Food · Several hours; follow tested method · Intermediate
Make Beef Jerky With a Tested Heat Step
Turn safely handled lean beef into jerky using controlled heat and drying, rather than hanging raw meat in the sun or smoke.
This is for educational purposes only. Not professional medical, electrical, or safety advice.
Warning
Drying, salting and cold smoking do not reliably kill pathogens. This guide uses lean beef, not a universal wild-game process. Freezing wild game does not reliably kill Trichinella; do not follow older blanket freezing advice as a safety guarantee.
- 01
Keep the meat cold and trim it
Keep beef refrigerated at 40°F or below; thaw in the refrigerator. Trim visible fat and slice no thicker than ¼ inch for the NCHFP strip method. Cut across the grain for easier chewing or with the grain for a chewier strip. Wash hands and keep raw juices away from finished food.
- 02
Prepare the NCHFP marinade
For 1½–2 pounds meat, mix ¼ cup soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, ¼ teaspoon each black pepper and garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder and 1 teaspoon hickory smoke-flavored salt. Cover the strips with marinade in a shallow pan, cover the pan and refrigerate for 1–2 hours or overnight. Salt, marinade and smoke flavor do not replace heating. Do not save or reuse this raw-meat marinade.
- 03
Heat before dehydrating
Following NCHFP's preheating method, bring the meat strips and marinade together to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Check several strips with a suitable thermometer to confirm an internal 160°F (71°C); do not proceed with strips below that temperature. USDA recommends 160°F for meat and 165°F for poultry before drying, but this recipe is for beef. Drain on clean absorbent towels. The dehydrator's air temperature is not proof that the meat reached its required internal temperature.
- 04
Dry with controlled airflow
Arrange preheated strips on dehydrator trays or cake racks on baking sheets without touching or overlapping. NCHFP uses a dehydrator or suitable oven preheated to 140°F (60°C); USDA's post-heating drying range is 130–140°F. Begin checking after 3 hours and continue until a cooled test strip cracks but does not break when bent. Preheated strips dry faster than raw ones; do not use one fixed finishing time. Pat off oil beads with clean absorbent towels. Texture checks do not replace the earlier heat step. Never substitute sun drying or cold smoking.
- 05
Cool, package and limit storage
Cool properly dried jerky before sealing in clean, dry containers. NCHFP allows properly dried jerky in sealed containers at room temperature for 2 weeks; refrigerate or freeze for longer storage. This allowance applies to that properly processed product, not an uncertain batch or jerky mixed with fat to make pemmican. Discard moldy, damp or suspect jerky without tasting.