Tennessee Smoked Beef Jerky
Fire up that smoker and get ready to have some smokey flavored beef in about 7 hours! This Tennessee Smoked Beef Jerky is a home run of flavor.
Servings 5
Calories 187kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
Lean Meat
Marinade
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup cold water
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoon cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon Prague Powder #1 curing salt
Instructions
- Trim all visible fat from the beef, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
- While the meat is in the freezer, combine the soy sauce, worcestershire, water, cane sugar, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and curing salt in a bowl or ziplock bag and mix well.
- Remove the meat from the freezer and slice ¼" strips against the grain. Slice with the grain for a chewier jerky. Or skip the freezing phase and use a Jerky Slicer for even 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.
- Pat dry the strips with paper towels.
- I used my Masterbuilt Smoker to make this batch of jerky, with the instructions in the body of this post. You can also use a Pellet Grill to smoke jerky.
- If using a Pellet Grill. Set the temperature to 200F and let smoke for 3 hours. Start checking if it's finished and continue until done.
- The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half. Allow the jerky to cool for 5 minutes before performing this bend test. If you bend when it's warm, it will seem like the jerky is not finished when it actually is resulting in over drying.
Notes
- Marinate meat for at least 6 hours for the best flavor. 24 hours is recommended
- Applewood and Hickory wood works great for making jerky
- You want a clean blue smoke If a white smoke is coming from the smoker, increase the temperature of the smoker. This white smoke can create a bitter taste within the meat.
- Visit my Making Jerky with a Smoker page for more detailed instructions on how to make jerky in a smoker
- Start early and grab a couple beers to pass the time during the smoking stage!
Nutrition
Calories: 187kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 715mg | Potassium: 269mg | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 195IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 2.7mg