Can You Really Dehydrate Beef to Make Jerky

This mail service may contain affiliate links. Please read my privacy policy.

Looking to learn how to brand homemade beef jerky? Wait no farther, hither yous volition learn step past step instructions on how to make beef jerky in a dehydrator. This includes everything from choosing which meat to use, slicing said meat, marinating with a groovy recipe, dehydrating the jerky, and testing for when information technology's finished.

Jump to:

🎥 Scout how to make beef jerky
🐄 Choosing the best cutting of meat
🧾 Where to buy meat - Free Sam's Social club Membership
🥩 How to slice the meat
🧂 How to make the marinade
⏲️ Drying the jerky
🌡️ How to tell when it'southward finished drying
💭 FAQ
👨🏽‍🍳 Quondam Pro Tips:
How to Make Beefiness Jerky in a Dehydrator

🎥 Picket how to make beef jerky

🐄 Choosing the best cutting of meat

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

Best Meat:

Eye of Round Roast
Top & Lesser Round Roasts
Flank Steak
Sirloin Tip
Ground Beef (10% fat or less)

I used a 2lb Beefiness Eye of Round for this beefiness hasty recipe.

🧾 Where to buy meat - Gratis Sam'due south Club Membership

Large box stores tend to have the best prices when information technology comes to meat for beef jerky. These include the main two, Sam'due south Club and Costco. If you like purchasing local, corking! Local butchers have keen cuts of meat, they just tend to be more expensive. Yet, you are supporting local businesses.

Unfortunately, I exercise not have whatever skillful butchers locally and then I shop at Sam'south Club. Right now at that place is a promotion for Sam's Gild where you can purchase their membership for $45 and then receive a Sam's Gift Card the same day in shop for $45. So basically, the membership is free. We tested the offering on 3-sixteen-21 and it works as advertised. Free Membership Valid until 4-xxx-2021.

Why get this membership?

Great prices! I found that locally the price of USDA Pick Beef Center of Round Roast (one of the all-time cuts for jerky) at Sam's was $4.68. This is compared to $6.99 a pound at the local chain grocery shop, that'south a 33% savings!

Not to mention savings on just about everything else; ground meat, salmon, tuna, Prime brisket, paper towels, seasonings, etc...

How to go the complimentary membership?

Click here for the $45 gift menu with sign upwards. (Jerkyholic is in no way associated with this deal. We do not become anything from Sam's or you for yous signing up; just passing along a great deal!)

It will give you a coupon code when filling out data. Brand sure to copy that lawmaking down and requite it to the person at the membership table at Sam'southward. The lady we dealt with already had it, but brand sure to write it downwards simply to be certain.

🥩 How to slice the meat

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

Footstep iii - Place the beef in the freezer for 1-2 hours to partially freeze for easier uniform slices. Your meat should be hard to the bear on but not fully frozen.

This is one of the most important steps when learning how to make beefiness 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.

Meat on cutting board with arrows showing direction of the grain of meat

The mode you slice the meat has a big impact on the final texture and whether you will have a tough or soft beefiness jerky. If you lot demand more than information on slicing meat, visit my slicing meat for beef jerky page.

Slicing meat for jerky on cutting board with sharp knife

You tin also skip the freezing stage and piece your jerky using a jerky slicer. I use a Weston Jerky Slicer. It makes sure all your strips are the same width which allows them to dry evenly. Having a slicer is great when making a lot of beef jerky, if y'all are only making pocket-sized batches every once in a while it is not as important.

Dale's Steak Marinade Beef Jerky Slicing

🧂 How to brand the marinade

Step four - Cease slicing all of your meat and set aside. Now it'due south time to go the marinade set. Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl or ziplock handbag and stir well. Since this recipe doesn't have any whole peppers, a blender is NOT needed.

Step 5 - Add the beef strips and shake the container and so all the meat is evenly covered with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator anywhere from half dozen to 24 hours for neat flavor, the longer the better. This beefiness was marinated in the fridge for xviii hours.

Beef Jerky strips marinating ziplock bag

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

⏲️ Drying the hasty

Step seven- It's time for the easy part! Every bit I mentioned to a higher place, I used my Excalibur Dehydrator for this batch. Place the beefiness strips on the racks making sure that they are non touching or overlapping.

Leaving infinite in between the beef jerky slices allows the air to amend circulate and dry the meat.

Step 8 - Beef jerky takes around iv-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 guidelines from the USDA. Depending on how thick your slices are will determine how long it will take to finish dehydrating, this beef hasty took five hours to dry.

🌡️ How to tell when it's finished drying

Stride 9 - Make sure you bank check your beef jerky throughout the drying procedure to avoid over drying. The hasty volition be done when information technology bends and cracks but does not break in half. You will too see white fibers within the meat. If it'south washed, permit it sit on the rack and absurd for a couple hours.

Beef jerky on cutting board with crushed red pepper

Pace x - Now it'southward time to either store the beef hasty in ziplock bags, vacuum sealed bags, glass jars, or my favorite; your stomach! Beef jerky volition stay good for 7-10 days if kept in ziplock numberless. For longer storage, using vacuum sealed bags will allow the jerky to last 1-two months. Please visit my folio on storing beef hasty for farther information.

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

💭 FAQ

Practice I have to utilise a dehydrator when making beef hasty?

No. Using an Oven or Smoker is another keen way to make jerky.

👨🏽‍🍳 Quondam Pro Tips:

Employ a abrupt knife or partially freeze the meat before slicing. Here is my Slicing Meat Folio for more data.
Using a ziplock purse allows you to utilise less ingredients, saving money on marinades. Put meat in the ziplock bag and roll it upwards expelling all of the air inside. This allows all the meat to be covered by a relatively small amount of marinade.
The longer y'all marinate, the more flavor the jerky will take. If I have time, xviii hours in the minimum I marinate my meat.
Have jerky strips out of dehydrator and permit to cool for 5 minutes before checking to see if it'due south finished. It should bend and crack but not intermission when finished. You should also run across white fibers in the meat when aptitude.

Beef Jerky in mason jar with american flag

Other recipes and information

Beef Jerky Recipes (75+ Bootleg Hasty Recipes)
The Best Dehydrator for Making Beef Jerky [2021]
How to Make Basis Beefiness Jerky

Jerky in jar with red pepper flakes on wood

How to Make Beefiness Jerky in a Dehydrator

Making jerky in a dehydrator is the easiest and best style to make homemade jerky. They are relatively inexpensive and here I will show you how like shooting fish in a barrel information technology is to brand corking tasting beefiness jerky!

Prep Fourth dimension: 1 60 minutes

Melt Time: 6 hours

Total Fourth dimension: seven hours

Course: Beef Jerky, Snack

Cuisine: American

Type: Beef Hasty

Flavor: Savory, Spicy

Servings: 5

Calories: 151 kcal

Marinade

▢ ¼ cup worcestershire sauce
▢ ¼ cup soy sauce
▢ ane teaspoon black pepper
▢ 1 teaspoon common salt
▢ ii teaspoon chocolate-brown sugar
▢ 2 teaspoon liquid smoke
▢ 1 teaspoon ruddy pepper flakes

Pick a lean cut of beef. Trim the fatty cap and other visible fat. After trimmed, identify the meat in the freezer for ane-2 hours or until partially frozen. This will allow for more uniform slices when cutting your beef.
In a plastic container that has a tight fitting lid or ziplock bag, add together the marinade ingredients 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 a more chewy jerky.
Add together the sliced meat to the marinade and shake well until all slices are covered evenly. Place in the fridge and allow to marinate for six-24 hours. Milkshake the container/bag two or three times while marinating.
After marinating, dry out slices with paper towels to remove whatever excess marinade.
Place strips on your dehydrator drying racks with enough of spaces in between for easy air flow.
Dry for 3 hours at 165 degrees allowing the internal temperature to reach 160 degrees and and so turn down to 145F. Check the meat after 4 hours and keep drying until the jerky bends and cracks, but does not interruption in half.
Let jerky to cool for several hours before storing.

Trim all fatty from the meat earlier marinating for longer lasting jerky in one case it'southward finished drying
Use curing salt or celery juice pulverization to extend the life of the jerky
Marinate closer to 24 hours for the most intense flavor

Permit us know how it was!

fisherarachis70.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.jerkyholic.com/how-to-make-beef-jerky-with-a-dehydrator/