Here’s the best recipe for making your own oven-baked beef jerky - and you need zero special equipment to do it. Homemade Bottom Round Roast Jerky has just the right flavor combination of savory, smoky, and salty-sweetness...with a bit of kick added, if you prefer.
Prep Time: 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 4 hourshours
Marinating Time: 12 hourshours
Total Time: 16 hourshours30 minutesminutes
Servings: 12servings
Calories: 211kcal
Ingredients
3lb. bottom round roast
1/2cupketchup
2Tbs.Worcestershire sauce
1/2cupdark brown sugar
1tsp.smoked paprika
1tsp.granulated garlic
2tsp.kosher salt
1/2cupcider vinegar
1/4tsp.red pepper flakes
1jalapeno, sliced and some of the seeds removedoptional, for added heat and flavor
Instructions
To make the roast very easy to slice thinly, place it into the freezer for 2 hours. Remove the roast and unpackage, placing it onto the center of a large cutting board.
Using your favorite sharp carving knife or Chef's knife, slice the roast across grain in about 1/4-inch thick slices.
Prepare the marinade by combining all the ingredients in a gallon freezer bag; massage well to combine. Add the sliced meat; seal the bag and place into a mixing bowl. Place the meat and marinade into refrigeration to marinate for at least 12 hours (preferably 18-24 hours), massaging the bag and it's contents every so often.
Once the meat has fully marinated, line two large rimmed baking sheets (13x18 half sheet pans work great) with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place a wire cooling rack over the top of each one. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees F.
Using tongs, remove the pieces of meat from the marinade, laying them on top of the cooling racks in a single layer, leaving space around each one.
Bake the meat for 3-4 hours, turning it over half way through the baking time and also rotating the baking sheets from front to back and top to bottom mid way through. **To determine if the meat has baked into jerky, remove a piece from the baking sheet and let it cool to room temperature. It should be dry to the touch with a leather-like appearance on both sides, chewy in texture yet still a bit tender. (You know, how jerky is supposed to be!)
Let the jerky fully cool, then store in an air-tight plastic container, freezer bag, or glass jar with a lid. Jerky will keep at room temperature for 5-7 days or in refrigeration for up to 30 days. Jerky freezes well, too.