Chuck or Round Beef Jerky Recipes

Eh Cumpari!… we even have an Italian Style beef jerky recipe right on top!

You’ll find chuck or round beef jerky recipes. You could use top round, bottom round, or center round. You can also use beef, buffalo, or even game meats. Cuts of Beef for Jerky description may help you decide.

Check out the note on the World Famous Recipe Guide below.

Beef Jerky Italian Style

2 lbs Round steak, chuck steak or roast
1 tsp Onion salt
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Garlic salt
1/2 tsp Lemon pepper
1/2 tsp Sausage seasoning
1/2 tsp Thyme
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Marjoram
1/2 tsp Basil

Combine the spices in a dish.

Cut the meat into strips less than 1/4 of an inch thick. Remove ALL fat.

Italian Flag flying on a flag pole with teh blue sky in the background. This to represent the Italian beef jerky recipes. — Flag of Italy
Photo by Michele Bitetto

Sprinkle one side with the combined seasonings and beat with a meat hammer. Turn and repeat the seasoning and beating. (The beating is to tenderize)

Place the strips on a cookie sheet or other flat pan. Place in a 120° F oven for 4 hrs. Turn over the meat and put it back for another 4 hrs.

Keep the oven door propped open for the entire time to allow the moisture to escape. Or see the article on using a convection oven.

With a gas oven, the pilot light may be enough to provide the heat. Store in a plastic bag. Also, it may be stored in a pillowcase. Do not store it in a paper bag.

Most ovens today, if they have a pilot light, are not warm enough to dry the meat. It would be like sun drying and take a long time.

Beef Jerky in a Brown Sauce

1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Worcestershire Sauce
2 TB Ketchup
1/2 tsp Pepper (more for hot)
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Onion Salt
1 lb. Beef Roast

Cut beef roast into strips 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.

Mix all ingredients together well except beef. Then add beef.

Marinate for 1 hour or overnight in a covered container or sealed plastic bag.

Dry in an oven 150° to 170°, overnight or for 10 -12 hours. Check it after 6 to 8 hours.

Round Steak Beef Jerky

2 lbs Round steak (semi-frozen)
3 TB Soy sauce
1 ½ tsp Liquid smoke
½ tsp Garlic powder
½ tsp Onion powder
¼ tsp Black pepper

Have about 2 pounds of round steak in a semi-frozen state, then slice in ¼” strips across the grain.

Marinate the meat in a covered container for 4 hours (or overnight ) in the fridge.

Remove meat from marinade. Spread strips on racks placed on cookie sheets.

Bake at 200° F for 6 to 7 hours. Turn off the heat and let it sit in the oven overnight.

A Great Option for Top-Round Beef Jerky Recipes

The following recipe is more of a guide than an actual recipe with measurements. It does include ratios of ingredients. They suggest red wine, which helps tenderize the meat. They also suggest marinating for one hour at room temperature. I like marinating longer so the meat can really absorb the flavors. If you do it for longer, put it into the fridge to marinate.

World Famous Beef Jerky

Soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Brown sugar
Crushed garlic
Hot pepper sauce (Tabasco or other)
Red cooking wine
Jamaican Jerk seasoning or A-1 sauce

Start with several pounds of very lean beef roast. You should choose a roast with visible grain, if possible, and little or no fat. It needn’t be very high quality, and in fact, tougher cuts seem actually to work better.

Mix a marinade with some or all of the following:

Mixing the sauce is largely a matter of taste. The result should be close to 3 parts soy sauce, 1 part Worcestershire, 1 part brown sugar, and the rest as desired. It should be a very strong, salty, spicy, and slightly sweet solution.

The rest of the ingredients depend on your taste, and the list is by no means exhaustive. Adding red wine will decrease the saltiness and/or dilute it if you get it too spicy without affecting the flavor greatly. You should not use more than about 30 to 40% red wine, however, since the saltiness is necessary to preserve the meat. Don’t get too hung up on the recipe, it is good just about any way you fix it.

Instructions

With a very sharp knife, slice the uncooked roast with the grain (usually lengthwise down the roast) into strips about 1/8 inch thick. Thinner will make the jerky spicier and crisper. Thicker, up to about 1/4 inch, will make it easier to slice but increases drying time. Trim the fat.

Put the slices in a large Ziploc bag with the marinade. Squeeze to remove as much air as possible, and have a helper seal the bag. Let soak at room temperature for at least an hour.

Remove the strips and place them in a dehydrator. Spread them in a single layer on each rack and sprinkle with significant quantities of black pepper on one side.

Dry on high (145°) in the dehydrator or turn your oven temperature selector until the light comes on (the lowest setting possible) and dry on a rack in the oven. In the oven, prop the door open about 3 inches at the top. Drying time is about 8 to 10 hours, but it can take twice that long for thicker pieces.

Bending should splinter some of the outside fibers when done. It can be kept at room temperature for a couple of weeks and will actually get better in a day or two as the moisture content becomes more uniform throughout.