How to Make Air Fryer Beef Jerky
Transforming lean bottom round into tender, chewy snacks doesn’t require a bulky dehydrator or leaving your oven on all day. Making this Air Fryer Beef Jerky is remarkably fast and uses a clever hanging trick inside the basket to ensure proper airflow for even drying. Coated in a sweet, smoky, and slightly spicy marinade, you can create incredible homemade jerky right on your kitchen counter in about an hour of cooking time.
The trick to this method is using standard wooden skewers cut to size, which suspend the strips of beef inside the air fryer. This allows the hot circulating air to dehydrate the meat from all sides without sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No food dehydrator needed: This recipe utilizes the standard basket of your air fryer.
- Clever airflow technique: Suspending the meat on skewers allows for even, efficient drying from all angles.
- Rich, bold marinade: A mix of liquid smoke, brown sugar, and chili pepper sauce gives the jerky a deep, complex flavor.
- Fast drying time: The beef dehydrates beautifully in just about an hour at 180°F.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup tamari soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon Hickory flavored liquid smoke
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon Trader Joe’s chili pepper sauce
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 pound lean cut bottom round beef (pre-sliced or sliced by your butcher)
- Wooden shish kabob skewers
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together the tamari soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, chili pepper sauce, and dark brown sugar to create the marinade.
- If any of your beef slices are larger than you want for jerky, cut them down a bit.
- Place the beef into the marinade, making sure that each piece is well coated.
- Refrigerate the beef overnight to let the flavors absorb.
- Using scissors, cut your wooden shish kabob skewers down to length so they can rest perfectly across the lip of your air fryer pan.
- Remove the marinated beef from the refrigerator and use paper towels to wipe away the excess marinade.
- Skewer the meat slices near one end, making sure to leave room in between the slices for proper airflow.
- Hang the skewers on the lip of the air fryer basket so the meat dangles downward.
- Carefully insert the basket into the air fryer, making sure not to knock the skewers off. Set the temperature to 180°F and set the timer for 45 minutes.
- Check on the jerky after the first 30 minutes to see how it is dehydrating, then return it for the remainder of the 45-minute timer.
- When the 45 minutes are up, check the jerky again. Rearrange the placement a bit, and put it back in for another 15 minutes.
- At the end of the final 15 minutes, remove the jerky. The color should look even and the meat should feel tender.
- Line a container with paper towels and layer the warm jerky between them to help remove the excess surface oils from the beef.
- Cover and let the jerky cool for about an hour.
- After an hour, remove the jerky and blot it to get the last bit of excess oil off before enjoying or packaging.
Notes
Don’t over-dry: You want the final product to be tender and chewy. Avoid drying the jerky to the point where it becomes papery.
Spacing matters: When skewering the meat, making sure the slices don’t touch each other is essential for the air fryer’s airflow to dehydrate the beef evenly.
Storage: You can eat the jerky right away, or package it up using a vacuum food sealer to preserve its freshness for longer.
