Venison Jerky Recipe

Easy Oven Jerky from Elk Meat

You can use less tender cuts of meat for your venison jerky recipe since tenderness is not an issue. Jerky is supposed to be chewy. The idea is to fill it with flavor all the way through, so the flavor lasts as long as the chewing.

Once we get a couple of elk in the freezer, the deer meat we have becomes jerky material. The time of year we use this venison jerky recipe most is during the hunting season. If there is any deer or elk meat left over at that point from the previous year’s hunt, it needs to be used and jerky is a great use for it. Since it’s fairly easy to make, the results makes great gifts. People really appreciate a little free jerky, because commercially prepared jerky is so expensive. I have made some valuable friends at professional conferences just because I got them addicted to my wife’s venison jerky recipe.

Preparing the Meat:

You can make your own spice mix, or try these:

• Marinate the strips in teriyaki sauce, black pepper and cayenne pepper overnight before drying. The teriyaki has plenty of salt in it.

• Or, add a little Louisiana hot sauce to the teriyaki sauce. Adjust the “heat factor” to your taste.

• Some of the commercial dry mix spices are good.

Experiment With Dry Spice Blends:

We like High Country and High Mountain brands of jerky mix. We add a little cayenne pepper for those who like a little fiery flavor (me). Both companies make different flavors like mesquite, hickory, teriyaki, etc. To make it easy they tell you how much seasoning powder to use per pound of sliced raw meat strips.

Experiment with spice blends for your venison jerky recipe. Start with a basic steak or roast “rub” and add some salt to it to naturally cure the meat and protect from spoilage. A small amount of sugar will also retard bacteria and give it an added flavor boost. It generally takes about 1 ½- 3 teaspoons of dry spices per pound of sliced and trimmed meat strips.

"Curing" the Meat:

The Drying Process:

Cook until dried to desired texture, 5-6 hours. Check often after 5 hours for preferred doneness.

There is a point when the jerky becomes too dry and it simply crumbles into dry powder. So, taste it often as you’re drying it toward the end (after about 5 hours), so you will know when you have reached your desired texture. If you like it tender and moist, but don’t use a cure, keep it refrigerated and eat it soon.

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