The Best Homemade Oven Beef Jerky

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.

Course Snacks

Cuisine American

Keyword beef jerky in the oven, beef jerky without dehydrator, diy beef jerky, homemade beef jerky, oven beef jerky, peppered beef jerky

Prep Time 1 30

Cook Time 4

Additional Time 12

Total Time 17 30

Servings

Calories 57kcal

Author Laura Bashar | Family Spice

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

Get Recipe Ingredients

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

If you like black pepper, sprinkle some ground black pepper over your beef strips before you place them in the oven to dry out.

Storage 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!

Nutrition