Why we love beef jerky recipe
- There’s nothing better than making your own jerky at home
- The pellet grill (we use a Traeger) makes it super easy to smoke jerky perfectly
- You can make thin cut or thick cut, your choice!
- It has a robust seasoning mix that has a hint of spice and tangy finish
Testing notes and tips
- Use a lean cut of meat and/or trim all visibile fat and silver skin before slicing.
- If you place your beef in the freezer for about 90 minutes before you slice it up it will be easier to handle. I highly recommend doing this because you want to be able to make your strips of jerky a consistent thickness.
Once you have your strips of meat ready to go, mix up your marinade and toss everything together to coat well.
Cover and refrigerate for 12-24 hours, stirring a few times to make sure every little bit of the meat gets a good coating of marinade sitting on it.
Lay your beef strips down flat directly on the oven racks or smoker grill. You want to spread the strips out evenly and flat so they dry out evenly.
Walk away and wait patiently for your meat to dry. It takes a while, but it is worth the wait.
Enjoy your smoky, beefy snack.
Get the Recipe:
PALEO BEEF JERKY
Perfect homemade beef jerky on the Traeger or any smoker! Seasoned perfectly with simple ingredients, this is a simple beef jerky recipe anyone can enjoy.
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs grass-fed top round
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos
- 1/4 cup brown mustard
- 2 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp liquid smoke
- 2 Tbsp garlic powder
- 2 Tbsp onion powder
- 1 Tbsp pepper
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp salt
Equipment
Instructions
- Place your beef in the freezer for about 90 minutes and then cut it into 1/4 inch strips going against the grain.
- Mix all of the remaining ingredients together in a bowl to make the marinade. Add the meat to the bowl and mix well to cover everything completely with the marinade. Place in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours stirring a few times to get every strip coated.
- Heat your oven or smoker to 150 degrees. (If using an oven, line the bottom with aluminum foil). Lay your beef strips down flat directly on the oven racks or smoker grill. You want to spread the strips out evenly and flat so they dry out evenly. (if using an oven, prop the door open with a wooden spoon or other device while cooking for air circulation)
- At 1/4 inch thickness, it will take 7-8 hours total to dry out your jerky at around 150 degrees. Total cooking time depends a lot on the size and thickness of your strips so adjust accordingly and check it after about 4 hours to see how things are looking. Your jerky will be done when it is dry enough that you can rip off a piece easily but not so dry that it snaps when you bend it.
Did you make this recipe?Tag @realsimplegood with hashtag #realsimplegood on Instagram. We love to see what you make!
6-7 hours on 160 in the dehydrator! This is so good! I used 2 lbs of London broil and the same amount of marinade. Marinated 24 hours. I would definitely make this again. With the pepper (cayenne), I thought it would be a little too spicy but it’s perfect.
Glad you enjoyed this recipe Kara. Thanks so much for coming back to leave a rating and review 🙂
This is the most amazing beef jerky recipe. Thank you! We make this on our pellet smoker and it’s easy and very delicious. It’s so good it tastes like brisket 🙂
We have made a few modifications though, we leave out the fish sauce and use flank steak trimming out as much of the fat as we can.
Thanks Andrew, glad to hear you guys enjoy the recipe!
What about using a dehydrator?
That should work fine, you just won’t get the smoky flavor smoking it provides.
How long will this store for and what would be the best method, fridge cupboard?
It will store for several weeks in the fridge. We’ve tested it for at least 2-3 weeks, but ours hasn’t lasted much longer than that because we ate it all!