Yes, beef jerky can be healthy and good for you if it’s made without soy sauce and sugar! This keto beef jerky recipe is delicious – and healthy.
This keto beef jerky recipe was the result of my desire to make delicious, healthy and keto homemade beef jerky.
Commercial beef jerky is often very sugary
Beef jerky is one of my favorite snacks. But it’s very difficult to find commercial beef jerky that isn’t made with soy sauce and sugar.
Most beef jerky brands contain quite a few grams of carbs per serving, in addition to an insanely high amount of sodium. This homemade beef jerky is not only tastier than commercial versions. It’s also made with no soy sauce and no sugar.
Sometimes I just give up and buy commercial beef jerky. At other times, I order Droewors or biltong on Amazon – these Southern African beef snacks are made without sugar.
But when I have the time, I love making this easy keto beef jerky recipe. It’s the healthiest option, and so delicious!
Is it difficult to make keto beef jerky?
Not at all! This is a very simple, easy keto beef jerky recipe. It doesn’t even require marinating the beef prior to drying it in the oven. It’s so good, I now make it once a week for our family of four. And it doesn’t even last an entire week! My kids absolutely love this jerky in their lunch boxes.
But red meat is unhealthy?
Red meat is actually very nutritious. Although it’s true that it’s probably best to limit your consumption of commercially processed meat and charred meat. But this keto beef jerky is made at home using fresh meat and is cooked slowly at a low temperature.
In addition to the basic nutrition info provided below, a serving of this keto beef jerky has 40% of your daily vitamin B12 requirements. It also has around 20% of vitamin B6, niacin, selenium and phosphorus, and 10% iron.
How to store homemade keto beef jerky
The only drawback to this keto beef jerky recipe: the final product does require refrigeration. Although placing it in a Ziploc bag and carrying it around for a couple of hours before you eat it is probably just fine.
Other keto snacks you might enjoy
Who says you can’t have great snacks on the keto diet? Another keto snack that I really like and make quite often is this recipe for salami chips. I also love jalapeno cheese crisps, homemade pork rinds and almond flour crackers.
Keto Beef Jerky Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 1.5 lb. skirt steak (or flank steak)
- 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 225 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Unfold the skirt steak and place it on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut the beef crosswise, against the grain (so that you sever the tough, thin fibers that you can see on the steak) into 2-inch-wide strips.
- You want the strips to be no more than 1/8-inch thick, so if they are thicker, slice each strip into two thinner, 1/8-inch-thick strips. This is not too hard to do, but if you want to make it even easier, place the beef strips in the freezer for 20 minutes before slicing them thinner.
- Use a meat pounder to pound the strips so that they are thinner and more even in thickness.
- Place the beef strips in a large bowl, add the spices and toss with your hands until thoroughly coated.
- Arrange the beef strips on the two baking sheets, not touching each other. Bake 3 hours, rotating the position of the baking sheets midway, until beef is browned and dry.
- Remove to a cooling rack placed on a tray or on foil (to catch any drips). Allow to cool and dry about one hour before enjoying. Refrigerate any leftovers – they’re delicious straight out of the fridge.
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