Ground Beef Jerky Recipe

Working with a ground beef jerky recipe is a slightly different process than making whole muscle jerky.

Instead of a marinade or a dry rub the spice mixture is mixed in with the ground beef.

Drying is a more delicate matter also because the ground beef has a tendency to fall through large openings.

I use a cookie cooling rack on a sheet pan with good success.

Selecting The Beef

The most important consideration however is the ground beef.

Since fat will not dry and will go rancid you need the leanest ground beef you can find. Look for beef that is 95% lean or leaner.

Ground round would be a good choice. Select grade if you can find it since it's leaner than choice grade.

Adjust The Grind

Next is the grind of your ground beef. Ground beef as you get it from the grocery is really not fine enough for jerky.

The finer the texture of the beef the more it will compact and hold it's shape.

If you have a grinder at home you can give it a second grind with the spice mixture included.

If you don't have a grinder you can pulse it in a food processor with pretty good results.

Don't use any liquid seasoning in your ground beef jerky! You want it to dry so why add more liquid?

A basic seasoning mixture would be salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. The amounts would be up to your taste.

The following recipe also adds chili powder and ground ginger.

Ground Beef Jerky Recipe

1 lb. extra lean ground beef
2 tsp. salt (canning is best)
1/4 tsp. Pepper
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. Ginger
Cayenne pepper to taste if you like it spicy

Thoroughly combine the spice mixture. Place the ground beef in a bowl and combine it well with the spices.

If you have a grinder run the beef mixture through with the finest blade you have.

This not only gives the beef an extra grind but also incorporates the spices of your ground beef jerky recipe even further.

If you don't have a grinder use a food processor and pulse the beef with the spices in batches. This method works pretty darned well.

Divide the beef mixture into two or three equal portions. Lay one portion on a sheet of plastic wrap and cover with another sheet. Roll the mixture into as much of a rectangle as you can to about 1/8 of an inch thickness.

Repeat with the other portions.

Drying Ground Beef Jerky

Remove the top layer of wrap and invert onto a cookie cooling rack. Remove the second sheet of plastic wrap. Place the cooling rack in a sheet pan.

Place the sheet pan on the middle shelf of your oven set at 150 degrees. Bake for 2 1/2 to 3 hours with the door ajar. At the end of that time rotate the pan.

Another 3 hours should complete the ground beef jerky recipe. You now have jerky. Remove from the oven and cut into strips with scissors while it's still warm.

The spice mixture is the key to any ground beef jerky recipe.

Use this ground beef jerky recipe as a guideline only. Use your favorite spices and experiment. It's cheap and it's easy and it's down right good!