How to Make Beef Jerky at Home

Introduction

Homemade jerky is cheaper, tastier, and has none of the preservatives of store-bought. Whether you've got a fancy pellet smoker or just a kitchen oven, you can make restaurant-quality beef jerky in an afternoon. No special skills needed—just patience and decent meat.

The process is straightforward: pick your cut, slice it thin, season it well, and dry it low and slow. We'll walk you through both the smoker method (our pick for best results) and the oven hack for when you're not firing up the grill.

Choosing Your Meat

Start with the right cut. Lean meat is your friend here—fat doesn't dehydrate properly and can go rancid. Stick to:

• Topside — Affordable, lean, reliable. The everyday choice.
• Round — Works just as well as topside, often cheaper.
• Eye fillet trim — If you want something premium, this'll give you tender jerky.

Skip marbled cuts like ribeye or brisket. They'll frustrate you and won't set properly.

Prep for slicing. Pop your meat in the freezer for 2–3 hours until it's firm but not solid. This makes slicing dead easy. Using a sharp knife, slice against the grain at 3–5mm thick. Against the grain is crucial—it stops your jerky becoming shoe leather.

How much? Meat shrinks heaps when it dries. A 1kg piece of raw meat gives you maybe 250g of finished jerky. Plan accordingly.

Seasoning & Marinating

This is where you make it your own. Two methods:

Dry Rub: Mix your seasonings in a bowl, coat the meat thoroughly, and let it sit. Quick and easy.

Wet Marinade: Combine seasonings with soy, Worcestershire, or other liquid. More flavour penetration, slightly longer process.

Either way, refrigerate for 12–24 hours. The longer the better—the flavours have time to settle into the meat.

Ready-to-Use Seasonings

If you want to skip the mixing, Carnivore Collective makes a solid range of jerky seasonings. All around $17.95 and they do the heavy lifting for you.

Just follow the packet instructions—usually 2–3 tablespoons per 500g of meat—and you're set.

Method 1: Smoker (Recommended)

A smoker gives you the best results. Here's the go:

Setup:

• Set your smoker to 70–80°C. Low and slow is the rule.
• Use fruitwood or hickory pellets for flavour. Don't go too heavy—jerky doesn't need a full smoke like brisket.
• Lay your meat strips on racks with space between them. Don't let them touch—air needs to flow around every piece.

The Process:

• Smoke for 4–6 hours.
• Check at the 4-hour mark. It should bend without breaking and crack slightly when you fold it. If it snaps clean, it's done. If it feels plasticky, keep going.
• Don't let it go too dark or it'll taste burnt.

Pellets to Try:

Both are brilliant for jerky. Fruitwood's your safe bet—mild, slightly sweet, doesn't overpower. Apple's gentler still. Mix and match if you want.

Pro tip: Pat your meat dry with paper towel before it goes in. Moisture is the enemy of proper drying.

Method 2: Oven

No smoker? No worries. Your oven works fine.

Setup:

• Set to the lowest temperature (usually around 70°C). If it won't go that low, prop the door open slightly with a wooden spoon.
• Place wire racks over baking trays. The trays catch any drips, the racks let air circulate.
• Lay your strips on the racks without overlapping.

The Process:

• Dry for 4–8 hours depending on thickness and humidity.
• Check from 4 hours onwards. Same bend-and-crack test as the smoker method.
• Leave the door slightly open the whole time—you want moisture escaping, not steaming back into the meat.

Oven jerky's perfectly fine, just not quite as smoky. Fair trade-off if you haven't got a smoker.

Using a Jerky Gun

If you want to try ground meat jerky—perfect for odds and ends or for a different texture—a jerky gun's your tool.

The gear:

• Carnivore Collective Jerky Gun Kit (~$84.95) — Has everything you need. Mix your ground meat with seasonings, stuff it in, squeeze it onto racks in thin strips, and dry as normal.
• Jerky Slicer Attachment (~$199.95) — If you've got a mincer, this attachment lets you grind and shape in one step. Handy if you're doing this regularly.

Ground meat jerky dries faster (usually 3–4 hours in a smoker) and gives you a chewier, more uniform bite. Worth experimenting with.

Storage & Tips

How long does it last?

• Fridge: 2 weeks in an airtight container
• Freezer: 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before eating.

Storage tips:

• Use airtight containers or ziplock bags. Jerky's hygroscopic—it'll pull moisture from the air if you leave it exposed.
• Keep it cool and dark. A pantry's better than a sunny bench.
• If you see any mould (unlikely, but it happens), bin it. Don't risk it.

Making better jerky:

• Pat dry before smoking. Seriously. Dry meat = faster, better jerky.
• Don't overlap strips. Air needs to get around each piece evenly.
• Thinner = crispier. Thicker = chewier. Pick your poison.
• Let it cool completely before storing. Hot jerky releases steam and invites moisture back in.
• Don't skip the marinating step. It's not optional if you want proper flavour.

Conclusion

Making jerky at home is one of those skills that feels fancy but is actually dead simple. A decent cut, decent seasoning, and a bit of patience gets you results that'll blow store-bought out of the water. And at a fraction of the price.

Start with one batch using a basic hickory seasoning and your smoker or oven. Once you've nailed the technique, go wild with Korean BBQ or Maple Bacon. The Carnivore Collective seasonings take the guesswork out of it.

Ready to get started?

• Shop Jerky Seasonings — Carnivore Collective range and more
• Shop Jerky Making Equipment — Jerky guns, slicers, and accessories
• How to Smoke a Brisket — Next level smoking

Happy jerking.