Duke’s beef jerky is a mainstay of the snack aisle, but you can’t always run out to the grocery store every time you get a craving for it. What’s a hungry jerky lover to do?
Well, make it yourself, of course! Follow our recipe to make your own Duke’s beef jerky, and keep some on hand for when your stomach starts growling.
Duke’s Beef Jerky Ingredients
- 1/4 tsp of Prague Powder #1 curing salt
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 tbsp liquid smoke hickory
- 2 tbsp of brown sugar
- 1/4 cup of soy sauce
- 1 clove of garlic minced
Selecting the Right Meat for Beef Jerky
For our Duke’s beef jerky, we used pre-sliced sirloin tip. Sirloin tip is lean and tender, making it perfect for beef jerky.
Pre-sliced beef is great for making jerky: you’ll have little to no fat to trim, and you don’t need to spend time slicing it just right. And pre-sliced beef is usually cut into very thin strips, which dry much quicker than hand-cut strips.
That’s not to say that you can’t use other cuts or slice your own beef, though! If you want to switch it up, try using flank steak or top, bottom, or eye of round.
Preparing the Beef for Marinating
If you bought pre-sliced beef with all the fat removed, you might be able to skip these steps and move directly to the marinating. Otherwise, prep your beef as follows.
Trimming Excess Fat
Fat causes beef jerky to spoil, especially if the jerky is stored for long periods of time. Removing it is essential if you want the highest-quality jerky.
Trim as much fat as you can. Being thorough here makes a big difference in your final results!
Freezing and Slicing the Beef
When you’ve removed all the fat, stick the beef in the freezer for an hour or two. You just want it to firm up a little, so it’s easier to slice, so don’t forget about it!
Remove the beef when you notice ice crystals beginning to form on it.
Now it’s time to cut the beef. With a sharp knife, slice it into strips no thicker than ¼ inch.
Make sure you’re cutting against the grain — this results in more tender jerky with a more appealing texture.
Marinating the Beef Slices
Making the Duke’s marinade is easy — just mix all the ingredients together in a measuring cup until you get a smooth mixture.
Put your beef strips in a lidded container or Ziploc bag, add the marinade and shake it up. Place the container or bag in the fridge for 6-24 hours, shaking it occasionally, so the marinade doesn’t settle.
The longer you marinate the beef, the stronger the final flavors will be.
Dehydrating the Beef Slices
Now, at last, we’ll turn that beef into jerky!
You can use an electric smoker or oven to dry your beef, but we highly recommend using a food dehydrator instead. I bought mine on Amazon. These handy devices are inexpensive, easy to use, and more efficient than smokers and ovens.
- Dry your jerky evenly without the hassle of rotating trays.
- Keep your oven free for dinner while your next batch of jerky dries.
- Make a bigger jerky stash by expanding to twelve trays. Extra trays are sold separately.
Remove the excess marinade from the beef by laying the strips on a paper towel for a few minutes. Once the extra liquid is absorbed, arrange the strips on your food dehydrator trays.
Then sit back and let the dehydrator do its job. At 160 degrees F, our thin pre-sliced beef took 4 hours to dry; if your beef is thicker, you’ll need to dry it for 6-8 hours.
When it’s fully dried, your beef jerky will weigh about ⅓ of its original weight. If you start with a pound of beef, you’ll end up with 5-7 ounces of jerky.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Makes 5 servings Preparation Time: 30 minutes Marinade Time: 6-24 hours, average 8 hours Drying Time: 4-8 hours depending on thickness, average 6 hours
| Ingredients | Costs |
|---|---|
| 1 lb beef — Beef Sirlion tip steak thin — or the Sirlion | $6.82 per 1 lb at Walmart |
| 1/4 teaspoon Prague Powder #1 curing salt | Between $12 and $13 for a 2.5 lb. pack (96 teaspoons per pound means that 1/4 of a teaspoon equates to 0.01 cents) |
| 1/4 teaspoon onion powder | Between $4 and $5 for a 1.73 oz. container ( 6 tsp. per oz. means that 1 teaspoon equates to 0.38 cents or 0.10 cents per 1/4 teaspoon ) |
| 1 teaspoon of salt | 0.01 cents per 1 tsp |
| 1 tablespoon of liquid smoke hickory | $1.34 for a 4 oz. container at Walmart (2 tbsp per one oz. means that 1 teaspoon equates to 0.17 cents ) |
| 2 tablespoons of brown sugar | $2.17 for 2lb. container at Walmart ( 31 tbsp. per pound means that 2 tbsp. equates to 0.07 cents ) |
| 1/4 cup of soy sauce | $1.52 for a 5 oz. container at Walmart (1/4 cup or 2 oz. = 0.61 cents) |
| 1 clove of garlic minced | $0.30 per one at Walmart |
| Total Cost: | $8.09/5.7oz. (full cost: meat + ingredients) |
Duke’s Beef Jerky
Even though Duke's beef jerky is a staple of the snack aisle, you can't always head to the shop whenever you have a need for it. What should a craver of jerky do? Of course, make it yourself!
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Remove any and all fat from your beef.
- If not using pre-sliced beef, freeze the beef for 1-2 hours, then cut into ¼ inch (or less) slices.
- Add all marinade ingredients to a measuring cup and stir until smooth.
- Combine beef and marinade in a container or Ziploc bag, then refrigerate for 6-24 hours.
- Lay beef strips on a paper towel to remove excess liquid.
- Place beef in a food dehydrator at 160 degrees F for 4-8 hours — thicker strips need more time.
Nutrition
Serving: 36.2g | Calories: 191kcal | Carbohydrates: 4.9g | Protein: 28.4g | Fat: 5.7g | Saturated Fat: 2.1g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 1710mg | Potassium: 402mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 3.9g | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 17mg
QUOTE:
"You might be a redneck if you think that beef jerky and moon pies are two of the major food groups."
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About the Author
Charles Joseph
In 2017, a good friend introduced me to the most amazing beef jerky I had ever tasted. And his source was from the most unexpected of places--a random guy in Thailand whom he had met while living there. Although I had been eating jerky since as far back as I could remember, I was genuinely blown away by the flavor. I realized the best beef jerky doesn't come from a store. This experience inspired me to create Beef Jerky Hub and put into writing all the things I've since learned about this amazing food. If you're interested, you can read more about my story here.