The Best Homemade Beef Jerky Recipe
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This is the best homemade beef jerky recipe, and it’s easy to make without any special equipment.
After road tripping with my family and sampling jerky from gas stations along the way — and spending a small fortune on it — I resolved to come up with a good homemade beef jerky recipe. The good news is that beef jerky is surprisingly easy to make and doesn’t require any special equipment other than a standard oven, baking sheets, and wire racks. However, most homemade jerky isn’t nearly as tender as the store-bought kind. That’s because commercial jerky producers use special equipment and curing preservatives to make their signature jerky. Finally, after falling down an internet rabbit hole of pitmaster video tutorials, I learned the secret to making tender jerky at home: adding plenty of sugar to the marinade. The extra sugar not only helps preserve the meat but also locks in moisture. This recipe makes a salty-sweet, smoky jerky with a chewy yet tender texture, similar to the well-known brands.
What You’ll Need To Make Homemade Beef Jerky
When making beef jerky, it’s important to start with a well-trimmed, lean cut of meat, as fat does not dry out and accelerates spoilage. An eye of round roast is ideal; it’s affordable, accessible, lean, and easy to trim. Before slicing, pop it in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours; it will be much easier to cut.
The marinade contains soy sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, seasoning, and unseasoned meat tenderizer. Meat tenderizer contains bromelain, an enzyme that breaks down meat tissue. You can find it in the spice section of your supermarket (I use McCormick).
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Slice the Meat
Slice the meat between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick with the grain. If the roast is too thick to slice easily, cut it in half horizontally before slicing.
2. Make the Marinade
In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, meat tenderizer, black pepper, red pepper flakes, onion powder, and garlic powder.
Whisk until evenly combined and the sugar is dissolved.
3. Marinate the Beef
Add the meat to the marinade and toss until all of the pieces are evenly coated. Cover with plastic wrap (or transfer to a large ziplock bag) and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours or overnight. Toss the meat (or flip the bag) once or twice to be sure the meat marinates evenly.
4. Dry Out The Meat
Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil for easy clean-up. Place a wire rack over each pan. Preheat the oven to 175°F and set two oven racks in the centermost positions.
Arrange the marinated meat on the wire racks in a single layer.
Bake, rotating the pans from front to back and top to bottom midway through, until the meat is dried out, 3 to 4 hours. To determine if the jerky is thoroughly dried out, take a piece out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature. It should be dry to the touch, leather-like in appearance, and chewy but still somewhat tender.
Store the jerky inside an airtight plastic container, Ziploc bag, or airtight glass jars. Properly dried jerky will keep at room temperature for about one week.
video tutorial
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The Best Homemade Beef Jerky Recipe
This is the best homemade beef jerky recipe, and it’s easy to make without any special equipment.
Ingredients
- One 3-pound eye of round roast (see note), trimmed of fat and silver skin
- 1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon unseasoned meat tenderizer (see note)
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Slice the meat between ⅛ and ¼ inch thick with the grain. (If the roast is too thick to slice easily, cut it in half horizontally before slicing.)
- Make the marinade: In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, meat tenderizer, black pepper, red pepper flakes, onion powder, and garlic powder. Whisk until evenly combined and the sugar is dissolved.
- Add the meat to the marinade and toss until all of the pieces are evenly coated. Cover with plastic wrap or transfer to a large ziplock bag and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours or overnight. Toss the meat (or flip the bag) once or twice to be sure the meat marinates evenly.
- Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil for easy clean-up. Place a wire rack over each pan. Preheat the oven to 175°F and set two oven racks in the centermost positions.
- Arrange the marinated meat on the wire racks in a single layer. Bake, rotating the pans from front to back and top to bottom midway through, until the meat is dried out, 3 to 4 hours. To determine if the jerky is thoroughly dried out, take a piece out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature. It should be dry to the touch, leather-like in appearance, and chewy but still somewhat tender.
- Store the jerky inside an airtight plastic container, Ziploc bag, or airtight glass jars. Properly dried jerky will keep at room temperature for about one week. Refrigerate or freeze for longer storage.
- Note: Pop the meat in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours before slicing; it will be easier to cut.
- Note: Meat tenderizer contains bromelain, an enzyme that breaks down meat tissue. You can find it in the spice section of your supermarket. (I use McCormick.)
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It wasn’t my favorite. I didn’t HATE it, but I didn’t LOVE it either. Very, meh, it’s ok.
This looks fabulous! I’m thinking it would make a nice gift for family and friends. Should be ok to mail right? Especially if I do priority mail? Let me know, thanks 😊
Yes, I think that should work. Hope your recipients enjoy!
Thanks for getting back to me Jen! Made it today and let me tell ya, this batch won’t make it to family and friends, we gobbled it up! So DELICIOUS! Question, do you think it would work with chicken….or better yet with salmon?
So glad you enjoyed it, Christine! I haven’t tried this recipe with other meats but I do think it would work well. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it.
I would also add liquid smoke. It really brings up the flavor and makes jerky even better.
Can you use a dehydrator with this recipe. I have a air fryer with a dehydrator.
Hi Marlena, Surprisingly, I found that the jerky turned out much better (and more tender) when made in the oven as opposed to the dehydrator, so I’d recommend sticking with the oven.
Jenn, I’m the wife of a cattle buyer, here in Canada. My husband loves his beef and this year he bought a 4H calf (online)at a show he judged (online). I have cuts of beef now that I am not used to using. The stew meat is excellent but after trying 3 recipes I still dislike stew. I tried your jerky thinking this MIGHT help me wade through some packages. WOW! I first made the recipe with a tenderloin roast(excellent jerky but such a fine cut is unnecessary and a waste of a good steak). Then I used an eye of the round(perfect)….I should have let it bake for the 4 hours….but I was worried that it might not be tender….so took it out at 3 hours. It is definitely edible but doesn’t have the ‘chewy’ of beef jerky. THEN I tried it on the stew meat. My husband pounded the meat with a wooden meat hammer. (My grandkids are going to LOVE doing this when we can be together again!) The result is AMAZING! The only thing I can compare it to is the beef version of candied salmon. I baked it for 3 hours. Oh yes….I ran out of soy sauce and used 1/3 cup of hoisin sauce…on two of the recipes. I just finished making it the 4th time….(we sent one full recipe to the grandkids..they loved it, too!)
My husband takes any of the above versions to the auction market with him (which is not shut down right now). All the other cattle buyers, the auctioneer, and the cook ‘eat it like vultures’, my husband says. They want me to sell it! (Till Easter I am giving up sweets for Lent. I think I am still going to categorize your beef jerky as meat.)
By the way, Jenn……I have never had a failure with any of your recipes…today I’m going to try the cheese egg bites.
I have never even thought of making jerky before but this recipe piqued my interest. It was not difficult at all and the result was great. The jerky was tender and flavorful. My whole family has enjoyed it. The only thing I would do different is cut the slices of beef in half before I marinated/baked them so that my pieces were not really wide, but just as easy to do it afterward.
Hello, Jenn,
I was wondering why you advise to slice the meat WITH the grain instead of AGAINST the grain? When slicing a beef roast, I usually slice against the grain for more tender results. Would the jerky would be too tender and lack the appealing “chew” that makes jerky, “jerky?”
That’s exactly right. I tried cutting the beef both ways and I found that if you cut it against the grain that the finished jerky almost gets too tender and a bit crumbly.
Exactly..
People wonder why their jerky is chewy??
Simple fix, without adding all those nasty sugars.. cut across the grain!!
I always cut ACROSS the grain. Oldest trick in the book. 🙂
My 1st try at homemade jerky–fantastic! Jen, you never fail. Better than store bought jerky. Highly recommend.
I love this recipe! I used venison as the meat, therefore very tender, so I did not use the tenderizer. It is a very good tasting marinade. Not too sweet or spicy. I did make 2 additions : one half cup of liquid smoke, and 1 tsp. ground celery seed powder. Thank you for such an easy , have on hand ingredients style recipe 🙂
This is by far the best beef jerky! So easy to make. Thanks Jenn
Hi Jen – I can’t wait to try this recipe out. It was perfect timing too. We were cleaning out the attic and found the Ronco Food Dehydrator that my husband bought back in the 90’s. I forgot we even had this and it still works. I know that your marinade will be perfect to try it out again.