My best deer jerky recipe awesome for the trail

Making homemade Jerky meat from venison is an excellent way to carry the needed protein we all need on the trail. Lots of people ask, how to make deer jerky. This deer jerky recipe requires no special equipment or appliances; you can use dehydrators and meat slicers, but they are not necessary.

So I will share my best deer jerky recipe. Some consider deer jerky as an exotic jerky. However, I feel it is an excellent way to use venison. I prefer venison to beef because it is a naturally lean meat that lends itself to make the perfect jerky that is both tasty and healthy.

Prepare venison to make deer jerky

The most important thing to know how to make deer jerky is in prepping the meat. Unlike the meat that we buy at the market, venison is incredibly fresh, so time is on your side. Soak venison in a Kosher salt to remove the blood from meat. “Koshering salt” is salt in the form of flakes this seems to work the best for this purpose. I usually soak the meat for a minimum of 2 days in the refrigerator.

Deer jerky recipe | roe-deer hind cuts 4 pieces skinned premium chilled

For every 2-4 pounds of venison

  • 6 cups water
  • 1/4 cup Kosher salt
  • Soak for two days in refrigerator

 

Carve the Venison

Cut venison into 1/4 inch thick strips

By _ Kripptic – venison jerky

Venison is lean meat with little fat. Cut away any gristle membranes or fat. Cut venison into 1/4 inch thick strips; Various sizes are ok don’t worry if they are not uniform. A sharp knife is critical, take your time there is no perfect way to do this. As an alternative, you can use an electric meat slicer. Take the sliced venison and cut it into strips. Once carved, separate the sliced venison jerky into two-pound piles and put into one-gallon zip lock bags.

Deer jerky marinade recipe

You will need a large bowl to combine the deer jerky marinade. There are parts of the recipe that you can adjust based on personal preference. I have made the recipe with several variations, for instance, you can use a 1/2 cup of Dales or Worcestershire instead of combining them. You can also substitute either or both with soy sauce. I have been told this is the best tasting jerky recipe.

Add 2 pounds of Venison Jerky in a one-gallon ziplock with the Deer Jerky Marinade. Store in refrigerator for two days.

Deer jerky marinade recipe

Making jerky in the oven

Your jerky will need to be dried to prevent it from spoiling. The deer jerky recipe marinade has started the process by adding preservatives and flavor, however, the drying is what makes the jerky last by removing the moisture that feeds bacteria. I have found that an oven set on warm or around 150 degrees works fine for this process. Any low-temperature drying method should work, dehydrator, etc.

Two pounds of sliced deer jerky will fit on two cookie sheets. I have read a lot of suggestions to put the meat directly on the oven racks. However, I have found cookie sheets work perfectly. The standard cookie sheet will contain the “juices” until the drying process is complete, so there is no reason to line the bottom of your oven with foil.

Place the sliced deer jerky on cookie sheets in the oven at 150 degrees for around 4 hours.

Set a timer for 3 hours, and check the deer jerky in its drying progression. I typically do this to make sure it is on the right track. In three hours you should notice the drying process is well under way but not finished. I recommend this because all ovens heat differently. At 4 hours the jerky should be ready to remove from the oven.

deer jerky

As the deer jerky dries, liquid from the meat and deer jerky marinade will be present on the cookie sheet; it is not ready if you still see this wet marinade on the sheet. Personal preference also determines deer jerky dryness.