Beef Jerky Hub
Because the Best Jerky Doesn’t Come from a Store
Dark chile-coated jerky strips with lime and thyme on a board

Spicy Seduction: A New Mexico Beef Jerky Recipe

By Charles Joseph · Updated
Share
Share
Copy URL

Prepare for a delectable adventure as this New Mexico beef jerky recipe takes your taste buds on a wild ride. Dive into a world of chili powder, smoked paprika, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and red pepper, creating an irresistibly unique flavor that’ll have you craving more.

Checklist for Making Homemade Beef Jerky

Sponsored

Prepare the Meat

Starting with a well-trimmed, lean piece of beef is important when preparing beef jerky since fat does not dry out and speeds up spoilage. One of the best beef for our recipe is a bottom-round; it is affordable, widely available, lean, and simple to trim. Place it in the freezer for one to two hours prior to slicing: it will be much simpler to cut.

A hand holding a large bottom round roast
Bottom round offers a lean, sliceable starting point for this chile-based marinade.

We need 1 pound of beef for this recipe.

Raw beef on a scale reading 450 grams
450 grams of beef, with chile, honey and smoky seasoning waiting their turn.

Slice the meat at a thickness of 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Before slicing the roast, cut it in half horizontally if it is too thick.

A cook slicing raw beef into long strips
Keep the slices even so the chile-coated pieces dry at a similar rate.

Prepare the Marinade

The marinade contains chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, lemon juice, crushed red pepper, soy sauce, and honey.

Chili powder, smoked paprika, honey, lemon, and bottled sauces
Chile warmth, smoky paprika and a little honey: this marinade has a lot to look forward to.

Whisk the ingredients in the bowl in the right proportions.

Add your beef to the marinade and mix. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 7 hours or overnight. To ensure that the meat marinades evenly, flip the bag or toss the meat a couple of times.

Beef being stirred through a red chile marinade
Turn the strips to distribute the seasoning, then cover and refrigerate the batch.

 Dry Out the Beef

Prepare two-three baking trays. Arrange the marinated meat on trays in a single layer. Dehydrate until the meat is dried out, 5 to 7 hours at 160 F.

Marinated chile-coated beef strips arranged on a dehydrator tray
Leave space around the strips instead of allowing the marinade to join neighboring pieces.
Sale
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.

In 5 hours, take a piece of the jerky out of the dehydrator and cool it down to room temperature to see if it has been completely dry. It should have a leather-like texture, feel dry to the touch, and be chewy yet slightly soft.

Finished New Mexico-style jerky strips on a white tray
Let a test piece cool before judging its texture, since warm jerky can feel softer.

I weighed my beef jerky again. It was 6.5 oz. or 185 grams.

Finished chile-seasoned jerky on a scale reading 185 grams
185 grams of chile-seasoned jerky. Your next snack break is taking shape.
Sponsored

Recipe

Makes 5 servings Preparation Time: 30 minutes Marinade Time: 7-24 hours, Drying Time: 5– 7 hours

IngredientsCost
1 lb. of beef; I choose bottom-round, but any could work$7.99 per 1 lb. at Weis
1/2 cup soy sauce$1.52 for a 15 oz. container at Walmart (1/2 cup or 4 oz. = 0.40 cents)
2 tablespoon chili powder$1.00 for a 3 oz. container at Walmart (2 tbsp per oz. equates to 0.33 cents )
1 tablespoon smoked paprika$1.68 for a 2 oz. container at Walmart (2 tbsp per oz. or 0.42 cents per 1 tbsp )
1 tablespoon honey$2.98 per 12 oz. container at Walmart (2 tbsp per oz. means that 1 teaspoon equates to 0.12 cents)
3/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce$1.00 for a 10 oz. container at Wallmart (3/4 cup is 6 oz. or 0.60 cents)
4 teaspoons of lemon juice$1 per lemon in Walmart, I used half of it, and it is 0.5 cents
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper$0.98 per 1.75 oz. container at Walmart (6 tsp. per oz. means that 1 teaspoon equates to 0.09 cents)
Total Cost:$10.45/6.5 oz. (full cost: meat + ingredients)

Shot Instruction

Dark chile-coated jerky strips with lime and thyme on a board

New Mexico Beef Jerky Recipe

The New Mexico beef jerky recipe is delicious, with spices used in the recipe adding a great deal of depth to the flavor of the beef jerky. The beef is marinated in chili powder, smoked paprika, soy and Worcestershire sauce, and red pepper. This gives the beef a unique flavor that is perfect for snacking.

Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
6 hours
Marinade Time
7 hours
Course: SnackCuisine: AmericanKeyword: Beef JerkyServings: 5Calories: 246kcalCost: $10.45

Equipment


Ingredients


Instructions

  1. Place your beef in a freezer for one-two hours prior to slicing
  2. Slice the meat at a thickness of 1/8 to 1/4 inch
  3. Whisk the ingredients in the bowl in the right proportions and add your sliced beef
  4. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 7 hours
  5. Dehydrate until the meat is dried out, from 5 to 7 hours at 160 F

Nutrition

Serving: 37g | Calories: 246kcal | Carbohydrates: 15.3g | Protein: 29.8g | Fat: 6.4g | Saturated Fat: 2.3g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 1410mg | Potassium: 525mg | Fiber: 1.9g | Sugar: 11.6g | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 18mg

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.