Deer Jerky Recipe
Here’s my favorite go-to recipe for venison jerky, which can be modified to work in the dehydrator or in the oven. If you have other meat that you would prefer to use (including beef, bison, or other wild game), this recipe will work as well.
Author: NewLifeonAHomestead.com
- 1 lb venison fat and skin removed
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 tablespoon A-1 Steak Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
Slice the venison into strips that are about 1/4″ thick (slightly frozen meat will cut more easily than meat that is completely thawed or warm).
Start preparing your marinade. In a large mixing bowl, stir all of the ingredients together.
Then, add meat and let marinate several hours, or overnight. You can marinate in a plastic bag or in a glass container.
Place the meat strips on the dehydrator trays.
Set your dehydrator on the jerky setting (155*F, 68*C). Make sure you do not overlap the meat when filling the trays or racks.
Leave the meat in the dehydrator for 4-5 hours. You can tell the jerky is ready when you can bend the meat and, with some pressure, it snaps.
- When slicing the strips, try to remove the membranes from the meat if possible, as this can give the jerky a bit more chewiness. Most people don’t notice it, so if you do miss a few pieces of membrane, it’s not a huge deal. You can always cut it out later if you make any mistakes.
- The pieces of venison do not have to be cut into uniform shapes, but if you can, keep the thickness roughly the same. The pieces will cook more evenly, and the batch will finish in a shorter amount of time.
- If using more than four trays of jerky strips or if using an older or lower quality dehydrator, it can take up to 10 hours for the jerky to cure properly.