Chipotle Bourbon Beef Jerky Recipe

Meat to Use for this Jerky Recipe

This recipe uses sirloin tip.

If you can’t find sirloin tip, use:

• London Broil or Top Round
• Brisket Flat
• Bottom Round
• etc.

Slicing the Meat

Dylan’s Tip: If the meat is unfrozen, put it into your freezer for 30 minutes to 1 hour; This will make slicing far easier.

• For softer jerky – slice against the grain.
• For jerky with a “tug” – slice with the grain.

Slice the meat roughly 1/8″ – 1/4″ thick.

Chipotle Bourbon Beef Jerky Marinade

This marinade is for roughly 1 lb of meat.

Combine in a bowl:

• 1/3 cup Dark Brown Sugar
• 1/2 cup Teriyaki Sauce
• 1/4 cup Honey
• 1/4 cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce
• 2 tbsp Orange Juice
• 1/4 cup Water
• 1/4 cup Bourbon*
• 2 tsp Chipotle Pepper Powder
• 2 Garlic Cloves, grated
• 1 small white onion, grated
• 2 tsp Liquid smoke*
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cumin

*The Liquid Smoke I use is Allegro Hickory Liquid Smoke.

*The bourbon I like is Basil Hayden.

Dealing with the Sharpness of the Alcohol

While the bourbon flavor is great in this recipe, if you do a finger test of the marinade the alcohol flavor is likely too sharp.

By bringing it to a slight simmer and then taking off the heat, you take some of the alcohol out of the marinade slowly.

Repeat this process of bringing to a slight simmer, then taking off the heat and allowing to cool – stirring as you do so.

Once cooled, take a finger test each time and see if the alcohol is still too sharp (in the back of your throat).

I repeated this process twice over the course of 30 minutes, 15 minutes to cool and taste test.

Once to your liking, allow to cool and then marinate beef in a Ziplock bag for 48 hours.

The reason for the longer marination time is because I want to ensure as much of the bourbon is absorbed as possible.

Heat Treating the Beef Jerky to Improve Texture via Lower Dehydration Temperature

If you don’t care about this step, skip it – just dehydrate at 160F until the jerky is done.

I like my jerky soft – one of the better ways to achieve this is by dehydrating at a lower temperature (around 130F).

Pre-heat your oven to 350F.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and then place metal cooling racks on top:

Place marinated beef jerky on top of the cooling racks.

Once your oven is at 350F, put your baking sheet in the oven on the middle rack for 10 minutes.

While your meat is heat treating, get your dehydrator setup to 130F.

Dehydrating the Beef Jerky

Once the beef jerky is heat treated, transfer to your dehydrator and allow the beef jerky to dehydrate for at least 3 hours.

After 3 Hours, Start Checking the Jerky for Doneness

Most Jerky will finish in 3-5 hours.

At 3 hours, take a smaller piece out of the dehydrator and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.

Once cooled, bend it – the jerky should have a noticeable spider webbing at the bend.

If the jerky still feels like rubber and the bend has hues of red and pink – it’s not done.

Keep checking a new piece every 30 minutes.

Store the Jerky in a Cool, Dry, Dark Place

As the jerky starts to finish, transfer to a ziplock bag to cool.

Leave the top open and allow it to aerate.

Then zip the top and store.