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We all love a little bit of red pepper. Well this jerky has A LOT of red pepper; keep water close by...
If you follow this blog or have looked at several of the recipes on here, you will see a trend that spicy beef jerky is something that I LOVE! Yes, sweet jerky is good; but it doesn't have that kick that makes jerky, JERKY!
So this beef jerky is spicy and also has a very small amount of ingredients which allows that true beef flavor to come through.
I sliced half of this bottom round with the grain and the other half against the grain. Sometimes I like having a chewy bite and sometimes a softer bite. You can pick whichever is your favorite and go with it. The slices that were with the grain I did tenderize by smacking with a meat mallet. I like my jerky chewy, not impossible to chew....
The meat marinated in a mixture of sea salt, cane sugar, liquid smoke, water, prague powder (curing salt), and red pepper for 12 hours. The key to keeping the red pepper on the beef jerky is to add extra after it is done marinating. I drained the beef jerky slices in a colander and then placed back in a bowl. This is where I add another tablespoon of red pepper and mixed to coat before drying with the dehydrator.
So if you are looking for a spicy jerky that is easy to make, give this Red Pepper Beef Jerky recipe a try. Let me know how it turns out!
For more in depth directions on how to dry your beef jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods.
Ingredients
Lean Meat
Marinade
- ¼ teaspoon Prague Powder #1 (curing salt)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke (mesquite)
- 1 tablespoon red pepper
- ½ cup cold water
Toppings
- 1 tablespoon red pepper
Equipment
Instructions
- Trim all visible fat from the beef and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
- While the meat is in the freezer, combine the Prague Powder #1, sea salt, cane sugar, liquid smoke, red peper, and cold water in a medium size bowl or ziplock bag. Mix well.
- Remove the meat from the freezer and slice ¼" strips against the grain. Cut with the grain for a chewier jerky. Or skip the freezing phase and use a Jerky Slicer for evenly sliced strips.
- Add sliced beef to the mixture and marinate for 6-24 hours in the refrigerator.
- After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and strain excess marinade.
- Place jerky strips in a bowl, add second tablespoon of red pepper, and mix well with your hands.
- Dry with your favorite jerky making method. A dehydrator was used with this recipe and dried for 5 hours at 145 degrees.
- The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half.
Nutrition
For more in depth directions on how to dry your beef jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods.
Mitko says
Hey, Will!
I've been following and recreating your recipes for the past 2 years! 🙂 Great job and keep going!
This one is one of my best favorites because of the lack of soy sauce, I personally don't like it very much.
I wanted to share my experience with it and give a tip of how I replace liquid smoke.
First of all preparation is super easy! 5/5
Taste - 5.5/5 :)))
Instead of using liquid smoke I am using smoked sweet paprika and I replace the regular paprika from the recipe with smoked.
In my country the liquid smokes that are sold are crap, so I to get rich smoked flavor I use La Chinata. Other brands work well, but this one gives the most intense flavor!