Homemade Teriyaki Beef Jerky Recipe

Beef jerky is a classic snack, though many people often overlook it. The chewy, flavorful beef treat can come in many varieties, including teriyaki, spicy, peppered, or plain. Unlike other beef-based foods, jerky is dehydrated, giving it an irresistible texture and allowing for lengthy storage without spoiling. 

If you've enjoyed beef jerky in the past, it's likely been from a store-bought bag. While store-bought jerky is incredibly delicious, there's nothing quite like making it yourself. Now, thanks to recipe developer and private practice registered dietician Kristen Carli's homemade teriyaki beef jerky recipe, you can enjoy super fresh jerky with just a few ingredients! "It reminds me of the perfect road trip snack," Carli says of this recipe, referring to how easy it is to pack this jerky up and take it on-the-go. Of course, you can also make some to snack on at home throughout the week, and it will surely be a delight for the whole family. 

Though this recipe does take some time to make, due to overnight marination for the beef, the preparation and cooking is incredibly simple. By the end, you'll have fresh and tasty teriyaki beef jerky, and something tells us that you'll enjoy it more than the store-bought stuff.

You may have to make a run to the store to get some of the required ingredients to make homemade teriyaki beef jerky, but other ingredients are likely sitting right in your pantry. For starters, you'll need quality beef, and you can get this with an eye of round roast. For the marinade, you'll need soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and minced garlic. "If you want a bit of a kick, you can feel free to add some heat by adding chili powder or cayenne pepper to the marinade," Carli says as a possible spicy addition, although the jerky will be just as delicious with or without!

To get started on making your homemade teriyaki beef jerky, you'll want to get the meat marinated. First, take the entire eye of round roast, and put it into a large bowl. In a separate smaller bowl, begin making the marinade. Start by adding in the soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, garlic, and sesame oil, then give these ingredients a good stir. If you want to add in cayenne pepper or chili powder, go ahead and do that now. Once your marinated is all mixed together, carefully pour it all over the eye of round. Then, cover the bowl with the beef, and put it in the fridge. Allow your eye of round to marinate overnight so all of those delicious flavors can absorb.

Fast-forward to the following morning, and your eye of round should be nice and marinated. First, take the eye of round out of the fridge, and preheat your oven to 170 F. Then, carefully cut up your beef into thin slices — as thin as you can make them. Think of the size of beef jerky pieces that you'd buy from the store, and use that for reference. Place all of your beef slices onto several baking sheets. Then, pop them into your preheated oven, and bake for three hours. Low and slow is the name of the game for tender, flavorful beef jerky.

Once your beef jerky strips have cooked for three hours, go ahead and pull them out of the oven. Transfer all of the strips into a large plastic bag. They don't have to be in a single layer, just be sure that all of them make it to the bag, as shown in the picture. Close the bag almost entirely (but leave a little bit unsealed), and allow your beef jerky strips to steam for 15 minutes. By steaming your strips, you'll ensure that you achieve optimal tenderness in the beef — arguably the most important factor in beef jerky.

After your beef jerky strips have finished steaming, you can remove them from the plastic bag, serve, and enjoy! With each bite, you'll notice an amazing combination of flavors, with saltiness from the soy sauce, sweetness from the brown sugar, and a subtle nutty flavor from the sesame oil. If you add anything like cayenne pepper, you'll also notice a wonderful spice in the jerky. This recipe makes quite a bit of beef jerky, but luckily, you can store leftovers in a plastic bag, refrigerated, for up to two weeks. This homemade teriyaki beef jerky recipe is easy to make, fresh, and turns out incredibly tender and flavorful. It really doesn't get much better than that.