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This recipe for Venison Jerky easily compares to what you might buy at specialty shops. It’s very well seasoned and not hard to make. Best used with deer or elk backstrap or loin for easiest cutting.
For the first 15 years of our marriage, our family practically lived on venison that my husband hunted, both deer and elk. After much trial and error, I learned the best recipes for using the roasts, steaks, or burger. One of those recipes was for jerky, which our daughters loved.
Tips on Making Jerky
The hardest part or rather the most time-consuming part is cutting the meat. This is my husband’s job. He likes working with the backstrap best, as it has less sinew to cut off. Once the meat has been thinly sliced across the grain, place it in a gallon bucket. An ice cream pail works well for this.
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Buy Now → Some folks dry their jerky in an oven, but I prefer to make mine using a dehydrator. My dehydrator has 4 racks, which works well for this recipe.
In the past, I’ve tried to save time by doubling or tripling this recipe, but I encourage you to make one recipe at a time. While there is room in the bucket for 2 or 3 recipes, placing too much meat in a bucket keeps it from soaking in the brine properly. When I keep things to one recipe, the meat is much better seasoned.
Ingredients for Venison Jerky
(See the full recipe at the bottom of this post.)
Instructions for Making This Recipe
Gather your ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.
Slice the Meat
With a sharp carving or Santoku knife, thinly slice the venison meat across the grain, about 1/4″ thick. Cutting the meat when it’s slightly frozen works best. Also, try to cut out any membrane, as this will create a very chewy jerky
For best results, always work with partially frozen meat. Try to keep your slices the same thickness so that the meat cooks more evenly.
Place the sliced meat in a gallon bucket with lid.
An gallon ice cream pail works well for this but use what you have.
Mix the Seasoning Sauce
In a large measuring cup, combine the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, lemon pepper, hot sauce, hickory smoke, ground ginger, garlic salt, onion salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Stir well.
Pour the marinade over the sliced meat and mix well. and refrigerate for 24 hours.
You’ll want to stir this a few times during the marinating time to make sure the marinade is penetrating the meat. The seasoned meat will turn dark. Unseasoned meat will be red.
Dehydrate the Venison
After 24 hours, when the meat has been adequately seasoned and has turned dark, begin the drying process. Pat dry each slice of meat with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Then place it on the drying trays, allowing a bit of space between each piece for the air to flow through.
If desired, sprinkle with seasoned salt.
Cook for 8-10 hours at 145-150°F. Turn meat once or twice to check the dehydration. Some pieces may dry faster than others, depending on the thickness. When pieces are done, remove them from the rack and continue to dry the rest.
This recipe will fill four trays. If you use fewer trays, your drying time may be less. When your jerky is done, it will have a dry, leathery appearance. It should also bend without breaking.
When finished, turn off the dehydrator and allow the jerky to cool to room temperature on the trays.
Store the dried jerky in quart freezer bags for up to three weeks in a cool, dry place. You may also refrigerator or freeze the jerky for longer periods, up to 4-6 months.
This recipe will make 2 1/2 – 3 pounds of jerky.
Venison Jerky makes great Christmas gifts. We always take it on camping trips to eat on the trail.
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Venison Jerky
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Ingredients
- 6 pounds venison (cut 1/4" thickness across the grain)
- 1/2 cup soy sauce ((Not low sodium))
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon pepper
- 1 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce (or tabasco sauce)
- 1 teaspoon hickory smoke flavoring
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons seasoned salt (for sprinkling)
Instructions
- Gather your ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.
SLICE THE MEAT
- With a sharp carving or Santoku knife, thinly slice the venison meat across the grain, about 1/4″ thick. Cutting the meat when it’s slightly frozen works best. Also, try to cut out any membrane, as this will create a very chewy jerky
- Place the sliced meat in a gallon bucket with lid.
MIX THE SEASONING SAUCE
- In a large measuring cup, combine the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, lemon pepper, hot sauce, hickory smoke, ground ginger, garlic salt, onion salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Stir well.
- Pour the marinade over the sliced meat and mix well. and refrigerate for 24 hours.You want the meat to be mostly covered by the sauce. Stir the meat well so that the liquid has good coverage. Check the meat 2-3 times, stirring each time.
DEHYDRATE THE MEAT
- When the meat has been adequately seasoned, you’re ready to dry it in the dehydrator. Pat each slice with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Place slices on the dehydrator trays, making sure the edges don’t touch.
- If desired, sprinkle with seasoned salt. Cook for 8-10 hours at 145-150℉. Turn meat once or twice to check the dehydration.This recipe will fill four trays. If you use fewer trays, your drying time will be less. When your jerky is done, it will have a dry, leathery appearance. It should also bend without breaking.
- When done, allow the jerky to cool to room temperature on the trays.
- Store the jerky in plastic freezer bags for up to three months in a cool place or up to a year in the freezer. This recipe will make 2 1/2 – 3 pounds jerky.
I'm wanting a dehydrator so badly. Can you recommend which one you use?
LOL – I'm actually making some jerky right now. I bought our dehydrator several years ago at Walmart, so I'm not sure if they still have this brand. But it's worked well for me. American Harvest Snackmaster. I use 4 trays, but you can add more if you need to. We love it for making jerky and dried fruit. Enjoy!