A Smoked Beef Jerky Recipe For Tasty Snacks

Your typical homemade Smoked Beef Jerky Recipe calls for the beef to be marinated in artificial smoke to get all of its smoked flavor. It is then placed in a dehydrator for several hours until dry.

To be authentic, a smoked beef jerky recipe should direct you to cook beef jerky on a smoker or grill. This is the only way to get that "true" smokey taste that is desired.

Beef jerky is very popular these days. It is also a healthy snack food low in carbs and fat and full of protein. It's a great energy food for outdoor activities like hiking or climbing.

Jerky is eaten most often from retail packages that you find in stores. Nevertheless, some people have that desire to eat real homemade beef jerky.

The smoked beef jerky recipe dried outside on a bbq smoker or grill is a little more "rustic" or closer to the old cowboy and pioneer kind of jerky. That's when beef was cured and dried to preserve for eating on the long trails. It is "naturally preserved" instead of artificially loaded with preservatives.

This is a good and simple smoked beef jerky recipe. It combines the use of basic ingredients and easy techniques that, when used with your smoker or grill, will produce that beef jerky consistency everyone loves.

Basic Homemade Beef Jerky

INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds sirloin or flank steak, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
4 tablespoons ground black pepper
1 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

DIRECTIONS:
In a large, nonporous bowl, combine the ground black pepper, soy sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, hot pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well and add the meat slices. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Prepare an outdoor smoker for low heat and lightly oil grate.

Lay the meat out on the grill so that the strips do not touch. Smoke over the lowest heat on your smoker or the coolest spot on your grill. Beef jerky will be done when the edges appear dry with just a tiny bit of moisture in the middle of the pieces of meat, or about 6-8 hours.

Another smoked beef jerky recipe for the outdoor grill or smoker is this version. This recipe calls for an extra spicy kick from cayenne pepper.

Spicy Smoked Beef Jerky

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound flank steak, trimmed and cut into long thin strips
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons dried ground cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients except the meat in a resealable plastic bag and mix well. Add steak and marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Prepare smoker for a 4 hour smoke at about 150 degrees. Remove meat from marinade and lay out on a sheet of foil.

Spread out the meat evenly. Place in smoker and smoke until the surface begins to blacken, or about 3 hours. Cover the strips loosely with foil.

You want to keep the smoke off but let moisture continue to escape. Continue smoking for 1 to 2 hours more. Meat should be well dried.

Here's a smoked beef jerky recipe using venison(deer meat). Venison is an excellent meat for beef jerky in that it is a very lean meat requiring little trimming. And it has a little bit of "wild or gamey" flavor that is perfect for smoked beef jerky.

Venison Jerky

6-8 pounds deer meat sliced 1/8 inch thick
2 cups water
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup salt
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup liquid smoke
1 tablespoon black pepper
2 tablespoons your favorite seasoned salt
1 teaspoon paprika

Combine all ingredients except the venison and the seasoned salt and paprika to make marinate.

Add meat slices and let marinate for 8-10 hours. Pat dry and spread on grill or smoker racks. Sprinkle with seasoned salt seasoning and paprika. Smoke using low heat on the smoker or grill for 6-8 hours.

Please visit often, as any new smoked beef jerky recipe that comes along and looks like a winner will be posted here.