The BEST Turkey Jerky Recipe (2024)

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Looking for something different from the usual jerky made out of beef? Well, you found it! This easy to make turkey jerky has a fantastic salty and sweet flavor that will top any jerky you have tried up to this point. I know that's a bold statement, but it's most definitely THAT good.

Video - Making Turkey Jerky

Why this recipe works

Using simple and proven great tasting ingredients, this turkey jerky recipe is set up to have fantastic flavor. The soy sauce and worcestershire give it a nice salty flavor that is synonymous with jerky while the brown sugar provides that perfect balance with sweetness. You're going to love this!

What turkey is best?

Turkey breast is going to be the best cut of turkey to use when making turkey jerky. The reason being it's so lean. Using a lean cut of meat that has little fat is very important. Fat spoils faster than meat, the leaner the meat the longer the finished jerky will last when it's finished drying.

Turkey breast can be bought at most supermarkets already removed from the bird. No need to buy a whole turkey, the breast or tenderloin (a tender cut from the breast) can normally be found on the shelf alongside the ground turkey.

How to slice the meat

The best thickness when slicing turkey jerky is ⅛" to ¼" thick and as long as you want. The length doesn't matter at all, only how thick the turkey is. Making sure to have consistent pieces of turkey is also very important as it ensures all the jerky will be finished drying at the same time.

Using a sharp knife

The most important tool to have when slicing the breast for turkey jerky is a really sharp knife. This will make a huge difference, I am currently using a Victorinox knife that has a really good feel and sharp blade. When it starts getting dull, a quick sharpen and it is just like new.

If you have never sharpened a knife before, it's super easy and will make a HUGE difference when slicing nice even strips of turkey. The people at Cook's Illustrated put together a great article on how to sharpen a knife, it's a must read.

Partially freeze the turkey

Another really important step when preparing to slice the turkey is partially freezing the breast. By wrapping the turkey breast in plastic wrap and placing in the freezer for about an hour will firm the meat up and make slicing even strips a LOT easier.

Combining the partially frozen turkey breast with a really sharp knife is a game changer when slicing turkey for jerky. Don't make your life hard, make it SUPER easy by following those two steps.

Making the marinade

Oh yes, this is the fun part of making turkey jerky! Great tasting and strong flavors are what make this jerky taste SO good.

Step 1 - Combine all of the jerky marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Once the brown sugar has dissolved, pour the marinade into a large ziplock bag and set aside.

Step 2 - Combine the previously sliced turkey strips with the marinade and mix the bag well. Make sure that all the strips are evenly coated.

Marinate in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours for a full flavored turkey jerky. While the meat is marinating, make sure to shake the bag several times to move the strips around to further make sure they are all covered and marinate evenly.

Should I use curing salt?

When making chicken or turkey jerky, I always include curing salt into the marinade to help prevent bacteria in the jerky. Curing salt is mostly table salt with about 6% sodium nitrite, an ingredient that removes water from the meat and the bacteria cells themselves.

Drying the jerky

Once the turkey has finished marinating and is full of all that great sweet and salty flavor, it's time to dry it and make it into jerky! You can dry jerky in either an Oven, Dehydrator, or Smoker. I decided to dry this jerky with a Nesco Dehydrator, it's so easy and produces great tasting jerky.

The first step of drying the jerky is to strain the turkey strips in a colander to remove any of the excess marinade.

The second step is placing the jerky strips onto the dehydrator trays leaving space in between so air can flow all around the turkey jerky.

Turn the dehydrator on the highest setting and dry until finished, this is on average 4-6 hours. You want to make sure the turkey is heated to an internal temperature of 165°F to further help in killing any bacteria.

Pre or post heat treatment

If you are not sure if your dehydrator heats the jerky to this temperature, you can pre-heat the meat or do a post heat treatment to make sure the jerky reaches the all important 165°F. This is done by placing the meat on a cookie sheet and putting in a 300°F pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes. This can be done before dehydrating or after.

Food safety is very important when making jerky, especially chicken or turkey jerky. Here I have put together a lot of great information on jerky safety and food safety steps you can follow when making homemade turkey jerky.

How to tell when the jerky is finished

Start checking your jerky after about 3.5hrs on the dehydrator. Take a piece out of the dehydrator and allow it to cool to room temperature, about 5 minutes. Once it is cool, the easiest way to test the jerky is to perform the bend test or the rip test.

The bend test

Take a piece of the turkey jerky and bend in half. The jerky should bend and crack but not break in half. If it just bends into a U shape without cracking, it is not finished and needs to continue to be dried. If it breaks in half, the jerky has been over dried.

It should take at least 3.5 hours to dry the jerky in a dehydrator (could be as little as 2.5hrs in a pellet smoker) so as long as you start checking it then, this shouldn't happen.

The rip test

Rip a piece of jerky in half lengthwise down the strip of jerky. It should rip easily and white fibers should be seen within the meat. This is a sure way to tell if it's finished drying.

FAQ

Old pro tips

• Definitely partially freeze and use a sharp knife when slicing strips
• If using a smoker, you can smoke for 1 hour and then transfer to a dehydrator to give the jerky a real smoke flavor with the fantastic finished texture of a dehydrator
• Liquid smoke can be used for a smoke flavor as well. Hickory would go perfect with this recipe.

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