Cajun Beef Jerky

Beef jerky on cutting board with grated horseradish

A flavor and style of cooking that has won the hearts and stomachs of all Americans is the French inspired, Cajun food! With flavors that come straight from New Orleans, you can't go wrong with this tasty recipe!

Course Snack

Cuisine Beef Jerky

Type Beef Jerky

Flavor Spicy

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 5

Total Time 5 30

Servings

Calories 240kcal

Author Will

Equipment

Ingredients

Lean Meat

1 lb Beef Eye of Round or Venison

Marinade

½ cup cold water
¼ cup white vinegar
2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 teaspoon horseradish
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon thyme

Optional

¼ teaspoon Curing Salt Prague Powder #1

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 white vinegar, cold water, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, seasoning salt, cayenne pepper, paprika, black pepper, horseradish, and red pepper flakes in a bowl or ziplock bag and mix well.
Remove the meat from the freezer and slice ¼" strips against the grain for an easy chew. Cut with the grain for more chew. Or skip the freezing phase and use a Jerky Slicer for even sliced strips.
Add sliced beef to the mixture in a ziplock bag or bowl and marinate for 8-24 hours in the refrigerator.
After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and strain excess marinade and pat dry the beef strips with paper towels
Dry with either a Dehydrator, Smoker, or Oven. A Dehydrator was used above and the jerky was dried for 5 hours at 160 degrees.
The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half.

Notes

Use a sharp knife or partially freeze the meat before slicing. Here is my Slicing Meat Page for more information.
Using a ziplock bag allows you to use less ingredients, saving money on marinades. Put meat in the ziplock bag and roll it up expelling all of the air inside. This allows all the meat to be covered by a relatively small amount of marinade.
The longer you marinate, the more flavor the jerky will have. If I have time, 18 hours in the minimum I marinate my meat.
Take jerky strips out of dehydrator and allow to cool for 5 minutes before checking to see if it's finished. It should bend and crack but not break when finished. You should also see white fibers in the meat when bent.

Nutrition