It’s easy to make your own beef jerky and it’ll be better than anything you can buy in the store!

Beef Jerky

Beef Jerky

When it comes to survival food, jerky is certainly at the top of the list. This delicious, high protein meat snack is the perfect food for hiking, camping, or survival. Fortunately, it’s a lot easier to make than you probably think.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

3/4 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 pounds top round beef, thinly sliced *

Beef Jerky Ingredients

Directions:

1. Whisk the Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, smoked paprika, honey, ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and onion powder together in a big bowl. Add beef to the bowl one slice at a time; turn to completely coat beef. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator, 3 hours to overnight. We like to marinate ours about 4 hours, but experiment to see how you like yours.

2. Preheat oven to 175 degrees F (80 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack over the foil. **

3. Transfer beef to paper towels to dry. Discard marinade. Arrange beef slices in a single layer on the prepared wire rack on the baking sheet.

4. Bake beef in the preheated oven until dry and leathery, 3 to 4 hours.

5. When the beef is dry, blot the surface with a paper towel to remove any oil. Cut with scissors into bite-size pieces and store in an airtight container.

Marinade Beef – Beef Jerky

*  To make slicing easier, partially freeze the beef and use a long sharp knife to make thin slices across the grain. Of course, the easiest way to get perfect slices is to just ask your butcher. Our butcher knows exactly how we like it sliced and it saves us a lot of work!

** If you have a food dehydrator, drying your beef jerky will be even easier. Skip the oven, and instead, just pat your beef slices dry and place on the racks of your dehydrator. Set temperature to 165 degrees F and dry for 6 to 8 hours, depending on the thickness of your beef slices.