Beef Jerky in Electric Smoker: A Complete Guide (with Pictures!)

Last Updated:
May 21, 2024
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This recipe combines smoke with my simple, Honey Teriyaki marinade.

how to smoke beef jerky on electric smoker

What Meat to Use for Beef Jerky?

This recipe used London broil (from the chuck instead of top round.

Other cuts that work great for jerky:

  • Round tip
  • Bottom round
  • Eye of round
  • Brisket flat
  • Flank steak
  • Round tip
slicing london broil chuck for beef jerky

If your intention is to preserve the jerky, I’d look for cuts that are as lean as possible.

Slicing the Meat for Beef Jerky

The way you slice will depend on your taste preferences:

  • For tender/soft jerky – slice against the grain.
  • For jerky with a “tug” – slice with the grain.

If you need more help identifying grain direction, check out this article.

jerky grain direction examples

In terms of thickness, you want to slice around 1/8 – 1/4″ thick. This is both for ease of dehydration and salt/marinade penetration.

Beef Jerky Marinade Ingredients

This Honey Teriyaki marinade is for 1 lb of meat:

  • 1/3 cup Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce
  • 1 tsp Granulated garlic
  • 1 tsp 16 mesh black pepper
  • 1/4 cup Bachans Original Japanese Barbecue Sauce
  • 1/4 cup McClure’s Creamed Honey*

*If you don’t have creamed honey, use regular honey.

Combine the Above Ingredients in a Pot

Ingredients like creamed honey will have a hard time combining with the other ingredients.

I prefer to heat them up under LOW heat, agitating the mixture until the honey is combined.

Once combined, you take off the heat to cool.

combine honey in marinade

Marinating the Jerky

Once the liquid is cooled, put it inside the ziplock bag with your beef jerky.

Force as much air out of the bag as possible; I prefer to roll the bag on top of itself and then zip the end.

roll bag to push oxygen out

Then put in your refrigerator for at least 2 hours to marinate; I prefer to marinate overnight.

Getting Jerky and Electric Smoker Ready

The next day, get your electric smoker pre-heated to 180F.

From here, either place directly on the grill grates or put them on skewers and hang between the grill grates.

skewer beef jerky to hang

Once the meat is skewered and your smoker is up to temperature, lay the skewers across the grates and allow the jerky to hang between the grates.

hang jerky from smoker grates

You may need to spread it out as you don’t want the jerky to touch (as this would prevent drying).

Adding Wood Chips to the Smoker

This is where a lot of people go wrong and that’s speaking from experience.

ONLY add 3-5 wood chips every 45-60 minutes for 2 hours.

add cherry wood chips to electric smoker

I prefer cherry wood smoke with beef jerky so that’s what I used.

The biggest reason I like cherry is because my goal with smoke is to use it as another ingredient for flavor purposes.

My goal in terms of taste is:

  1. Marinade ingredients
  2. The beef
  3. The smoke

By using a stronger wood you change this order of taste to smoke first, then marinade, and then maybe the beef.

Waiting for the Beef Jerky to Be Done

Smoked beef jerky that’s been cut to 1/8 – 1/4″ thick will be done at around 3-4 hours.

After 3 hours I did a bend test at the center of the meat and it showed the typical “spider webbing” I’m after.

beef jerky done after 3 hours

Put in a Bag

What I’ve found is that the flavor tends to improve a day after with smoked jerky.

Simply put it in a paper or plastic bag with the top open. Doing this will allow the jerky to cool and allow it to aerate.

teriyaki beef jerky

The next day simply take out of your bag and enjoy.

If you’re after long term storage solutions, be sure to check out this article where I tested several options.

how to smoke beef jerky on electric smoker
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5 from 2 votes

Smoked Teriyaki Beef Jerky on Electric Smoker

Prep Time1 day
Active Time3 hours
Total Time1 day 3 hours
Course: Snack
Cuisine: American

Equipment

  • Electric Smoker
  • Skewers
  • Sharp knife
  • Cutting board
  • Ziplock bags

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Lean Beef I used London broil (chuck)
  • 1/3 cup Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce
  • 1/4 cup Bachans Original Japanese Barbecue Sauce
  • 1/4 cup McClure's Creamed Honey
  • 1 tsp 16 Mesh Black Pepper
  • 1 tsp Granulated Garlic

Instructions

Slicing and Marinating Beef Jerky

  • If you bought your jerky unfrozen, put into your freezer for 30 minutes. This makes slicing easier.
    1 lb Lean Beef
  • If you prefer tender jerky, slice it against the grain. If you prefer jerky with a "tug" slice with the grain.
    In both instances, make the slices 1/8 – 1/4" thick.
  • Once sliced, weigh your beef jerky with an electronic food scale. My jerky was 340.9g.
  • Add the beef jerky to a zip lock bag and place in your refrigerator while you prepare your marinade.
  • To a pot add your ingredients in the specified quantities.
    Note: The amount of liquid ingredients I used are for my specific weight of my jerky. To see how I ascertained these values, scroll up in the article.
    Using more meat would require more marinade.
    1/3 cup Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce, 1/4 cup Bachans Original Japanese Barbecue Sauce, 1/4 cup McClure's Creamed Honey, 1 tsp 16 Mesh Black Pepper, 1 tsp Granulated Garlic
  • Set your heat to LOW. The goal here isn't to simmer or boil the ingredients. All you're doing is allowing the honey to be well combined with the other ingredients.
  • Once combined, take off the heat and allow to cool.
  • Once cooled, add marinade to the ziplock bag with the beef jerky.
  • Roll the bag closed to force out air and then lock the top. Place in your refrigerator to marinate for at least 2 hours. I marinated overnight.

Smoking the Jerky

  • The next day, get your smoker ready by preheating it to 180F.
  • Get your beef jerky and place in your smoker. You could technically place right on the grates, evenly spaced out, however I prefer to hang from skewers.
  • To hang, simply put one end of the jerky on the skewer and space them out so none of the strips are touching.
  • Once on the skewers, place on the grates so that they hang between the grates. Again, be mindful that none of the pieces touch.
  • Once hanging, close the smoker door and then add your wood chips. I used 3 cherry wood chips.
  • After 45-60 minutes, add another 3 cherry wood chips.
  • I know from experience that beef jerky cut to 1/8 – 1/4" will be done after around 3 hours. So I set a timer for 3 hours.
  • After 3 hours the jerky was done – verified by bending a piece and looking at the cross section. You should see a distinct "spider webbing."
  • From there, place in a new ziplock bag or paper bag and allow to cool with the top open. This will allow the jerky to aerate.
  • Once cooled, close the top and store in a cool dry place.
    I also find that the flavor of smoked beef jerky improves the next day.
dylan bio profile picture
Dylan Clay
Dylan Clay is a pitmaster based in New Hampshire, with over 17 years of experience in grilling, smoking, and dehydrating meat. Throughout this time, he has worked with nearly every cut of meat. In 2019, he launched the Barbecue FAQ website to share his extensive knowledge about all things meat, aiming to assist others in making better barbecue at home.

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  1. 5 stars
    Thanks for the clear instructions and recipe. I didn’t have any skewers so I just laid the strips on my grates – came out great!

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