Air fryer beef jerky
200 min · 18 g protein · 109 cals / serving
Lean eye of round sliced thin, marinated in soy, Worcestershire, smoked paprika and plenty of black pepper, then dried low and slow in the air fryer. Chewy, smoky and savory, with almost no sugar, and a good handful carries about 18 grams of protein.
Ingredients
- 1 lb eye of round roast, trimmed of all visible fat
Marinade
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp paprika, smoked
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
- a pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
Steps
- Wrap the beef and freeze it for 1–2 hours, until firm but not solid. Slice it against the grain into strips 1/8–1/4 inch thick.
- Whisk the marinade ingredients in a bowl or zip-top bag, add the beef and massage until every strip is coated. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
- Lift the strips out, let the excess drip off and pat them dry with paper towels. Lay them in the air fryer basket in a single layer without overlapping; use a rack or work in batches.
- Dry at 170°F, or on the dehydrate setting, for 2–3 hours, flipping halfway, until the strips are dark, dry to the touch and bend before they crack.
- For safety, turn the air fryer up to 275°F for the last 10 minutes so the meat passes 160°F, the temperature USDA asks of jerky. Cool on a rack before storing.
Good to know
Why eye of round?
It is one of the leanest cuts there is, and fat is what turns jerky rancid. Flank or top round also work; trim them hard.
How long does it keep?
Homemade jerky dried this way is softer than the bagged kind, so keep it in an airtight container in the fridge and eat it within 2 weeks.
My air fryer won't go below 195°F.
Use the lowest setting and start checking after 1 hour. Hotter drying gives a softer, more cooked jerky, which is still very good, just less chewy.
Per
- Calories
- 320
- Protein
- (69%)
- 53 g
- Fat
- (22%)
- 8 g
- Carbohydrates
- (9%)
- 7 g
- of which sugar
- 3 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 1,015 mg
More snacks
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 656 kcal goes into the pot and 510 g of ingredients comes out as about 205 g of food: 320 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.