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    Home » Beef Jerky Recipes

    Tropic Thunder Beef Jerky

    Published: Nov 7, 2018 · Modified: Nov 23, 2020 by Will · This post may contain affiliate links.

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    This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my privacy policy.

    Looking for a great peppered flavored jerky? Look no further, this tropic thunder beef jerky is bursting with flavor and is sure to impress.

    Beef jerky on cutting board

    I'm not sure if you could tell, but my wife loves the movie Tropic Thunder. You know, the one with Ben Stiller that takes place in the jungle. Yeah, she loves that movie... So when I made a jerky with pineapple juice she thought of tropical jungles and wanted to name the recipe, and here we are.... Tropic Thunder Beef Jerky.

    This is an amazing tasting jerky, I like it a lot! However, it does not have a huge flavor of pineapple juice, but more of a soy sauce and black pepper flavor.

    I started with beef top round steak that was sliced thin from the supermarket. Sometimes I feel a little lazy and can't resist the already thin sliced meat that works so great for jerky!

    Beef jerky marinating in ziplock bag

    After combining all of the ingredients in a ziplock bag, the beef top round was marinated for 12 hours in the refrigerator. I normally like to marinate my recipes for 24 hours, but anything over 6 hours will produce some great tasting jerky.

    jerky on dehydrator trays

    After straining the meat in a colander, I patted dry the jerky strips with paper towels to soak up any excess marinade. My Excalibur Dehydrator was used to dry this jerky. It heats the jerky to an internal temperature of 160F, so there was no pre-heating necessary. After 4 ½ hours the jerky was just perfect! Visit my Jerky Making Methods page for in depth step by step directions on how to dry jerky!

    jerky in dehydrator

    Make sure to remove a piece and allow it to cool to room temperature before checking if the jerky is finished. It should bend and crack, but not break in half. White fibers will also be seen if the jerky is dried correctly.

    Jerky finished on cutting board

    As mentioned earlier, the jerky had a great soy sauce and black pepper flavor. I would categorize the spice as mild. There was a kick from the black pepper which I really enjoyed. The brown sugar balanced the spice however, making a great standard beef jerky flavor. I wish the pineapple would come through a little more, but have had a hard time getting that flavor without using an extract. Even without the pineapple juice, it has a great flavor.

    Give this Tropic Thunder Beef Jerky a shot if you are looking for a great tasting traditional jerky, I highly recommend it!

    For more in depth directions on how to dry your jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods or click on the pictures below. 

    Learn how to make Beef Jerky in a dehydrator. It's easy, fast, and delicious! | Jerkyholic.comLearn how to make beef jerky in a smoker. Great tasting and better than store bought jerky! | Jerkyholic.comHow to Make Beef Jerky in an Oven

    Jerky finished on cutting board

    Tropic Thunder Beef Jerky

    Looking for a great peppered flavored jerky? Look no further, this tropic thunder beef jerky is bursting with flavor and is sure to impress.
    4.1 from 31 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe
    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 4 hours 30 minutes
    Total Time: 5 hours
    Course: Beef Jerky
    Cuisine: American
    Type: Beef Jerky
    Flavor: Savory, Spicy
    Servings: 5
    Calories: 161kcal
    Author: Will

    Ingredients
     

    • 1 lb beef top round
    • ¼ cup pineapple juice
    • ½ teaspoon ginger
    • ½ teaspoon paprika
    • 2 tablespoon brown sugar
    • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
    • ¼ cup soy sauce
    • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon black pepper
    • ¼ teaspoon curing salt (optional)

    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 marinade ingredients in a bowl or 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. (I did not freeze the jerky since I bought already thinly sliced meat. I sliced the thin meat into 1" wide strips)
    • Add sliced 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.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 161kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 700mg | Potassium: 349mg | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Vitamin C: 1.2mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 2.3mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Bob says

      March 12, 2021 at 7:28 pm

      5 stars
      Figured I should leave this comment so no one makes the same mistake I did if they try to use fresh pineapple! I used 1/4 cup of blended fresh pineapple instead of canned pineapple juice. Using fresh pineapple resulted in jerky that was the consistency/texture of a gummy worm (but the taste was great!). I later learned that this is because there is an enzyme in pineapple that breaks down meat super fast. This enzyme (bromelain) is heat neutralized, so it isn't a problem in canned pineapple juice because it is neutralized during the canning process. I retried this recipe with blended fresh pineapple, but this time heated the blended pineapple to 160F (apparently bromelain is neutralized at around 158F) and let it cool before making the rest of the marinade. This resulted in some really yummy (non-gummy worm) jerky that I will definitely be making again..... probably with canned pineapple juice to save myself an extra step!

      Reply
      • Will says

        March 14, 2021 at 10:18 am

        Ha. Thanks for the info Bob!!! It's good to hear you got it figured out and were able to make some great jerky.

        Reply
    2. Crystal says

      January 23, 2021 at 1:53 am

      You could try boiling a 1/2 cup of pineapple juice down to your 1/4 cup. You can get that super concentrated pineapple flavour that way!

      Reply
      • Will says

        January 23, 2021 at 9:04 am

        That's a very good idea Crystal!

        Reply
    3. Jennifer Pastorini says

      January 18, 2021 at 7:58 pm

      5 stars
      Tropic Thunder is and AWESOME movie!

      Reply

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    Hi! My name is Will and I live in Colorado with my beautiful wife. I love to hunt, fish, & make jerky. After making homemade jerky for over two decades, I started this website and published a Recipe Book to share some of my favorite recipes with you! Learn more →

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