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Sweet-Chili Beef Jerky

A mix of sweet, heat, and savory flavors
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time10 minutes
Active Time5 hours
Marinating Time19 hours 27 minutes
Total Time1 day 37 minutes

Ingredients

  • Any cut of lean beef

Marinade

  • 1 Tbsp Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
  • 1/2 Cup Water
  • 1/3 Cup Molasses
  • 1/2 Tbsp Distilled White Vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 Tbsp Black Pepper
  • 1/2 Tbsp Chili Powder
  • 1/2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
  • 1/2 Tbsp Onion Powder
  • 1/2 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
  • 1/2 Tbsp Cloves

Instructions

Slicing the Jerky Meat

  • If your meat is thawed, put in freezer for 30 minutes. If your meat is frozen, defrost in refrigerator until the meat is somewhat frozen/malleable.
    Any cut of lean beef
  • Trim the meat, removing any exterior fat/silver skin.
  • Identify the grain direction of the meat and slice either with or against it. If you prefer soft jerky, slice against the grain. If you like jerky with a bit of "tug" slice with the grain.
  • Slice the jerky between 1/8 - 1/4" thick.

Create Jerky Marinade and Marinate Jerky

  • Combine the marinade ingredients in the specified quantities in a bowl and ensure the salt, molasses, and dark brown sugar are well combined.
    1/3 Cup Molasses, 1/2 Tbsp Distilled White Vinegar, 1 Tbsp Dark Brown Sugar, 1/2 Tbsp Black Pepper, 1/2 Tbsp Chili Powder, 1/2 Tbsp Garlic Powder, 1/2 Tbsp Onion Powder, 1/2 Tbsp Smoked Paprika, 1/2 Tbsp Cloves
  • Put your sliced jerky meat in a ziplock bag. Then put your marinade into the bag with the jerky.
  • Roll the bag on top of itself to force out air, then close the bag. Leave the bag in your refrigerator overnight.
    My jerky marinated for 19 hours and 27 minutes.

Heat Treating Jerky for Lethality

  • Pre-heat your oven to 350F.
  • Take out baking pans and line it with aluminum foil. Then put oven safe cooling racks on top of the pan so that the jerky is elevated. Elevating the jerky also helps prevent case hardening.
  • Arrange the jerky on the cooling racks so that they don't overlap and so that they interact minimally.
  • Place temperature probe in the thick piece you sliced. You want the probe to reach the thermal center of the meat.
  • Once the oven is pre-heated, put the baking pan on the middle rack and wait for the thick piece to reach 158F internal. When the thick piece is 158, the thin pieces are also 158.
    This process takes roughly 10 minutes.
  • While waiting for the jerky to reach 158F, get your dehydrator to 130-160F - I used 131F on my dehydrator.

Dehydrating the Jerky

  • Once heat treated, take the jerky out and start placing them on the dehydrator trays. You want the jerky so that it's not overlapping and so that they aren't touching.
  • Simply wait for the jerky to be done.
    As you might expect, thin jerky finishes faster than thick jerky. If you sliced thin, check after 3 hours of dehydrating and then every 30 minutes to an hour after that.

Checking for Doneness

  • When checking for doneness, bend the jerky to expose the muscle fibers. If you see hues of red/pink, the meat is visibly moist, or it's rubbery, it needs to dehydrate longer.
  • If the bend is dry and has white spider-webbing, it's considered done.
  • As the jerky finishes, put into a sandwich baggy with the top open. This way you prevent condensation from happening inside the bag and you allow heat/moisture to escape. Once it's cool, close the bag and store in a cool/dry/dark place.
  • For longer storage, use a freezer bag/vacuum sealer with food-grade desiccant bags.