Easy Air Fryer Beef Jerky Recipe | Make Your Own Meaty Snack

You might be wondering, why should you make your own beef jerky when packs of it are easily available almost everywhere?

Well, the best answer to this is the fact that most of those jerkies are loaded with chemicals and preservatives. Not too appetizing, huh? They’re just really not the best snacks if you’re trying to eat better.

By learning how to make your own beef jerky, though, you can still enjoy this meaty snack without the guilt. You can stay away from preservatives and even choose the best ingredients for your dish. And with the help of a trusty air fryer, you can make the process even simpler.

How do you make an air fryer beef jerky? Check out the easy Beef Jerky recipe below.

Ingredients:

1 lb bottom round beef, sliced into thin strips
½ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup soy sauce (go for Tamari for a gluten-free recipe)
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp hickory liquid smoke
1 tbsp chili pepper sauce
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne red pepper
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp ground pepper

Instructions:

1. Prepare your ingredients. Mix all of the ingredients except for the meat in a bowl. This will create your marinade. Slice your beef thinly but if it’s still too thick, you can use a mallet to reduce its thickness.
2. Place the meat slices inside the marinade bowl. Make sure that each slide is well coated so your jerky can really absorb the flavor of your marinade. Cover the bowl and let it sit overnight.
3. Pre-heat the air fryer to 180F. Then pat dry the marinated beef strips with paper towels.
4. There are two ways you can go about air frying beef jerky. You can try both to discover the best way to get the job done:
   Use barbecue sticks to cook them on a skewer. You’ll basically hang the strips of meat using a stick so it can be better exposed to the hot air inside the air fryer. Puncture one end of the strips and then place the sticks across the fry basket to achieve this.
   Layer the meat. You can use a cooking rack for this method. Lay out some of the marinated strips in the bottom of the fry basket then place a cooking rack on top. Lay out another batch of marinated beef strips on top of that.
5. Set the air fryer to 180F then cook for an hour. Enjoy!

Health Benefits of Beef Jerky:

Being made of beef, this snack shouldn’t be really all that bad when it’s not made with a lot of chemicals and preservatives.

It’s actually considered as an excellent in-between-meals snack by some experts. Why, exactly, is this the case?

Here are a few reasons why you should consider snacking on beef jerky even when you’re trying to eat healthily:

While it does have a number of great health benefits, it’s high sodium and fat content still makes it very important for you to eat this snack in moderation. This way, you can really be sure that you’ll get the good things from it.