Last Updated on December 11, 2023 by Deliciously Organic
Memorial Day weekend arrives in just a few days, which means lots of summertime road trips and homemade beef jerky!
Kids are getting out of school, so summer vacations can’t be far behind. In our family, we like to take road trips. We pack a trip bag full of books, games, a camera, binoculars (the kids especially love these) and of course, lots of good food. I have my mainstays like homemade Larabars, hard-boiled eggs, fruit, cheese, homemade crackers, and graham crackers. This week I decided to test some homemade beef jerky for our upcoming trip. It’s so easy, I don’t know why I haven’t made it before. You simply slice up some meat, marinate, and dehydrate in the oven.
Like it spicy? Add some black pepper or cayenne. Sweet? Add some extra honey. Ginger, garlic, lime – the possibilities are endless. Now all you need is a destination.
PrintHomemade Beef Jerky (Grain Free, Paleo)
This recipe is very mild and kid-friendly. If you like it spicier you can season the meat with extra black pepper before putting it in the oven.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 12 hours 40 minutes
- Category: Snack
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
For the meat:
- 1 pound brisket, skirt steak, or bottom round
For the marinade:
- 1/4 cup fermented tamari or coconut aminos
- 3 tablespoons raw honey
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the meat in the freezer for 30 minutes (to make it easier to slice). Remove the steak from the freezer and slice into 1/4-inch thick slices. Place the meat slices in a large baking dish (such as 11×7-inch). Whisk tamari, honey, garlic, ginger, and black pepper in a small bowl. Pour sauce over meat, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours.
- Preheat oven to 200ºF and adjust rack to middle position. Set 2 cooling racks on top of 2 large, rimmed baking sheets. Remove the beef from marinade and pat dry. Arrange the beef on the racks, leaving 1/4-inch between slices. Bake for about 4 hours, until jerky is firm and almost completely dry but still chewy. Cool completely. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Makes 1 pound of jerky. About 25 pieces.
mmmmmmmmmmmm. Will have to investigate the freezer to see what cuts we might have that would work for this.
I love homemade beef jerky!!! It’s the best!
So cool… Homemade must taste so much better than the overly dry one from the store. I will give it a try!
Cannot WAIT to try this!
Very cool. We used to do this when I was little!
Have the skirt steak freezing for 30 minutes…can’t wait to see how this turns out!! Great idea, b/c there’s absolutely no good jerky in the stores!
Carrie, with my protein packed lifestyle beef jerky is a favorite! Thanks for this awesome recipe, I must try it out. My kids would love it 🙂
It would just so have it that my husband mentioned making jerky to me the other day. We recently bought a beast between a number of family members so there is a freezer of meat just waiting for him to do something with it and jerky would be an ideal snack for him. This recipe looks right up his ally.
I made it and it turned out really tasty! Thanks for the great recipe, Carrie!
Yahoo, finally beef jerky without all the additives. I made this last week and my son LOVED it! I used tri-tip and my butcher even sliced it up for me, he offered, it was much more thinly sliced than I could have done on my own :o). This was probably one of the easiest snacks I’ve made in a long time. Thank you!
This is perfect timing because I have some grass fed beef in the freezer that needs to be used up before we PCS…this will be great trip food for us! Thanks!
I have three boys and they just discovered beef jerky this year – but the only kind I was willing to buy is so expensive. They are going to be thrilled when I make this and it will be nice to have it for back to school too! Thanks!
I’ve tried this once before with top round and it turned out incredible!My husband and oldest son fought over the last piece! I’m trying it again today with a London Broil and deer backstrap. I added red pepper flakes and a couple dashes red pepper to the deer meat.The marinade smells so yummy! Hope they turn out as good as last time!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
My husband loves teriyaki jerky, what would I need to change?
What have you all found to be the best cut of meet for this?
Hi there – I was wondering if it was a must to use fermented soy/tamari instead of regular (or are they all fermented?). This looks perfect to have as a snack for our upcoming vacation 🙂
Hi – I’m wondering if this can be frozen after it’s made?
I haven’t tried it, but I think it would freeze very well.
Can this be made without the honey?
I haven’t tested it, but you can give it a try!
I picked up a few extra pounds of grass fed ground beef at the market, it was on sale, cheap and fresh. So, I decided to try to make ground beef jerky. Using your basic recipe for the marinade and adding a little extra pepper, I let it marinate over night. It turned out amazingly delicious. I used my tortilla press to flatten out little balls of beef (between sheets of plastic bag) so they are about 3 inch rounds of jerky. I then cooked at 170 degrees for 2 hours on racks as described in your recipe. Awesome!
Carrie – What are your thoughts on dehydrators vs. using the oven? Do you have a favorite (brand, model, number of trays, etc.)?
They are great!! I love the one from Radiant Life because it’s made of stainless steel. Here’s the link: http://www.radiantlifecatalog.com/product/dehydrator-stainless-steel/kitchen-items