If you are looking for the Best Homemade Oven Beef Jerky Recipe, look no further! This tried and true recipe is full of flavor and has the perfect chewable jerky texture.
Beef jerky. You either love it or hate it. I confess, I am not a fan of the stuff. It’s dry, tastes terrible and makes your jaw ache from chewing it. I was not very thrilled when my husband first told me he was going to make homemade beef jerky in our oven.
My kids, on the other hand, love this stuff. We would buy it as a nice protein rich snack for them for school, hikes or camping trips. We especially liked to buy homemade jerky from the small town shops we would visit on our road trips.
After two years of making oven beef jerky, we have mastered the recipe and technique to make jerky at home, in the oven and without a dehydrator. My kids, my nephews, our whole extended family (including a 15 month old baby boy) inhale this recipe every time a batch gets made.
And now I’m ready to share this fabulous recipe with all of you. But a word of caution: once you make this homemade jerky, you will not be able to go back to the store bought stuff again!
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Recipe highlights
- Simple: This is such an easy recipe to make beef jerky and you don’t even need a dehydrator.
- Texture: Beef jerky can tend to be dry and tough with some very strong flavors to over compensate for texture. But I share what you need to do to insure that you don’t end up with shoe leather. As my kids describe it, this jerky has the right amount of chew without killing your jaw
- Flavor: You can change up the marinade to give your jerky any flavor you want. As written, the beef jerky has a mild steak sauce kinda taste. There is no sugar added to the marinade and it is not spicy. If you like some heat, it is easy to spice it up with black pepper or cayenne.
- Versatile: There are so many uses for beef jerky, other than the obvious protein snack. I share all of the ways we use beef jerky in the post.
My family loves this ground beef jerky I created. It is inspired by our favorite Persian comfort food, koobideh kabab (ground beef kabob). This is made in the dehydrator.
But the simplest way to make jerky at home, is to oven dry it. No fancy equipment is required. My family has been making this particular beef jerky for years and years.
Everyone loved it so much that we finally bought a dehydrator so we can make even more beef jerky.
Ingredients you need
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- Eye of round: You can use a number of different cuts of meat for jerky, but found eye of round to work really well.
- Flavors: Liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce. You can also use culinary mesquite powder for smokiness.
- Spices: Ground black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and ginger powder. For extra kick you can add cayenne pepper.
Step-by-step directions
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- Slice the meat. Trim all exterior fat off the eye of round. Flash freeze the meat then use a meat slicer or sharp knife slice the beef against the grain into ⅛ to ¼-inch thick strips.
- Remove fat. Cut out any large deposits of visible fat you find in your slices. Chunks of fat can make your beef jerky spoil faster.
- Marinate meat. Place the beef slices into a large resealable bag. Whisk together marinade then pour in with the meat and seal closed. Massage and shake the meat so the marinade coats every strip. Marinate up to overnight.
- Dry the meat. Line a large cutting board or work surface with paper towels. Remove beef slices from marinade and place in one layer over the paper towels. Cover the meat with more paper towels and continue adding layers of meat and paper towels until all of the meat is removed from the marinade.
- Transfer to racks. Remove beef jerky from paper towels and place in a single layer without overlapping onto metal baking racks. You can use more than one.
- Prep the oven. Line the bottom of your oven with aluminum foil and heat oven to 170ºF and place the racks in your oven. Prop your oven door closed with a kitchen towel. Do not close it completely.
- Bake the meat. Bake beef jerky for 1 hour, then turn oven off for 30 minutes. Bake again for 1 hour at 170ºF and continue this method of drying out the meat until beef jerky is dry to touch. Remove smaller pieces that are done and dry.
Recipe tips and FAQs
Beef jerky is fabulous source of protein and great a snack option for those on a low carb or keto diet. For my 4-year old nephew, it’s the one protein he will eat willingly and without a fight!
My boys take jerky on camping trips and hikes as they are a great way to keep their energy up, besides the usual trail mix. It is also a popular protein choice for backpackers.
Backpackers choose foods that are light in weight, first and foremost. And since you don’t want to lug a cooler of ice with you, carrying fresh meat is not an option. This is where meat jerky excels.
You can add beef jerky to packages of store bought beef stroganoff to make a delicious meal while backpacking. The Boy Scouts also add pieces to soup and ramen packages they cook up while on these trips. It’s a great way to add protein to fill you up while you are out and about in the great outdoors.
We made a delicious backpacking meal by adding instant rice and with my ground beef jerky for a Persian feast in the great outdoors!
Storing Instructions
Typically homemade beef jerky should last 1-2 months. But it does depend on a few factors. The amount of fat and moisture in your meat affects spoilage, so make sure the meat is trimmed of all visible fat and is completely dry.
Oxygen is also a factor in the shelf life of beef jerky. Store the cooled jerky in air tight containers. You can also add food grade oxygen absorbers in the container which helps prevent bacteria growth. You can also use vacuum sealers to remove all oxygen.
We store our beef jerky in resealable bags with a paper towel in it inside our pantry. You know your beef jerky has gone bad as it has darkened in color, hardened and changed in smell. I’ve never tested the theory that homemade oven beef jerky will last for 2 months as my family finishes it up way beforehand!
You can use a number of different cuts of meat to make oven beef jerky. We’ve tried them all, from London broil to sirloin and even flank steak. But we found the best texture and the most tender meat choice to be the eye of round.
The beauty of the the eye of round is that it is meaty, cheaply priced, and incredibly lean. Whatever meat you use, you do need to slice the beef across the grain about ⅛ to ¼-inch thick. If you want a chewier jerky then slice the meat with the grain.
You need to remove any large visible deposits of fat before drying meat for jerky. Even with the lean eye of round, veins of fat pop up and must be removed. Fat and moisture is the number one cause of beef jerky spoiling, so remove as much fat as you can.
It usually takes 2-4 hours for meat to dry in the oven. You know the beef jerky is done when it is no longer moist to the touch and does not bend without cracking. The time can vary depending on how dry your climate is, whether your oven has consistent heat and even how thick your meat slices are.
If the jerky breaks immediately when you try to bend it, then you over dried your jerky. We are always checking the status of the jerky during the drying process. Set the temperature for 170ºF for an hour, then turn the oven off for 30 minutes (my oven doesn’t go below 170ºF in temperature).
Turn the temperature back back to 170ºF and dry for another hour, then again, 30 minutes with the oven turned off. We do this about 4 times until the jerky is completely done. Remember, the total drying time depends on how large the meat pieces are.
Some of the smaller and thinner pieces dry first, so I remove them from oven before the larger pieces. If all of the pieces of meat are the same size, they should dry out at the same time.
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The Best Homemade Oven Beef Jerky
Ingredients
- 3 ½ lbs eye of round
- 1 ¾ cups Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ¾ cups soy sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 3 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 3 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 ½ teaspoon ginger powder
Instructions
- Trim all exterior fat off the eye of round. Flash freeze the meat for 1 hour so it is frozen on the outside, but soft enough on the inside to slice with a knife.
- Using a meat slicer or sharp knife slice the beef against the grain into ⅛ to ¼-inch thick strips.
- Remove any large deposits of visible fat you find in your slices.Place the beef slices into a large resealable bag.
- In a large bowl, whisk together marinade ingredients. Pour marinade into bag with the meat and seal closed.Massage and shake the meat so the marinade coats every strip.
- Place the bag in the refrigerator and marinate the beef for at least 6 hours, but up to 12 hours. The longer the beef marinates, the better flavor your beef jerky will have.
- Line a large cutting board or work surface with paper towels. Remove beef slices from marinade and place in one layer over the paper towels.
- Cover the meat with more paper towels and continue adding layers of meat and paper towels until all of the meat is removed from the marinade.
- Remove beef jerky from paper towels and place in a single layer without overlapping onto metal baking racks. You can use more than one.
- Line the bottom of your oven with aluminum foil and heat oven to 170ºF and place the racks in your oven. Prop your oven door closed with a kitchen towel. Do not close it completely.
- Bake beef jerky for 1 hour, then turn oven off for 30 minutes. Bake again for 1 hour at 170ºF and continue this method of drying out the meat until beef jerky is dry to touch. Remove smaller pieces that are done and dry.
- When beef jerky is completely dry and cooled, store in an air tight container in a cool dark place. Homemade beef jerky can last for up to 2 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
Cool recipe,but if you’re making any cured or dehydrated meats,make sure you also include 3/8 tsp of prague powder (curing salts) per 1 lb of meat. It slows bacterial growth. One of the biggest risks when making jerky,can be botulism.
You can probably get prague powder at butcher shops or just order it on amazon.
I got a one pound bag for 10 bucks.
You did a great job explaining -answered my questions-Blessings to you!
Thank you, Karen! I hope your jerky turned out well.
Laura
I’m not a big fan of beef jerky, but I know some people who consider it an essential food group. Fun recipe — even though I’ll never make it, I found it really interesting. Thanks!
I’m not a fan of beef jerky either, but my husband and kids ADORE it. I’d rather they eat the homemade version so I’m happy they love this!