Cranberry Sriracha Beef Jerky
Folks, I believe this flavor should be hung in some sort of flavor hall of fame out there in the world. But I may be biased 😉
I have been on a beef jerky hunt since starting the Whole30. But NONE of the ones out there are compliant! I even checked out online “paleo” friendly beef jerky suppliers but couldn’t bring myself to pay that much for silly jerky.
On the Whole30, you are allowed a pre or post workout meal and I really wanted some protein that wasn’t hard boiled eggs this week. So instead I had 2 pieces of this beef jerky, some berries or a scoop of mashed sweet potato with a small handful of no sugar added coconut chips ( my new favorite thing!).
As I was browsing Epic bar’s website they had a flavor that struck me and I could not get it out of my head: Cranberry Sriracha Jerky. It sounded like there should be an awesome guitar riff to go with the name alone.
I took that flavor idea and ran with it.
I literally took out my bottle of sriracha that has been sitting in the fridge forever and read the label. Not surprising that there is sugar in the real stuff…But I had the other flavors in spice form, so I got to work to come up with the perfect Sriracha rub!
I cut flank steak into very thin strips, rubbed the Sriracha flavoring all over it, then it marinated in pure cranberry juice for over 24 hours. Then into the dehydrator for about 14 hours. This batch by far, is the best beef jerky I have ever had.
The cranberry juice gave it a rich color and gave it a tart/sweet after taste. But the sriracha rub had you go “whoa!” at the first bite.
Cranberry Sriracha Beef Jerky is flank steak that has been shown some Sriracha lovin and marinated in cranberry juice then dehydrated to perfect jerky goodness.
BTW, I am totally making another batch this weekend as part of my meal prep.
Speaking of which, please tell me if you would like more meal prep posts or weekly meal plans on The Kitcheneer! I love getting feedback and other suggestions!
You Need:
1 flank steak (ours was 2 lbs)
Sriracha Rub:
1 tbs chili powder
½ teaspoon cayenne powder
3 teaspoon of pickling salt
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon xanthum gum (this stuff is sticky!) – Which is good because it makes the rub stick to the meat like glue!
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
3 tbs of apple cider vinegar
½ -¾ cup of pure cranberry juice (to be Whole30 compliant it MUST just have cranberries and nothing else! No sugar or weird additives) try checking out your local Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s for this if you want to remain compliant. If not, any cranberry juice will be fine here.
Directions:
In a small bowl, mix all spices together to create a rub
Slice beef into very thin strips (try to keep it less than ½” in thickness)
Put beef into a container and toss with rub (make sure it is thoroughly covered)
Lay beef out evenly in container and pour vinegar and juice over top
Seal container and place in fridge to marinate for at least 24 hours (the longer it marinates the deeper the flavor)
If you have a dehydrator, place beef on racks and let it dry out for 12-14 hours depending on thickness it could take longer.
If you don’t have a dehydrator, preheat oven to 170.
Place beef on a rimmed baking pan and bake for roughly 4-5 hours ( check on it half way through to ensure it is drying evenly)
Flip beef halfway through – if using oven method.
For best results, I highly recommend getting a dehydrator.
This is the one I use here.
Nesco American Harvest FD-28JX Jerky Xpress Dehydrator Kit with Jerky Gun
Now enjoy the BEST beef jerky EVER!
Leave a Reply