🌡 Cook to 160°F (71°C). Jerky dried below this can leave E. coli and Salmonella alive — drying alone is not the same as cooking. If your dehydrator will not reach 160°F, finish the dried strips in a 275°F oven for 10 minutes and check one with a thermometer.
5.0
2 ratings
Ingredients
- 1 lb venison, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
Directions
- Trim every trace of fat and silverskin from the venison. Fat does not dry, and it is what turns jerky rancid in storage.
- Firm the meat in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours until it is stiff but not frozen solid, which is what lets you slice it evenly.
- Slice about 1/4 inch thick. With the grain gives a chewier jerky, across the grain a more tender bite.
- Whisk the soy sauce, Worcestershire, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and liquid smoke until the sugar has fully dissolved.
- Add the venison and turn until every strip is coated. Cover and refrigerate 6 to 24 hours — longer gives a saltier, more deeply flavoured jerky.
- Drain the strips and pat both sides dry. Surface moisture slows the drying and gives a sticky finish.
- Lay the strips in a single layer with space between them, on dehydrator trays or a wire rack set over a baking sheet.
- Dry at 160°F for 3 to 4 hours. It is done when a cooled strip cracks as you bend it but does not snap in two.
- If your dehydrator will not reach 160°F, finish the dried strips in a 275°F oven for 10 minutes to bring them to a safe internal temperature.
- Cool completely before storing, or trapped steam will soften the batch. Keep in an airtight container.
Notes
Slice thickness matters more than marinade time — much thicker than 1/4 inch and the outside dries before the middle does. Stored airtight, this keeps about two weeks at room temperature and several months frozen; if you see any moisture beading inside the container, it went in before it had fully cooled.
Kit for this recipe
Links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases — it costs you nothing and helps keep the website free for all.
- Instant-read thermometer Every recipe here is written to a temperature, not a time.
- Food dehydrator Stackable trays and a real thermostat — the two things cheap ones skip.
- Vacuum sealer Sealed jerky keeps for months; a zip bag gives you weeks.
