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Because the Best Jerky Doesn’t Come from a Store
Pork jerky strips piled on a board beside raspberries

Homemade Hot and Sweet Pork Jerky Recipe

By Charles Joseph · Updated
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Making your own pork jerky is easy, and it’s also a great way to control the ingredients and customize the flavor.

This recipe for hot and sweet pork jerky is simple to follow and results in a delicious, protein-rich snack that you can enjoy on the go.

Plus, making your own pork jerky is much cheaper than buying it at the store! So give this recipe a try and see how easy it is to create a delicious homemade snack.

Ingredients

Brown sugar, cayenne, soy sauce, and liquid smoke
Dissolve the brown sugar thoroughly so its sweetness is spread through the marinade.
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How to Prepare the Pork

For this recipe, I bought Boneless pork chops. I paid $5.45 per pound at Walmart.

A tray of packaged boneless pork chops
Boneless chops make the prep straightforward. The sweet heat comes next.

Get a sharp knife and start cutting away the fat on your pork.

A knife removing an edge of fat from a pork chop
Trim the fat along the edges before cutting the pork into narrow pieces.

I used the scale to see how much the meat would be after dehydrating.

Raw pork chops on a scale reading 429 grams
429 grams to start. Keep the number handy for the finished batch's weigh-in.

Now it is time to cut the pork. I suggest putting it in the freezer for one or two hours before cutting. Cutting frozen meat is easier than fresh meat. Try to cut the meat as thinly as you can.

A pork chop being sliced into thin, straight strips
Chilling until firm makes it easier to keep the strips a similar thickness.

Next, you’ll need to gather all the ingredients and mix them to make a marinade. Mix the ingredients in the right proportions.

See the measuring cup below.

Dark liquid marinade measured in a clear cup
Measure once, jot it down, and your favorite sugar-and-cayenne balance is easy to revisit.

You will mix your marinade with the pork and let it sit for 6-24 hours. The longer you wait, the more flavor there is.

Pork strips coated in marinade in a rectangular container
Turn the pork through the mixture before covering and refrigerating it.

Dehydrate Your Slices

After marinating the pork, you’ll need to drain any excess liquid. You can do this by placing the pork on a paper towel for a few minutes. The paper towel(s) will absorb any excess marinade.

Marinated pork strips laid separately on paper towels
Blot excess liquid from each strip before loading the drying trays.

Now get your food dehydrator out. Put the pork on the trays in it. It’s not expensive and makes drying pork easier to do! If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can use an oven or an electric smoker, but we recommend getting one.

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Nesco FD-75A Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator
  • 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.
Long pork strips spaced across a round dehydrator tray
Leave a clear gap around each strip instead of filling every part of the tray.

Lay your beef slices on a dehydrator and dry them at 160 degrees Fahrenheit for 5-7 hours.

After 4 hours, check your pork every 45 minutes or so. Bend it to see if it is ready; if it cracks without breaking, then it is done!

Dried pork jerky strips on a white dehydrator tray
The strips narrow and darken during drying; consistent slicing helps them reach a similar texture.

Our cooked meat weighed less. The meat before we cooked was 15.1 oz. or 428 grams, and after cooking, the weight was 6.21 oz. or 176 grams.

Finished pork jerky on a scale reading 176 grams
The pork has done its shrinking act: 176 grams of finished jerky from this batch.

Recipe

Hot and sweet pork jerky piled beside raspberries
Sweet first, then a little cayenne warmth. How hot will you make the next batch?
  • preparation time: 30 minutes
  • marinade time: 7 hours
  • drying time: 6 hours
IngredientsCost
1lb of boneless pork leg$5.45 per 1 lb. at Walmart
1/3 cup soy sauce$1.52 for a 5 oz. container at Walmart (1/3 cup or 3 oz. = 0.91 cents)
3 tablespoon brown sugar$2.17 for 2lb. a container at Walmart (31 tbsp. per pound means that 3 tbsp. equates to 0.10 cents)
1 teaspoon 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)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper$3.97 per 1.7 oz. container at Walmart (6 tsp. per oz. means that 1tsp equates to 0.39 cents )
Total Cost:$7.02/6.21 oz. (full cost: meat + ingredients)
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Shot Instruction

Pork jerky strips piled on a board beside raspberries

Homemade Hot and Sweet Pork Jerky Recipe

This easy-to-follow recipe for spicy and sweet pork jerky provides a delicious, high-protein treat you can enjoy on the go. It's simple to make your own pork jerky, and it's an excellent method to control the ingredients and alter the flavor. Additionally, preparing your own pork jerky is significantly less expensive than purchasing it from a store!

Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
6 hours
Marinade Time
7 hours
Course: SnackCuisine: AmericanKeyword: Beef JerkyServings: 5Calories: 160kcalCost: $7.02

Equipment


Ingredients


Instructions

  1. Cut the fat off your pork and put the meat n the freezer for 1-2 hours.
  2. Slice your pork no more than ¼ inch thick, and cut against or across the grain.
  3. Mix all ingredients for the marinade, add pork and leave it in the fridge for 6-24 hours.
  4. Remove liquid from pork with paper towels dry meat on a food dehydrator at 160 degrees F for 5-7 hours or until slices bend and snap without breaking.

Nutrition

Serving: 35.2g | Calories: 160kcal | Carbohydrates: 6.8g | Protein: 24.9g | Fat: 3.3g | Saturated Fat: 1.1g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 1012mg | Potassium: 433mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 5.6g | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg

QUOTE:

"You might be a redneck if you think that beef jerky and moon pies are two of the major food groups."

-- Jeff Foxworthy

About the Author

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.