My homemade pork jerky is marinated in a sweet and spicy sauce and dried in a dehydrator until chewy and delicious! Making your own jerky is a great snack to enjoy in the outdoors or an everyday treat.
I recommend making your homemade pork jerky in a dehydrator, but for those who don't have one I will also explain how to make jerky in your oven, or smoker instead.
If you are craving more snack ideas, try my honey roasted chickpeas too.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Pork tenderloin - You can substitute pork loin instead.
- Worcestershire sauce & Soy Sauce - This is the base of the marinade and adds saltiness to the jerky. I don't recommend making substitutions for these.
- Brown sugar - You can substitute white sugar instead, or even mirin for more of an Asian flare.
- Chili paste - This adds your heat, but you can also use hot sauce instead.
- Lime - Fresh lime juice brightens up the flavor and adds acidity. Feel free to use oranges instead, or even grapefruit.
- Garlic - I recommend using whole cloves of garlic rather than garlic powder, but crush them to release more flavor.
- Black peppercorns - The black pepper does not need to be ground, the whole peppercorns will release their flavor while soaking in the marinade.
- Liquid smoke - This adds a welcomed smokiness to the jerky when not using a traditional smoker.
Preparing your meat
The best jerky is made from thin slices of meat. You want to avoid cutting thick slices because it will take much longer to cook and the texture won't be as good.
The easiest way to cut your jerky properly is by partially freezing the meat. This firms it up so it is easier to work with. I recommend cutting your pork tenderloin in long quartered strips. By quartering the meat you allow it to partially freeze more consistently than if you left the tenderloin whole.
Let the meat sit in the freezer for two hours, then cut thinly with a chef's knife or use a deli slicer instead. You want the strips to be approximately ⅛" thick.
The jerky marinade
You will notice there are no spices and seasonings called for in the jerky marinade, such as I use in my beef jerky recipe. I found the seasoning dries to the exterior of the jerky, giving it a sandier texture. It is still delicious, but I wanted to make this recipe a bit cleaner.
All of the ingredients of this marinade will soak together to form one harmonious flavor, with many different notes. The marinade should be combined in a small bowl and added to a saucepan and simmered for 5-10 minutes to dissolve the brown sugar and allow the flavors to meld. Once simmered, cool off the marinade in the refrigerator at least to room temperature prior to adding the meat.
Tip: Adding the pork to a hot marinade will cook it and ruin the texture of your jerky.
Once the marinade has completely cooled add the pork to it and let marinate overnight. If you don't have time to let it sit overnight, I recommend marinating for at least two hours. Any excess marinade can be discarded.
I recommend marinating your meat in sealable gallon storage bags. Using a plastic bag makes it easier for the marinade to fully cover the meat.
How to make dehydrator pork jerky
When making pork jerky in the dehydrator it is important to spread the meat apart evenly in a single layer. You want all of the pork strips to get airflow. Set the dehydrator to 160 degrees and cook for 4 hours. Once an hour each tray should be rotated to ensure everything cooks evenly.
Start checking the jerky for doneness at 3 hours. The total cooking time will vary depending on how thin your jerky was sliced.
How to make it in the oven
Pork jerky can be made in the oven as well, but the problem is most ovens aren't able to be set at a low enough temperature to dehydrate properly. If you have a convection oven you will definitely want to turn on the convection fan to create air movement.
Pork jerky can be baked on the bottom rack of the oven at 180 degrees for 2 - 3 hours, or until the thin strips are dried and cooked through. If your oven temperature goes lower than 180 degrees you can cook it like using a dehydrator.
Tip: Place the jerky on parchment paper to avoid it sticking to your baking sheet as it dries.
How to make smoked pork jerky
Smoked pork jerky may be the most flavorful way to make it as each strip gets infused with a wonderfully smoking flavor. If smoking your jerky, there is no need to use liquid smoke in the recipe. Smoke your jerky at 160 degrees for four hours, just like using the dehydrator.
Expert Tips & Tricks
- This recipe will also work with wild game.
- The exact drying times will vary depending on the thickness of your jerky strips.
- Tenderloin is naturally lean, but there is often some silverskin left on it which should be trimmed off.
- Any rendering fat pooling on the pork pieces while cooking should be blotted up with paper towels. This shouldn't be much of an issue when using lean meat.
Jerky FAQs
Your jerky is done when it reaches 160 degrees. The jerky should feel dry to the touch and the meat should no longer be soft or spoungy.
When properly dried jerky can be stored in a cool dry place in an airtight container for one to two weeks. To increase the shelf life the jerky can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.
Yes, pork jerky is safe to make as long as it is prepared properly. Since most homemade recipes don't use preservatives reduce the risk of foodborne illness, it is best to fully cook your jerky in four hours or less to ensure the meat does not linger in the temperature danger zone where bacteria can form. Once the jerky is dried out it is safe to eat.
Sweet and Spicy Pork Jerky
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound pork tenderloin
Marinade
- ⅓ cup Worcestershire sauce
- ⅓ cup Soy Sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Chili paste
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- ¼ teaspoon black peppercorns (leave whole)
- ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 lime juiced
Instructions
- Cut the tenderloin in half lengthwise twice so it is in long, quartered, strips. Set these strips on a baking sheet and place in your freezer for two hours to firm up.
- Slice your meat into ⅛" thick strips, or as thinnlyas possible.
- Mix together all of the marinade ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until all of the brown sugar has been dissolved. Then remove from the heat and cool completely.
- Once cooled, pour the marinade into a large sealable bag with the sliced pork. Let marinate overnight, or at least a minimum of two hours.
- Remove pork from the marinade and pat dry. Lay strips of pork evenly on dehydrator trays and set the dehydrator to 160 degrees.
- Dehydrate for four hours, or until the pork jerky dries out.
- Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place.
Laura
Are you cutting WITH the grain or AGAINST the grain?
Mike Cs Mom
Giving this 5 not just because the recipe is great, but to also balance out Mike C's very dim light. It sure does prove what his mom told him: "Little Mikey be careful because you become what you eat!" And man...he loves his jerky...
Alex
Why is nitrite salt not used for safety?
Fox Valley Foodie
When cut thin, the jerky dehydrates fast enough at 160 degrees that this isn't a problem. The recipe says it takes 4 hours, but often it is even quicker than that. However, you can add 1 teaspoon of pink salt per 5 pounds of meat for added assurance.
Gail G
I made this once and it was so good I'm making it again!! That says alot because I always switch things up. Absolutely scrumptious and warning...it's addictive
Thanx for the recipe!
Christine
I made it I’m in love yummmm
Guamaniac
Excellent, can’t stop eating it. I substituted chili paste with Habanero chili crunch. Same recipe with beef worked well too.
James L. Hunt
We love it, and our friends say it is the "Best", Thank you!
JHunt, Livingston CA
Dave
This is a great recipe but for really spicy jerky I recommend carolina reaper mash. Oo-la-la
Trenten
Sounds great I’m going to try it tomorrow! Do you make your slices the opposite way you would normally slice a loin then?
Taira
Ive made this twice now, but with pork belly sliced thin..absolutely delicious!! My favorite part is the fatty stuff becoming extra Chewy. I use red pepper flakes instead of the sauce and I love the small amount of hest it gives out with each bite
PIERRE
Been doing this recipe for a while now. Love it. After dehydration I pass the jerky a few minutes in the oven at 200 degrees F. to make sure the jerky has reached correct internal temperature, as is recommended in my dehydrator's instruction manual. Maybe it's overkill. They are great !
Tim
I am assuming your temp is in Fahrenheit?
Fox Valley Foodie
Yes, that is correct.
Rj
Best way to store in freezer? Ziplocks? Freezer life? Can’t wait to make this
Roger Foust
I’ve been making jerky for over 50 years out of venison, beef, salmon and small game. Sometimes I have commingled smoked squirrel pieces using a Bradley smoker for excellent temperature and smoke selection. When vacuum sealing first came out I tried them. Seemed expensive but well worth it. Sealed bags of jerky take up very little space in my freezer and really last. I tend to make both mild and hot jerky as some family members can’t handle the hot stuff.
I intend to make some of this recipe before rating it, but just looking at the ingredients I’m sure it will be delicious.
Josie
I just tried your recipe - first time making pork jerky. I didn't have chili paste so I used cayenne pepper. It turned out great! I might make some small adjustments next time but overall, I'm very pleased with it!
Al
Why do you call it pork "jery"?
Fox Valley Foodie
Because I can't spell apparently. Thanks for catching that.
Joe Hadacek
I used my smoker at 160 and it came out perfect! Fantastic flavor, Has JL’s beat hands down. Will go through several batches during fall hunting season and plan to use venison if successful!!
Mike Connelly
I'm rating your recipe only mid-point because I haven't yet tried it but it sounds great and I have never made pork jerky. I will soon try it though with my annual batches of venison and beef jerky. I use both a dehydrator and a smoker depending on how my soul moves me at a given time.
Do you by chance have a recipe for turkey jerky that uses domestic turkey rather than wild turkey?
If you do, I would love to try it! I've been trying for years but with little success.
Thank you! I will provide a complete review of your pork jerky when my first batch has finished.
Fox Valley Foodie
Unfortunately I have not tried a turkey jerky recipe yet.
Kris
Why do a low rated star review on someone's recipe without actually making it first? Bring down their overall rating and you haven't even bothered to make it yet. Then say you'll give a better rating and a review after making it but don't. Makes no sense. Try the recipe then write a review.
KC
Mike- why leave a rating at all? It does not help the author or reader at al, it has the opposite effect. SMH
Hey Foxy, i can't wait to try it in my dehydrator, thanks for your well written article.
Jeannine
Tried this recipe but found it very bland compared to my go to recipe. Did a few modifications and turned out much better to our liking.
Ron
Why even leave a review when you haven't tried the pork jerky?
Tom Katsiroubas
@Mike, this recipe is 5 stars. How can you rate it without trying it? Not fair IMHO. I have made it several times. I try not to make it too often because it is too addictive.
Max
I was flabberghasted that someone hurts a recipe's rating before even trying it out. Please stop doing so.
Mark
Mike, don't be an A hole and wreck someones ratings just because you didn't try it! Seriously, dude,what were you thinking?