Smoker Jerky, Rump Roast
Two hours at 170 on the smoker turns three pounds of round into a week of protein that needs no cooler.
- calories
- 160
- weight
- 1.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 107
- protein
- 26 g
- serves
- 10, scales
- prep
- 45 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 45 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Snack
- No cook
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Day hike
- Bikepacking
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Lean beef | 3 lb | eye of round or rump roast, all visible fat trimmed |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 2 cups | |
| Worcestershire sauce | 1/2 cup | check the label if you need it gluten-free |
| Brown sugar | 1/2 cup | |
| Apple cider vinegar | 1/4 cup | |
| Sea salt | 2 tbsp | |
| Black pepper | 1 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tbsp | |
| Onion powder | 1 tbsp | |
| Jalapenos | 2, sliced | optional, and they only add heat, not flavor |
Method
- At home: firm the roast in the freezer for an hour, then slice it 1/8 inch thick against the grain. Cold meat cuts straight; warm meat tears.
- Warm the water, Worcestershire, sugar, vinegar, salt, and spices in a saucepan until the sugar and salt dissolve. Cool it completely before it touches the meat.
- Put the slices and the cold marinade in a zip bag, press the air out, and leave it in the fridge overnight.
- Drain the strips and blot them dry. Wet meat steams instead of drying.
- Lay the strips on smoker racks without overlap. Run the smoker at 170F for about two hours.
- Pull a piece and bend it. It should crack at the fold and not snap in half. If it is still soft, give it another twenty minutes.
- Cool the jerky fully on the racks, then bag it. Warm jerky sweats and the moisture comes back.
Jerky is the rare trail food you cannot make in camp, so all the work happens weeks ahead. The payoff is protein density: about 26 grams per ounce and a half, with no water weight and nothing that needs cooling. The marinade is doing two jobs. The salt and sugar pull moisture out of the meat, and the vinegar and Worcestershire soften the muscle fibers on a cut that is otherwise tough.
Fat is the reason batches fail. It does not dry, it goes rancid, and it makes the strips chewy in the wrong way, so trim harder than feels necessary and stay with eye of round or rump. Slicing thin and evenly matters as much as the smoker temperature does; a thick strip in the middle of the rack is the piece that spoils the bag. Dry to the bend test, cool it completely, and it travels.
Packing
Once cold, split it into daily portions in sandwich bags so you are not opening the whole batch on day one. Trimmed lean and dried to the bend test, it holds two weeks in a pack without a cooler. Any fat you missed is what goes rancid first.
Variations
- Double the black pepper, or leave the jalapeno slices in the marinade overnight, for real heat.
- Swap in cayenne, paprika, or chili powder for a different profile at the same weight.
- Crumble a handful into a pot of instant potatoes or ramen at camp for a hot dinner.
https://www.theseasonalhomestead.com/smoked-beef-jerky-recipe