Beef Jerky Recipe
Texas Style

This Texas style Beef Jerky Recipe is intended for doing in a smoker.

I do smoked jerky in my water smoker “Big Red”.

It can be done in the oven but in that case you should add the liquid smoke.

The ingredients list is for one pound of beef. Adjust it upwards for the amount of beef you are going to smoke.

Pick out a nice top round roast and have your butcher slice it into 1/4 inch slices.

This is much easier and much more consistent than trying to slice it yourself.

Texas Style Beef Jerky Recipe

4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Chili powder
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tsp Onion powder
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
1/2 cup Water
3 dashes Liquid Smoke (Optional)

Combine the salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper in a bowl. Pour in the water and stir well to blend and dissolve the ingredients.

If you intend to dry your beef jerky in the oven then add the liquid smoke. See the oven drying instructions on the "How To Make Beef Jerky" page.

Take your top round slices and remove all visible fat. Fat will not dry and will make your beef jerky go rancid.

Cut the slices into strips about 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide by about 4 to 6 inches long.

Put the strips in a large zip lock bag along with the marinade. Seal the bag squeezing out all the air you can and place in the refrigerator.

The beef needs to marinate a minimum of 4 hours but 8 hours is even better. Overnight is good.

Fire up your smoker and place the beef jerky slices on the rack as close together as possible without overlapping.

My smoker, Big Red, will operate at optimum temperature for about 3 hours when I load it up with 10 pounds of charcoal.

When the coals form a light gray ash I add soaked hickory wood chunks wrapped in heavy-duty aluminum foil with holes punched in it. This provides the smoke for smoked beef jerky.

I could add more fuel to Big Red when he begins to cool down after 3 hours but I don't. The beef jerky has absorbed about as much smoke flavoring as it's going to in this amount of time.

Give your beef jerky a doneness test. Perfect smoked beef jerky is firm and dry and not at all spongy. You should be able to bend it slightly before it cracks.

If it's not yet at this stage at the end of 3 hours then finish it off on your oven racks with the oven temperature set at 150 degrees and the door ajar.

When the strips are chewy-crisp remove them from the heat. Allow them to cool and store in Ziploc plastic bags. Refrigerate to store longer than a few days.

This Texas style Beef Jerky Recipe is very good but it’s a guideline. Adjust the ingredients according to your tastes.

More Beef Jerky Recipes:

Beef Jerky RecipeTexas Style

Texas Style Beef Jerky Recipe

Beef Jerky Recipe
Texas Style