Tips for Making Deer (Venison) Jerky

Looking for an easy food preservation technique for wild game? An avid hunter and survival expert shares his favorite recipe for venison jerky.

Looking for the perfect venison jerky recipe that's sweet, savory, perfectly spiced and just the chewy right texture?

Jerky isn't only a convenient and healthy snack; it can be a lifesaver on your outdoor adventures. It's lightweight, needs no refrigeration, and quells your hunger fast.

Here, I'm sharing my favorite venison jerky recipe, which can also be made with elk or similar game, made using the oven, a dehydrator, or a smoker.

In the event that you are not successful on your hunt, lean beef may be substituted for venison with excellent results.

Venison Jerky Recipe + Step-by-Step Instruction

There's nothing too complicated about making jerky, but it requires specific steps and technique.

Here's how to make your own at home using a tried-and-true method that's served me for decades.

Step One: Prepare the Meat

Obviously, the first step is to successfully hunt. For the sake of this text, we will consider the first step in processing to be preparation.

That means getting the meat into a proper configuration to facilitate drying. After all, jerky is made by drying meat, removing almost all its moisture.

You can use most of the animal for jerky, or reserve some choice cuts for other recipes. Whatever choice you make, the meat should be trimmed of all fat and cut with the grain into manageable strips of several inches long and relatively narrow.

The thickness should not exceed 1/4 inch, so aim for 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Refrigeration or slight freezing prior to slicing will make the chore easier and yield more uniform strips.

Before drying, consider marinating the strips for better flavor (see my favorite marinade recipe at the end of this article).

Soy sauce is a good basic choice, but you may have favorites that will do just as well. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours for the best flavor, or up to 24 hours for a more intense flavor.

Step Two: Dry the Meat

Next,  you'll need to dry your jerky. This may be accomplished in several ways, including:

Oven

This requires no special equipment, making it accessible to nearly everyone.

If you've used a marinade, dry the jerky well with paper towels.

Preheat the oven to approximately 275ºF, and place the jerky in a single layer on baking sheets, ideally with wire racks for optimal circulation. If you don't have wire racks, they will still dry, it will just take more time. The door should be left slightly open to allow the moisture removed from the venison to circulate into the room.

The oven-drying method typically takes about 3-4 hours, but varies depending on the thickness of your slices. You'll know it's done when it reaches a leathery texture and bends and cracks without breaking.

Dehydrator

A food dehydrator is an excellent choice for ensuring even temperature and a more hands-off approach.

 If you've used a marinade, dry the jerky well with paper towels. 

Follow the manufacturer's recommendations for drying jerky, ensuring to place it in a single layer on the drying racks.

Drying times vary based on the thickness of the slices, but could take between 4 and 12 hours. Again, the jerky is done when it's leather and bends and cracks by does not break.

Smoker

This method will add a smoky flavor, and the user’s choice of wood chips may help impart the desired flavor.

Preheat your smoker to 160-180 degrees, which should be maintained during the smoking process, which will take 2-3 hours, but check after 2 hours so it doesn't get overdone.

To determine when the jerky is finished and ready for consumption, a strip should be picked up and bent. If ready, it should be slightly stiff and may crack slightly when bent.

Note: Commercial preservatives are available that can extend the life of jerky when used.

Step Three: How to Store Homemade Venison Jerky

Jerky is very forgiving when it comes to storage. The simplest method is to seal it in small packets with a vacuum sealer. Try to package in quantities that will suffice for single servings, as it is not advisable to open and reseal numerous times.

If a vacuum sealer is not available, use resealable plastic bags of the proper size.

Properly dried jerky can be stored at room temperature if it is bagged as recommended above for 1-2 weeks. Any longer requires refrigeration or freezing.

Whether you use a preservative also affects storage, but don't leave it at room temperature for more than a week or two.

Venison Jerky Marinade Recipe

As promised, here's my favorite marinade for homemade venison jerky.

This is a basic recipe you can adjust based on your tastes. This recipe is for one pound of meat.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Soy Sauce

• 3 tablespoons Worchester sauce

• 1-2 teaspoons Smoked paprika

• 1 tablespoon Brown sugar

• 1-3 teaspoons Garlic powder

• 1/4 teaspoon Pepper – Either black pepper or red pepper flakes

• 1 tablespoon Onion powder

• 1 teaspoon Meat tenderizer

How to Make:

1. Combine and whisk ingredients together in an appropriately sized bowl and add venison slices.

2. Refrigerate after covering with plastic wrap.

3. Allow to refrigerate for at least twelve hours. Occasionally, tumble slices to ensure that all are exposed to the marinade.

Enoy!