By Dylan Clay
If you’re a first time beef jerky maker, this recipe is usually what I tell people to start with. It starts with a slight sweet taste but features a peppery pop that’s super appetizing.
This recipe specifically uses Brisket Flat, however, any cut that is lean and cheap will work.
I had this meat frozen in my freezer and it was already portioned for beef jerky, so that’s what I used.
If you don’t have brisket flat at your grocery store, some of the best options you can use are:
Any of these are great options because the lean meat contains very little fat.
Regardless of the cut of meat you’re working with, you want to remove most of the exterior fat and silver skin.
The reason for removing the fat is because it won’t render and it will inevitably lead to rancidity.
The reason for removing the silver skin is because it won’t entirely render. Rather, it’s a protein meaning it will shrink and offer a sort of “snappy” feel in the mouth when you go to bite your jerky.
Since I’m working with brisket flat, I know one side has a fat cap.
Simply use a sharp knife and slice the fat and silver skin off.
Note: If there’s some silver skin on the meat, it’s not a huge deal. It’s still edible.
Once you’ve trimmed your meat, you then need to slice it into even strips for jerky. The typical recommended thickness is between 1/8 – 1/4″ thick.
You also need to determine if you like your meat “soft/tender” or with a bit of tug:
I prefer my jerky soft/tender so I sliced against the grain, that looks like this:
If I were to slice with the grain, you’d simply slice with the grain direction (the white line above.
The ingredient quantities below are based on 0.75 to 1 lb of jerky meat. I’d suggest only working with 1 lb of meat at a time and making separate batches as apposed to trying to scale this recipe.
Peppered Beef Jerky Marinade Ingredients:
*In terms of the pepper, stick with 16 mesh if you can. Regular table ground black pepper won’t have the same effect (ie. the peppery pop).
If you can’t find 16 mesh black pepper, grind your own peppercorns.
Add your sliced beef to a non-reactive container.
I make a lot of beef jerky and use NSF pans that I can dishwash after. If you don’t have these or a glass container, use a ziplock bag.
Then take your marinade ingredients and combine them. Ensure that the molasses and kosher salt are entirely dissolved.
Then add them to the container and massage it into the meat.
If you’re using ziplock bags, roll the bag on top of itself and force the air out.
Here’s the beef jerky the day after marinating:
While a lot of jerky recipes don’t mention lethality treatments, they take about 10 minutes to do and further help to kill off bacteria and microbes.
The jerky also tastes the exact same.
Here’s how to heat treat beef jerky:
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (to make clean-up easier).
Top of the baking sheet with metal cooling racks.
The reason for the cooling racks is to prevent case-hardening which can cause uneven dehydration.
Then place your marinated beef jerky strips on top of the cooling racks.
Pre-heat your oven to 350F.
If you have a meat probe, find a thicker piece of jerky and probe the meat – the goal is to reach 158F internal; Typically this takes ~10 minutes.
While your meat is heat treating, get your dehydrator ready and program it to somewhere between 131-165F (the reason you can go lower now is because we’ve just heat treated the meat).
Going lower and slower in terms of dehydration also will further improve texture and result a softer exterior.
After 10 minutes – or when the thick piece reaches 158F, take the baking sheets out of the oven.
Once the meat is done heat treating, put it on your Dehydrator trays and begin dehydrating.
Depending on how thick you cut the meat, it will take around 3-5 hours to completely finish.
Here’s this batch of beef jerky after 4 hours:
I’ve made tons so I know what to look for and can visually see that it’s done. However, I’d suggest following this guide and using the bend test to check the beef jerky.
Once you determine that the meat is done, put it into a storage bag with the lid open. Doing so will allow the meat to aerate and ensures that moisture isn’t trapped in the bag (which could lead to mold).
After around an hour of cooling, close the bag and store in a cool, dry place.
Beef jerky stored in this manner should last around 2 weeks.
