Making Jerky in the Oven
You don't need fancy equipment to make your own beef jerky! The best part is, it's super easy and the oven does most of the work for you, so you can sit back and smell the glory. Baking jerky at the lowest temperature on your oven allows a slow dehydration process to eliminate brittle jerky.
However, we recommend one extra step to ensure food safety. Because USDA food safety guidelines recommend heating beef to 160*F to kill any potential food borne illness carrying bacteria, we recommend adding 10 minutes of bake time in the oven at 275*F to bring the jerky up to temperature. We'd rather you err on the side of dry jerky than un-safe jerky!
And of course, if you ever have doubt, throw it out. We also suggest that you consume homemade jerky within 5 days of making it. You can also freeze pre-portioned bags for up to 3 months for snacks-on-demand!
You don't need fancy equipment to make your own beef jerky! The best part is, it's super easy and the oven does most of the work for you, so you can sit back and smell the glory. Baking jerky at the lowest temperature on your oven allows a slow dehydration process to eliminate brittle jerky.
However, we recommend one extra step to ensure food safety. Because USDA food safety guidelines recommend heating beef to 160*F to kill any potential food borne illness carrying bacteria, we recommend adding 10 minutes of bake time in the oven at 275*F to bring the jerky up to temperature. We'd rather you err on the side of dry jerky than un-safe jerky!
And of course, if you ever have doubt, throw it out. We also suggest that you consume homemade jerky within 5 days of making it. You can also freeze pre-portioned bags for up to 3 months for snacks-on-demand!
- 15 hours total (marinade/bake)
- Approx. 10 Snack Servings
Ingredients
- 3 lbs of extra lean roast, such as the eye of round roast (the less marbling the better)
- 1/2 cup lite soy sauce
- 6 Tbsp of Worchestershire sauce
- 3 Tbsp of brown sugar
- 3 tsp onion powder
- 3 tsp garlic powder
- 3 tsp black pepper
- 3 tsp salt
- 2.5 Tbsp ground coriander
- 2/3 cup water
Instructions
1. Place your roast in the freezer for 1-2 hours to allow for easier slicing. Using a very sharp knife, carefully slice the meat into very thin strips. Slice against the grain for tender jerky or with the grain for chewy jerky.
2. Mix together marinade ingredients and place with meat strips into a ziplock bag. Shake to coat all beef. Refrigerate for 8 hours (overnight is often easiest).
- 3. Preheat oven to lowest available setting. Place tin foil on baking sheets, top with cooking-cooling racks to allow air to flow on both sides of the jerky. Alternatively, you can place tin foil to catch drippings on the bottom of the oven (before pre-heating, while oven is still cool) and place jerky strips directly on the oven racks.
- 4. Remove strips from bag, blot completely dry with paper towel.
- 5. Layer strips on racks. Place into pre-heated oven. Prop oven door open with wooden cook spoon (*Plastic spoons will melt!). This allows additional air flow to assist the dehydration process. Bake approximately 4-6 hours, rotating top racks/pans and bottom racks/pans every 1-2 hours. Time varies by thickness of slices. If the jerky bends easily, it is not finished yet.
- 6. Increase oven temperature on finished jerky to 275*F oven. Bake an additional 10 minutes in order to bring beef to safe consumption temperature (160*F).
- 6. Once cooled, store in a ziplock bag up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months.