Easy Steak Rub Beef Jerky
I’ve been making beef jerky for about for about ten years now and have made it just about every way you can make it at home without owning a smoker. Cheffy makes the best beef jerky I have ever had but this recipe is easy and quick to make at home and you change the flavor each time very easily.
1. Start with thin cut beef. I buy these packages of pre-cut thin beef round at King Soopers/Krogers. This makes the recipe a snap because I don’t have to hand slice the meat, and the jerky will all be done around the same time because the grocer uses a commercial meat slicer and the thickness is a uniform quarter inch or so.
2. Layout steak on a cutting board and coat top with olive oil. This adds flavor, and keeps the jerky moist in the dehydrator. Infused olive oils make the jerky even better.
3. Shake on a steak rub of your choice. I usually use either Golden Toad Prime Steak Rub or Cajohn’s Chop House Rub. Both are awesome and make great jerky. I have used all kinds of rubs for this jerky and while they turn out good, nothing works better than a good prime steak rub with garlic flavored olive oil. Also, you can add Habanero powder like Zesty Red Boost for a great heat level.
4. Now take a meat tenderizer and beat that jerky into flavor country. Cover all surface areas with a single blow with only the weight of the mallet. Turn the steak over and repeat: oil, rub, mallet.
5. Store in an airtight container and place it in the fridge overnight to let the oil and rub permeate the meat.
6. The next day, put the steak on the dehydrator racks. Layout evenly and allow space for airflow between racks. You can pick up one of these dehydrators at a thrift store for $10 and they rock. Rotate the racks every hour.
7. After 4 hours flip the jerky when you rotate the racks. Also turn them 180 degrees for more even cooking.
8. The jerky will take 6-8 hours to cook like this. Jerky does not need to be brittle, hard or unchewable. I pull it when it barely starts to crack when folded. It almost looks like a well-done steak on the inside and regular jerky on the outside.
9. Store the jerky either in an airtight container or the fridge. I have a vacuum packer that works really well (also at thrift stores for $10).
If anyone decides to give this recipe a shot let me know what you think and if you learned any new tips or found a rub that was great send it my way. Enjoy!
Written by Lee@DC
Nick Lindauer founded Hot Sauce Blog in 2004, making it one of the internet's very first hot sauce review sites. After 20+ years of tasting, reviewing, and attending every major fiery foods event in the country, he's back behind the keyboard covering the hot sauce world he helped build.
17 responses to “Recipe: Easy Steak Rub Beef Jerky”
Looks good! I just made some beef jerky on the weekend, with some habanero flakes, soy, teriyaki, balsamic vinegar. spicy but delicious!
I would love to try this!
I’m gonna try this too. My son has been bugging me to make some jerky ever since we got the second dehydrator. The first one will still be just for peppers though.
My Yiddish Secret Santa got me a “Just Jerky” book for Christmas and I’ve been hankerin’ to make my own batch since then.
Lee, where is this “thrift store” that you picked up a dehydrator and food sealer for $10? I need to shop there.
Great simple recipe, thanks for sharing.
Looks tasty Lee! Have you ever tried lightly smoking the meat before drying it?
this is a nice convenient way to make some quick jerky. im guessing you eat it fast enough that it dont need to be cured. try using some hot sauces as marinade overnight sometime rather than just the dry seasoning. im making jerky as i type this and i have some with dry seasonings some with hot sauce marinade and some with both.
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Yiddish? LOL
I wish I could have jerky. 🙁 I feel like a blind man in an art gallery.
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i thought you could have it now, is it just the hot stuff you cant have or none at all?
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As long as every piece of fat is removed prior to drying, you don’t have to cure or do anything to the meat. It will last for months. Don’t know about the olive oil though. The whole reason to dry is to remove all liquids including oil. I’ll try this on my smoker.
Steve
I’ve made this a few times and there always been a little fat around the edges and I’ve coated it with olive oil and after vacuum sealing it it’s lasted for months in the pantry and then tasted great. I’m not dead so I think it’s good. If it’s all cooked and you remove all air I don’t think there’s a problem.
[Comment ID #127488 Quote]No, but I’d really like to get a smoker and give it a shot.
[Comment ID #127503 Quote]Yeah, I’ve done that and had some pretty good results with different sauces but my favorite has to be the steak rubs. I used to make a really good bloody mary beef jerky by marinating the meat in bloody mary mix and hot sauces and adding black pepper when it was on the racks.
my current batch im working on is a 14 pound roast and the types of jerky i made with it are butt rub dry seasoning (probably the best jerky i make), a steak rubb, chipotle marinade with chipotle seasoning also, defcon 1, bbq and uncle bigs killer, and for the days i really want something hot a batch of da bomb tfa and uncle bigs killer. all of them are smoked over mesquite wood chips in my new smoker i got for christmas. i love to share it and get feedback so if anyone wants a sample let me know (mralebundy@aol.com)
also anyone thats looking for a great smoker i highly recomend a smoke hollow smoker. ill look for the link to there website if anyone wants it, i got it around here somewhere.
no prague #1 y not hmmm you should have not to get some kinda sick url why http://www.dakotahsausagestuffer.com/jerkyrecipes.htm other url http://www.americanspice.com/catalog/21651/Prague_Powder_1,_Pink_Curing_Salt.html?orig=60&_ssess_=SEARCH_ENGINE
lowest fat meat no oil no cheese lol
here the best on why http://www.askthemeatman.com/how_and_why_to_use_sodium_nitrite.htm
I thought that for jerky, oil should not be used as it is a fat; fat will go rancid and does not keep well, hence the use of lean cuts of meat. Am I misinformed on the matter or is this jerky just meant to be eaten within a short amount of time?