Making your own homemade jerky is super easy when you use this homemade venison jerky recipe! Since it is made with ground venison, the jerky has a soft texture with just the right chewiness. It has a bold, wild game flavor that is perfectly complimented by a simple blend of seasonings and spices. I like to add a little spice to my jerky by putting some fresh ground black pepper or red pepper flakes on the jerky before it gets dehydrated. And, you don’t even need a dehydrator to makes this recipe, you can dehydrate the jerky right in your oven! Homemade venison jerky makes a delicious homestead snack or trail food!

homemade jerky in a rustic pie plate on a wood table

Pioneer Recipe

Venison jerky is certainly a pioneer recipe! The early pioneers would have made jerky from beef or venison and would have jerked the meat over an open flame. While today’s recipe is not jerked over an open flame, it still uses simple ingredients to create a modern pioneer version of classic jerky.

Simple Ingredients– I wanted to make this jerky recipe as simple as possible without compromising flavor. The simple blend of spices used in this recipe lend a mild flavor to the wild game meat. All of the ingredients I use in my venison jerky are ones that I try to keep stocked in the homestead pantry, so they are all easily at hand when I want to make jerky. The chive vinaigrette can even be made from scratch, which I’ll discuss in a minute!

Allergy-Friendly– The best part about making your own venison jerky is that you don’t have to worry about any filler ingredients, preservatives, or excess sugar in the end product! It makes a great snack for modern pioneers with dietary restrictions. This venison jerky is…

gluten-free
grain-free
dairy-free
egg free
nut free
refined-sugar free
low inflammation food
high protein snack

Easy to Customize– Lastly, you will love this venison jerky recipe because it is so easy to customize to whatever flavors you want! This basic recipe focuses on highlighting the distinct flavor of wild venison, but you can easily mix and match spices, seasonings, and even vinaigrettes for distinct jerky flavors.

venison jerky in a brown paper bag on a wood table

Ingredient Guide

Ground Venison– I use ground venison to make jerky with since it is one cut of meat that we always have a lot of whenever we process our own deer or elk. Traditional jerky is usually made from thin cuts of muscle meat instead of ground meat, but I haven’t created a jerky recipe yet that doesn’t use ground meat. With the aid of a jerky pistol, you can easily turn ground meat into flavorful jerky! Ground meat doesn’t yield as chewy of a jerky, but it is still flavorful and stays together in nice jerky strips.

Another way I like to use ground venison is by making venison tacos or paleo venison chili!

Chive Vinaigrette– You will need to marinate the ground venison before making the jerky to get the most flavorful results. I use a homemade chive vinaigrette in my venison jerky. Find the recipe for the vinaigrette in our Homemade Condiments Recipes mini ebook! Alternatively, you can use your favorite vinaigrette dressing.

Liquid Smoke-The pioneers would have had natural smoke flavoring on their jerky. And as a modern pioneer, I like that little extra flavor that liquid smoke lends to meat dishes, including my homemade jerky! Liquid smoke is an optional ingredient, but I highly recommend giving it a try. Just make sure you buy all-natural liquid smoke that does not have any artificial flavors or preservatives in it. Another recipe that I like to use liquid smoke in is my homemade BBQ pulled venison!

Spices & Seasonings– I use a very basic blend of spices to flavor my homemade venison jerky. I enjoy the bold flavor of wild game, so adding a bunch of seasonings and spices is not necessary for me. However, you can do whatever you like best! Try a bbq seasoning blend, a basic herb blend, a chipotle blend, or a black pepper blend.

Raw Honey– Raw honey is the sweetener in this homemade jerky. Even though you can’t distinctly taste the honey in the jerky, the sweetness of the honey balances out some of the other spices and seasonings in the jerky. You could also use maple syrup or even a granulated sugar, like coconut sugar.

Flavors– Lastly, you can play around with flavoring your venison jerky in different ways by modifying a few key ingredients. Here are some ingredients you can swap out for different flavors:

Chive Vinaigrette– Greek vinaigrette, balsamic vinaigrette, coconut aminos, herb vinaigrette
Spices & Seasonings– chili seasoning, BBQ seasoning, herb seasoning, cajun seasoning
Toppings– black pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic salt

Toppings are flavors that you can add to the jerky after you made the jerky strips but before the jerky gets dehydrated in the oven. These are flavorings that will be on the outside of the jerky. I like to use crushed black pepper as a jerky topping.

homemade venison jerky strips in rustic tin pales

Tips for Making Jerky

Can I make this jerky without a jerky pistol?

I have not tried making jerky with ground venison without using a jerky pistol. The jerky pistol helps you get even strips of meat that are all the same thickness for dehydrating in the oven. However, if you want to try making ground venison jerky without a jerky pistol, one option would be to manually make the strips.

Divide the raw jerky mixture in half and pat it out into an 1/8th inch thick rectangle or square. Use a pizza cutter to slice strips in the square or rectangle. Then use a large, flat spatula to transfer the strips to the parchment paper covered cooling racks for dehydrating.

Can I put the jerky right on the cooling racks and skip using the parchment paper?

I don’t recommend skipping the parchment paper when making ground venison jerky. The moisture content of the ground venison jerky is higher than normal jerky since it is allowed to marinate overnight and the extra moisture is absorbed. When the jerky starts to get dehydrated, it will stick to the wire racks if the jerky is not on parchment paper. Once the jerky has dehydrated for an hour or so, it will be dry enough to not stick to the wire racks. Removing the parchment paper for the remainder of the dehydration time helps the jerky dehydrate faster.

What if my oven doesn’t have convection bake, can I still make this jerky?

Yes! Even if your oven doesn’t have convection bake, you can still make this jerky in your oven. It will just take longer to dehydrate. You can still remove the parchment paper after about an 1.5 hours, but after that you may need to allow the jerky to dehydrate for closer to 3-4 more hours versus the 2-2.5 hours needed with a convection oven.

How can I tell if the jerky is dehydrated enough?

The venison jerky should be an even dark color with no light or pink spots showing. It will also feel dry to the touch. Since this jerky is made with ground meat, it won’t get super chewy, but the jerky strips should hold together when you take them off the wire cooling racks.

Will homemade venison jerky last as long as store-bought jerky?

Since homemade venison jerky doesn’t have any added preservatives and it has not been cured, it will not last as long as store-bought jerky. With that said, as long as you keep the jerky in airtight container and at or below room temperature, it will stay just fine for several weeks. If you put the jerky in the fridge, it can last for up to a month.

For long term storage, you can easily freeze your homemade jerky. It freezes and unthaws very nicely. I highly recommend storing your jerky in vacuum-sealed bags no matter how you are storing them (room temperature, fridge, or freezer). The vacuum-sealed bags will further extend the storage life of the jerky since very minimal oxygen will be in the bag.

Another fun snack food that I like to make are these no-bake peanut butter cereal bars!

This homemade venison jerky uses just a few simple ingredients and can be dehydrated right in the oven in your homestead kitchen! The end results are perfectly flavorful and make a great high-protein snack or trail lunch food!

Homemade Venison Jerky

Recipe by The Pioneer Chicks

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 4

Total Time 16 30

Author Alexa Lehr

Ingredients

2 lbs. ground venison
1/2 cup chive vinaigrette dressing
2 T. liquid smoke
1 1/2 tsp. organic smoked paprika
1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. organic onion powder
1 tsp. organic garlic powder
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 T. raw honey

Instructions

Place the ground venison in a large mixing bowl. Break it up with your hands so that it is easier to mix.
Add all of the other ingredients to the bowl. Mix thoroughly with your hands or with a stiff spatula. Once thoroughly combined, shape the meat into one large 'meatball' and cover the mixing bowl with an airtight lid.
Let the meat rest in the fridge for 12-24 hours. I like to let mine rest overnight.
When you are ready to make the jerky, prep three large cooling racks. Line each cooling rack with parchment paper and place the cooling racks on large baking trays to make them easier to move in and out of the oven.
Preheat a convection oven to 170°F with convection turned on.
Get the meat out of the fridge and assemble your jerky pistol. Fill the jerky pistol and squeeze out jerky strips onto the parchment paper lined cooling racks. You can make the strips close together to fit as much jerky on one rack as possible.
Once you have finished making the jerky strips, sprinkle any spices or seasonings over the jerky strips. I like to grind more black pepper over the jerky for some added spice!
Bake the jerky for 1.5 hours. Take each pan out and slide the parchment paper off of the cooling racks (with the jerky still on it). Take each jerky piece off the parchment paper, flip it over, and place each piece back on the cooling racks.
Bake for 2-2.5 more hours. The jerky should be dark in color and feel dry to the tough. Allow the jerky to cool completely before storing in airtight containers. For prolonged storage, keep the jerky in the fridge or freeze it.

Where to Find the Ingredients:

gluten-free homemade jerky in a brown paper bag and in a rustic pie plate on a wood table

I love making my own homemade venison jerky! Jerky is so expensive in the grocery stores, so I find it helpful to use an economical cut of meat (ground meat) to make my own jerky right in the homestead kitchen. It makes the perfect high-protein snack and I always pack a few vacuum-sealed bags of homemade venison jerky on camping and hunting trips. The bold flavor of the wild game meat really shines through and the jerky has a nice soft but slightly chewy texture.

Don’t miss any other pioneer recipes from our chuckwagon! Join our modern pioneer newsletter community so you can add more heritage recipes to your homestead recipe collection!