Elevate your snacking game with our irresistible smoked venison jerky recipe. The perfect blend of smoky, tender, and delicious flavors awaits you.
Course
Snack
Prep Time15minutes
Marinating12hours
Servings12
Ingredients
2poundsapprox. 900g of lean venison (hindquarters, eye of round, bottom round, or sirloin), thinly sliced against the grain
1cupsoy sauce
1/4cupWorcestershire sauce
2tablespoonsbrown sugar
1tablespoonhoney
1tablespoononion powder
1tablespoongarlic powder
1tablespoonground black pepper
1teaspoonhot sauceoptional, adjust to your spice preference
1teaspoonliquid smoke
Wood pellets of your choicehickory, cherry, mesquite, applewood, etc.
Instructions
Marinating the Venison Jerky
In a large mixing bowl, combine soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, honey, onion powder, garlic powder, ground black pepper, hot sauce (if using), and liquid smoke. Mix everything together until the sugar is dissolved and you have a tasty marinade.
Take your thinly sliced venison and add it to the marinade. Make sure each slice is well coated in the flavorful goodness. Time to get your hands dirty and give that meat some love!
Transfer the marinated venison into ziplock bags or airtight containers. Seal them up tight and pop them in the fridge. Let those flavors mingle and work their magic for at least 12 hours, or better yet, let it marinate overnight. Patience, my friends, patience!
Smoking the Venison Jerky
Now comes the fun part - smoking time! Fire up your pellet grill and set the temperature to about 160-180°F (around 71-82°C). The low and slow approach is the key to achieving that tender, smoky goodness.
While the grill is getting hot, take the marinated venison out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. Trust me, your jerky will thank you for it!
Load up your pellet grill with the wood pellets of your choice. The type of wood you choose will influence the final flavor, so pick wisely!
Lay out the venison strips on the grill grates or jerky racks. Make sure they are evenly spaced and not touching each other for even smoking.
Close the lid and let the smoking magic happen. Resist the urge to peek too often - we want to keep that heat and smoke locked in!
Depending on the thickness of your slices, it will take anywhere from 4 to 6 hours to reach jerky perfection. Use a food thermometer to check for doneness - the internal temperature should be around 160°F (71°C).
Enjoying the Fruits of Your Labor
Once your venison jerky is done smoking, take it off the grill and let it cool down for a bit. The aroma alone might make you want to devour it right away, but a little patience goes a long way!
Once cooled, it's time to indulge! Store any leftovers in an airtight container, but let's be real - this jerky is so tasty; it's doubtful you'll have much left!