How to make Jerky

What is The Best Cut of Meat?

Beef eye of round, bottom round, and top round are the best meat for beef jerky. Choosing a meat for jerky that has very little fat is important, fat will spoil faster and shorten the shelf life of your jerky.

Below is a list of the best cuts of beef for making beef jerky. You can also make beef jerky out of lean ground meat.

• Purchase the correct amount of meat. After drying, jerky will lose about ⅔ of its weight. If you buy 3lbs, you will end up with a little over 1lb of dried jerky

Eye of Round

Hands down, this is the best meat for beef jerky. The most tender of the Rounds. This is a single oval muscle in the rear leg.

• Lean

• Little interior fat

• Need to trim the fat cap

• Grain runs the length of the cut for easy slicing with or against the grain

• Economical (relatively inexpensive)

Bottom Round

Another great choice of meat for making beef jerky. It is the outer muscle of the upper rear leg. This is the least tender of the rounds. Even though it is the least tender, it makes great jerky!

• Lean

• Possible interior marbling

• Flavorful

• Economical (relatively inexpensive)

Top Round

Very similar to bottom round. The top round is cut from the inside leg muscle, opposite of the bottom round. This cut is more tender than the bottom round and less tender than the eye of round.

• Lean

• Flavorful

• Economical (relatively inexpensive)

Sirloin Tip

Second Most tender of the rounds. Not as popular, but still a very good piece of meat for making beef jerky.

• Very Lean

• Most tender

• A little more expensive

Flank Steak

More expensive than the rest but still a great meat for beef jerky. If sliced with the grain, your jerky will be extremely tough. Better to slice against the grain when using this piece of meat when making beef jerky.

• Lean (need to trim some fat)

• More interior marbling

• Flavorful

• Can be a tougher jerky

Ground Meat

If making beef jerky with ground meat, make sure to choose a lean package. Many people like ground meat jerky because it is easier to chew and less harsh on your teeth. The texture is VERY different from whole meat jerky though, so keep that in mind.

• Makes easier to chew jerky

• Choose the leanest ground meat available (at least 90% lean)

• Requires a jerky gun or flattened and cut into strips

Deer/Venison

Deer meat is GREAT for making jerky! Venison jerky is some of my favorite. It tends to be very lean meat and very tender. If you harvest your venison yourself during hunting season, it is also about as organic as you can get!

• Very Lean

• Very little interior marbling

• Organic

• Great Game Flavor

• Tender

Elk Meat

Just like Venison, Elk Roasts are very lean cuts of meat that are great for making jerky. Elk has a mild game flavor making it a fantastic option for even the pickiest of eaters in your family.

• Very Lean

• Very little interior marbling

• Organic

• No game flavor

• Tender

Choosing the best cut of meat

Step 1 - Start with a lean piece of meat. The goal is to find a piece of meat that has as little fat as possible.

Best cuts

• Eye of Round Roast

• Top & Bottom Round Roasts

• Flank Steak

• Sirloin Tip

• Ground Beef (10% fat or less)

How to slice the meat

Step 2 - Trim off the fat cap and other visible fat from the meat. Fat will make meat spoil faster, so removing as much fat as possible now will extend the shelf life of your finished beef jerky.

Step 3 - Place the beef in the freezer for 1-2 hours to partially freeze for easier uniform slices. Your meat should be hard to the touch but not fully frozen.

This is one of the most important steps when learning how to make beef jerky. Slice the meat against the grain of the meat around ⅛"-¼" thick for an easier chew or with the grain for a more chewier beef jerky. The way you slice the meat has a big impact on the final texture and whether you will have a tough or soft beef jerky.

You can also skip the freezing stage and slice your jerky using a jerky slicer.

It makes sure all your strips are the same width which allows them to dry evenly.

How to make the marinade

Step 4 - Finish slicing all of your meat and set aside. Now it's time to get the marinade ready. Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl or ziplock bag and stir well. If the recipe has whole peppers, a blender is needed.

Step 5 - Add the beef strips and shake the container so all the meat is evenly covered with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator anywhere from 6 to 24 hours for great flavor, the longer the better.

Step 6 - After marinating, drain and pat dry the jerky strips to remove any excess marinade before dehydrating. This helps in speeding up the dehydration process.

Drying the jerky

Step 7- It's time for the easy part! Place the beef strips on the racks of your dehydrator making sure that they are not touching or overlapping.

Leaving space in between the beef jerky slices allows the air to better circulate and dry the meat.

In The Oven

Cover the bottom rack of the oven with aluminum foil to avoid drippings during the drying process. It will make a mess if you do not put a layer of protection down. If you are like me, the last thing you want to do is spend an hour cleaning your oven because you skipped a 30 second step in the process!

pre-heat the oven between 170° to 200°F

place the strips laying flat on a baking/cooling rack and leave the ovens metal rack in the oven while pre-heating.

Once pre-heated, put the oven rack of jerky in the oven on the highest rack position, being careful not to allow the strips to fall.

Make sure to prop the door open with an Aluminum Foil Ball to allow moisture to escape and air to circulate during the drying process. It should take between 3-8 hours to dry in the oven depending on the thickness of the jerky. Check after 3 hours, and continue as needed

Step 8 - Beef jerky takes around 4-5 hours to dry when dehydrating. Turn the dehydrator to 165° and let it run for about 4 hours until the internal temperature of the jerky reaches a safe 160° as per USDA guidelines. Depending on how thick your slices are will determine how long it will take to finish dehydrating.

How to tell when it's finished drying

Step 9 - Make sure you check your beef jerky throughout the drying process to avoid over drying. The jerky will be done when it bends and cracks but does not break in half. You will also see white fibers within the meat. If it's done, let it sit on the rack and cool for a couple hours.

Step 10 - Now it's time to either store the beef jerky in ziplock bags, vacuum sealed bags, glass jars, or my favorite; your stomach! Beef jerky will stay good for 7-10 days if kept in ziplock bags. For longer storage, using vacuum sealed bags will allow the jerky to last 1-2 months.

That's it! Those are the 10 easy to follow steps when learning how to make beef jerky at home.