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Spicy Paleo Beef Jerky Recipe

Spicy beef jerky is hard to beat! Adjust the amount of cayenne pepper to your liking. The beauty of making your own jerky is that you can customize it to your taste.

There are also some clear opportunities to make better jerky, with more natural ingredients.

How I Made This Paleo

To be honest, jerky is pretty paleo without much help. After all, it’s just dehydrated meat.

But when you drill down and consider the meat source, as well as any agents used to cure and flavor the meat, you might run into some conflicts with your paleo lifestyle.

By making your own, you can select high-quality grass-fed beef – your convenience store jerky isn’t making that promise.

There are also some mystery ingredients in your lower-quality store bought jerkies. Nitrates headline the list of things you don’t want to be eating, but additives like liquid smoke, vegetable oil, MSG, and synthetic hormones show up as well.

They’re unhealthy and unnecessary. Instead, I use salt and vinegar for my jerky.

For added flavor, I throw in traditional, yet paleo-friendly spices like cayenne, onion, and garlic powder.

Also, instead of soy sauce, which obviously contains soy and not-so-obviously contains gluten, you’ll achieve the same flavor using tamari sauce or coconut aminos.

If you’re a snacker, it can be difficult to find enjoyable, portable snacks that work for paleo. Fortunately, this DIY paleo beef jerky fits the bill nicely.

Spicy Paleo Beef Jerky

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• Author: Louise Hendon
• Prep Time: 10 minutes + overnight
• Cook Time: 8-10 hours
• Total Time: 19 minute
• Yield: 35 servings 1x
• Category: Snack
• Cuisine: South American

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Ingredients

• 2.2 lbs of beef roasting joint, fat trimmed (990 g)
• ¼ cup of vinegar, your choice (60 ml)
• 1 teaspoon of cayenne powder (2 g)
• 2 Tablespoons of onion powder (14 g)
• 2 Tablespoons of garlic powder (20 g)
• 3 Tablespoons of gluten-free tamari sauce or coconut aminos (45 ml)
• 2 Tablespoons of salt (30 g)
• Black pepper, to taste

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Instructions

Prepping the beef

1. Slice the beef along the grain into 1-inch thick pieces. Prepare a bowl of vinegar for dipping.
2. Dip each piece of meat in the vinegar and let the excess to run off.
3. Place meat on a cooling rack over a tray. Chill the tray in the fridge overnight, uncovered.

Making the jerky

1. Pat dry each piece of meat with paper towels.
2. In a bowl combine the cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and a generous crack of black pepper. Add the tamari to create a paste.
3. Add the meat to the paste and thoroughly rub the paste into each piece of meat with your hands.
4. Place pieces on a dehydrator set at 140°F (50°C) for 8-10 hours (how long depends on how dry you like your jerky). Make sure to turn them over every now and then.
5. Store in a sealed container.

Notes

All nutritional data are estimated and based on per serving amounts.

Nutrition

• Calories: 79
• Sugar: 0 g
• Fat: 6 g
• Carbohydrates: 1 g
• Fiber: 0 g
• Protein: 5 g