Korean BBQ, Flank Steak Beef Jerky: Recipe & How-to

What Beef to Use

This recipe uses Flank Steak.

Other cuts that would work:

• Top round
• Eye of round
• Brisket Flat
• Bottom round

If your goal is preservation, look for meat that completely lacks fat.

Slicing the Meat for Jerky

The way you slice your beef jerky will depend on your taste preferences:

• If you prefer soft beef jerky = Slice against the grain.
• If you prefer jerky with a tug = Slice with the grain.

If you’re unsure of what grain is, read this article.

You also want to slice the meat to roughly 1/8″ – 1/4″ thick.

Slicing this thin will allow the meat to dehydrate in a timely manner.

Korean BBQ Beef Jerky Marinade Ingredients:

This marinade is for ~1 lb of beef.

• 1/3 Cup Kikkoman Soy Sauce
• 1/3 Cup Water
• 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
• 1/4 Cup Honey
• 2 Tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp Gochujang
• 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Tsp Onion Powder
• 1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
• 1/2 Tbsp Ground Black Pepper
• 1 Tbsp Ground Ginger
• 1 Tbsp Mustard Powder
• 1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 Tsp Allspice

In a bowl combine these ingredients and ensure the honey and dark brown sugar are dissolved.

If you don’t like heat, omit the Gochujang – like heat, double it.

Marinating the Beef Jerky

Take your sliced beef and add it to a ziplock bag or non-reactive container.

Then take your marinade and add it to the container and massage it into the meat.

Marinate for at least 2 hours or ideally, overnight.

Heat Treating the Beef Jerky

I like to heat treat my beef jerky so that I can dehydrate at a lower temperature – I find the jerky is much softer this way.

If you don’t care about this step, skip it – dehydrate at 160F.

Set your oven to 350F.

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

Put your marinated beef jerky strips on top of the cooling racks.

Once pre-heated, place on the middle rack of your oven for 10 minutes.

While heat treating, set your dehydrator to 130-140F.

Dehydrating the Beef Jerky

Once the jerky is heat treated, transfer the meat to the dehydrator trays – ensure that none of the strips are overlapping.

After 3 hours of dehydrating, start checking for doneness.

Checking the Jerky for Doneness

Usually jerky meat that is sliced to 1/8″ – 1/4″ will finish in 3-5 hours.

At 3 hours, take a few strips out of the dehydrator that you suspect are done. Allow them to cool for 5 – 10 minutes.

Once cooled, take a piece and bend/tear and look for spider webbing.

If the jerky feels like rubber and has hues of red/pink at the bend, it’s not done and needs to dehydrate longer.

Typically jerky will finish dehydrating after 3-5 hours.

Store in a Ziplock Bag

Once the jerky starts finishing, transfer to a ziplock bag with the top open and allow it aerate.

This ensures that steam isn’t trapped.

Once cooled, zip the top and store in a cool, dry, dark place.