade to evenly soak in to each piece of meat.
- Pat dry the beef strips on paper towels before placing in either a dehydrator, oven, or smoker.
- Dry with your favorite jerky making method. I used my Nesco Dehydrator and dried for 2 hours at 165F and 3 hours at 145F.
- The jerky will be finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half. Allow to cool for several hours before storing in air tight containers.
Pro Tips
Old Pro Tips:
- Add apple, hickory, or mesquite liquid smoke if you want a smoky flavor
- Other brands of teriyaki marinade can be used
- Use Prague Powder #1 to increase the shelf life of the jerky and help kill any bacteria
- Store in vacuum seal bags for 6 month shelf life
Nutrition
Were can i find your other jerkys
Beef Jerky Recipes
wonderful recipe. I don't understand why so many recipes call for worcestershire sauce I do not like the taste of it.
Will
How would you go about with this recipe for marinating ground beef. I have some Prague powder #1 on order, so It will be used.
Thanks Ron
Hey Ron! I would lower the teriyaki marinade to 2 tbsp and leave the rest the same (including the 1 tbsp of liquid smoke). Mix together and if the meat isn't soggy, you might be able to add 1 more tbsp of teriyaki marinade. That should do it!
This might be a newbie question but if i want to do 3 pounds instead of 1 pound do i have to triple your marinade ingredients?
Yep. Just triple the ingredients and you will be good to go!
Hey Will,
Just tried to make some jerky for the first time. It came out very dry, like pieces of bark. I followed every direction and didn’t even let it dry for the recommended 4 hours. I used eye of round with a presto dehydrator. I also boiled the beef for five minutes before drying. Any ideas on what went wrong? Any help is much appreciated!!
Thanks!
Hey Caleb. Boiling the meat first will make your drying time significantly shorter. It was probably ready at the 2 hour mark. If you don't boil, it will be closer to 4 hours or longer.
Good to know. Thanks Will!
Whew Hue! New Dehydrator for Christmas and I'm dehydrating everything but the dog!
The wife likes teriyaki jerky, so have a batch of yours in the fridge overnight for her, and another for me and anyone else that I plan to spike up the heat a bit.
Looking forward to tomorrow when it's ready.
Thank You for making your recipes printable!
Much easier to deal with in the kitchen.
I really appreciate your sharing!
Congrats Sonny! Let me know how they turn out!
Thank you! I will let you know how it comes out!
Would you recommend using the same ratio of ingredients if I am substituting ground meat for the cut you suggested? This is for venison jerky if that makes any difference.
I would cut the Teriyaki Marinade to only 2 tbsp and keep the remaining ingredients the same. You don't want to use too many liquid ingredients when making ground beef jerky.
too much pepper for me. other than that has a great flavor
Hey Will, thanks for the awesome recipe. Wanna give this a try but will be using my smoker. Lowest temp I can go is 180... you think that'll work?
Yeah, that should work just fine Josh. Let me know how it turns out!