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The best thing you can do with that venison you harvested this season is to make it into jerky! This spicy (or not) deer jerky recipe has a fantastic original flavor that will be eaten QUICK!
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How to Make Deer Jerky
Just like many of you, I have a BUNCH of deer meat from this last hunting season in the freezer. I plan on using it ALL to make deer jerky this upcoming year. Is there any other way to eat venison?
I thawed my frozen meat in a bowl of water in the refrigerator prior to slicing. Make sure to defrost any meat in the refrigerator and NOT on your kitchen counter. Submerging the meat in water will speed up the thawing process immensely.
After thawing and rinsing the deer roast, trim as much fat and silver skin as you can from the meat. Fat spoils faster than meat and will shorten the shelf life of the finished jerky.
Slicing the venison
Since I was going to use my Weston Jerky Slicer to cut the roast into thin strips, I had to first slice venison roast into 1 inch thick pieces so they would fit into the slicer. Using a sharp knife really helps slice through meat that is not partially frozen.
If you do not have a really sharp knife, you can put the meat back in the freezer for 1-2 hours. Partially frozen meat makes slicing evenly sized strips is easier. Visit my how to slice jerky page for more information on slicing meat for the perfect jerky.
To slice the perfect strips, I fed my venison steaks through the jerky slicer cutting it perfectly like always. I LOVE this thing!
Why this marinade works
I love an original tasting jerky, one that most people have come to know and love. Without the peppers added in this recipe, this deer jerky has that original jerky flavor. With the peppers, it's HOT!
I preferred the spicy version that had a ghost pepper added. The jerky didn't turn out as spicy as the marinade tasted (it never does), so I would add 2 peppers next time for some real heat!
Making the marinade
Let's make this marinade! This deer jerky recipe has a great marinade base with soy sauce and worcestershire sauce. You can make this recipe with peppers or not.
I made it both ways and they came out great either way. I prefer a little spicy jerky, so throwing in a ghost pepper was a must!
If you decide to add peppers, it is best to use a blender to chop them up very small and fully incorporate them into the recipe. 1 dried ghost pepper was used when making this recipe, but 2 peppers would have been perfect.
Add the marinade to a ziplock bag or bowl and add in the sliced meat. Marinate for 12-24 hours in the refrigerator, the longer the better!
Every 4 hours or so mix up the jerky in the bag so every part of the slices are covered with marinade.
Drying the venison jerky
Once you have finished marinating, strain any excess marinade in a colander. The jerky should soak up about half of the marinade.
Lay out several paper towels and place the jerky strips on the paper towels. Place more paper towels on top of the strips and pat them dry. This helps speed up the drying process in the dehydrator, oven, or smoker.
An Excalibur Dehydrator was used when making this recipe. Above you can see the strips laid out on the dehydrator trays with space between them so air can flow around each piece and dry each strip evenly.
This homemade deer jerky took about 4 ½ hours at 165°F to dry just right.
The soy sauce and worcestershire were mild and the deer jerky even had a little bit of a sweet flavor. This is a must make recipe, just be careful if you decide to share any.... You might have to make more to keep everyone satisfied!
Storage
The best way to store deer jerky is to vacuum seal it to remove all the oxygen in the bag. After it's vacuum sealed, store it in a dark cabinet or the fridge.
Keeping the bags out of sunlight is important in preventing moisture and the jerky from spoiling faster. Check out my how to store jerky page for more information.
FAQ
In an airtight bag or jar in a cool place out of sunlight. Here I have everything you need to know about storing homemade jerky.
Yes. You can use beef or pork with this marinade.
The roasts from the hind quarters is the best. I explain in more detail here on our best meat for jerky page.
Old Pro Tips
- Marinate for 24 hours for best flavor.
- Ziplock bags make the best container for marinating. Release all the air from the bag and roll up so all pieces are totally covered when marinating. Rotate several times throughout the 24 hours for even marinated jerky.
- Allow jerky to cool for 5 minutes before checking to see if it is finished drying.
- Use more than 1 pepper for a more spicy flavor. Habanero peppers would also be great with this recipe.
- Use a blender to chop up peppers into the marinade if adding to the recipe. (I recommend adding some!)
Other jerky recipes you might like
Ingredients
Lean Meat
- 1 lb Deer or Beef Roast
Marinade
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup beef stock
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke (Wrights)
- ¼ teaspoon curing salt (optional)
- 2 whole dried ghost pepper or habaneros (optional)
Instructions
- Trim all visible fat from the venison or beef and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
- While the meat is in the freezer, combine marinade ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag. If adding peppers, blend the peppers with the marinade in a blender before adding to ziplock bag.
- 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. Visit my page on slicing jerky for more information. I used my Weston Jerky Slicer when making this recipe.
- Add sliced venison or beef to the mixture in the ziplock bag or bowl and marinate for 6-24 hours in the refrigerator.
- After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and strain excess marinade in a colander and pat dry with paper towels.
- Dry with your favorite jerky making method. I used my Excalibur Dehydrator and dried for 4.5 hours at 165F.
- The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half. White fibers will also be seen when the jerky is bent.
Pro Tips
- Marinate for 24 hours for best flavor.
- Ziplock bags make the best container for marinating. Release all the air from the bag and roll up so all pieces are totally covered when marinating. Rotate several times throughout the 24 hours for even marinated jerky.
- Allow jerky to cool for 5 minutes before checking to see if it is finished drying.
- Use more than 1 pepper for a more spicy flavor. Habanero peppers would also be great with this recipe.
- Use a blender to chop up peppers into the marinade if adding to the recipe. (I recommend adding some!)
Bill in StL
Thanks for posting this recipe Will. A couple of questions ... I'm going to do the cooking / drying on a pellet smoker. Because of this do you think the liquid smoke is still needed? Also, could you comment a little more about the use of curing salt in this recipe?
Will
If you are using a smoker, you do NOT need to use liquid smoke. The curing salt is added along with the other marinade ingredients prior to adding the meat to the marinade. Use 1tsp per 5lbs of meat. (double check the instructions on the curing salt you purchased as ratio may be different).
SDHooter
Very good base! I tweaked it a little for my taste. Thank you for a great recipe!
Dj Urso
Tasty!!