Make Ahead
Bulgogi Jerky
Popular on Food52
85 Reviews
Loreal
May 16, 2018
Just made this for an upcoming camping trip. The marinade is incredible (I used pear cider in lieu of pear nectar) and imparts a wonderful flavor. I dehydrated the meat at 155 degrees for about 5 hours--delicious!
Britty2Hottie
October 19, 2019
With homemade jerky, about ~2 weeks to one month with no refrigeration, or up to a few months in the refrigerator, I think. Look up other jerky recipes.
Alexandra A.
October 25, 2017
How long will this stay for?
Britty2Hottie
October 19, 2019
With homemade jerky, about ~2 weeks to one month with no refrigeration, or up to a few months in the refrigerator, I think. Look up other jerky recipes.
neighome
June 4, 2016
This looks delicious, though I wouldn't call a recipe that calls for refrigeration "road trip" friendly.
Heidi V.
February 5, 2015
The recipe says to store the jerky in a container in the fridge. How long can it be stored? And what's the best container to store it in glass, plastic, aluminum foil?
Kimberly J.
October 21, 2014
My Korean aunt uses kiwis and Asian pears in her bulgogi recipe. think it would would for this jerkey recipe. It's the acid that sweetens and tenderizes.
Laura415
August 24, 2014
I've never made jerky but do love it. Only thing is I do not love it too sweet. I like the idea of using fruit juice and then tasting for the balance of sweetness I will enjoy. Then I suppose it's alright to limit the honey to taste as well.
savorthis
August 25, 2014
My understanding is that the pear has an enzyme in it that helps tenderize the meat- so I would keep the juice which is only slightly sweet and omit the honey (or add to taste as you mentioned).
Kristy M.
July 28, 2014
I saw a cooking show on TV's diners and drives where a chef made his beef jerky (which got raves) like this:
He used eye of round, partly frozen and then sliced very thin and mixed a dry rub of garlic powder, sea salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, celery salt or seed(?), mesquite powder, onion powder, brown sugar and Italian oregano powder. He dredged the slices, placed them on cookie sheets single layer, then put into fridge for 24 hours, then into dehydrator for 4-8 hours until dry. His customers gobble it up like candy. I always made jerky with a wet solution as above...but I am gonna try this one. It looked awesome.
He used eye of round, partly frozen and then sliced very thin and mixed a dry rub of garlic powder, sea salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, celery salt or seed(?), mesquite powder, onion powder, brown sugar and Italian oregano powder. He dredged the slices, placed them on cookie sheets single layer, then put into fridge for 24 hours, then into dehydrator for 4-8 hours until dry. His customers gobble it up like candy. I always made jerky with a wet solution as above...but I am gonna try this one. It looked awesome.
DessertByCandy
July 28, 2014
Love it! The recipe makes over 4 cups of marinade, enough for 5.5lb of meat in my batch. I did a few ingredients substitutions including honey <-> citron marmalade, jalapeno <-> gochujang, kochukaru <-> shichimi togarashi. Pan seared some of the meat for a simple bulgogi dinner served with sesame leaves, rice, grilled veg, and gochujang. Two-for-one bonus!!
What my finished dish looks like: https://flic.kr/p/ot2EnC
What my finished dish looks like: https://flic.kr/p/ot2EnC
walkie74
July 2, 2014
I used shabu shabu ( thinly sliced beef) and it worked beautifully. I dried it for an hour at 200 in my electric oven, stacking three cookie racks and separating them with balls of aluminum (to increase air flow). I soaked my meat for almost three days due to laziness, but hubby didnt seem to notice any overt saltiness. Great job!
Chris V.
December 28, 2013
Oooh just made this for a road trip I'm taking tomorrow, and it is absolutely wonderful! Thanks so much for the recipe. I'm not at all surprised it won the best road trip snack contest!
Lori
December 10, 2013
If I can't find pear nectar is there a substitute I could use?
petalpusher
February 4, 2016
I've made it with canned pears thrown in to blend with the marinade. One other time I threw in a cup worth of spiced peaches. It's all tasted very good.
Mike S.
October 24, 2013
I am always looking for new and inventive ways to make venison jerky. Assuming I trimmed all tallow off, I would assume this would work great. Do you agree?
Cardigan_Sue
August 29, 2013
Would mirin work in place of sake?
savorthis
August 29, 2013
I might choose a dry sherry instead since mirin is so sweet though you could start with a little less honey and try the marinade and see if it seems way too sweet. There is just something in booziness of sake or sherry that is a little different.
livebythem
August 15, 2013
could a lazy and broke person just go to a korean mart and get bulgogi marinade and alter this recipe to avoid getting some of these ingredients? :D
savorthis
August 15, 2013
I'm sure that would work, though I'd look at the ingredient list as so many of those sauces have a lot of extra phooey in them. That said, I have purchased the actual raw and marinated bulgogi many times for a super fast and tasty dinner...
Bear S.
July 24, 2013
Kristy I looked over vegan Primal strips recipe and I am intrigued will give this mushroom jerky a try soon thanks
Kristy M.
July 24, 2013
http://www.thewickedgoodvegan.com/2012/10/31/vegan-jerky/
All you vegans: YOU TOO can eat jerky! This is an awesome recipe. Try it!
All you vegans: YOU TOO can eat jerky! This is an awesome recipe. Try it!
Bear S.
July 24, 2013
Kristy that's what making your own jerky you can tweak it to your own personal tastes and will definitely try cherry juice in near future on wild turkey or venison thanks
Kristy M.
July 24, 2013
I have always made jerky from top round beef and from turkey breast. I have used blueberry juice and or cherry juice, which is probably every bit as good as your pear juice! I don't make it hot/spicy cause I am allergic to hot pepper :( but bet it is tasty.
Bear S.
July 19, 2013
hey AL why would a person whom loathe and detest something even view a recipe or make such a comment. Unless your one of those people that only knows how to complain.
Al S.
July 19, 2013
If you like jerky I guess you would like this. I loathe and detest jerky. So does my family
Bear S.
July 11, 2013
basics good meat beef roasts or game meat i.e. deer - elk- boar/ sliced 1/4+thick / marinate with apple cider or citrus juice 24+ hrs / with worchestershire - soy - liquid smoke - crushed garlic- blk and red pepper or cayenne / remove from marinade pat dry place on dehydrator racks - add dry rub i.e. pepper - season or flavored salt - touch or brown sugar - to kick it up more cayenne / dehydrate 12 hrs on med temp when ready jerky bends not breaks. I have 2 Excalibur dehydrators 9 racks each and has time and heating element 125-140 degrees low and slow have commercial meat slicer / have jerky going every other day sell at local farmers markets and to friends
savorthis
July 14, 2013
Sounds good! I'd love a dehydrator for veggies too but I think we are all full up on specialty appliances at the moment.
GingerToastedSesame
July 10, 2013
If you can't find peach nectar, you can just take an Asian pear and just blend it and strain it or juice it. Or, you can use kiwi juice! My mom is Korean and said it's a common substitute, but be careful- the ability of kiwi juice to breakdown meat is amazing and can make it too tender and kind of mushy. So I would either reduce it or add it later on...
savorthis
July 10, 2013
That's good to know! I have seen kiwi in other Korean recipes but had no idea about their ability to break down meat. I had that exact problem with pineapple and tacos al pastor once. I knew better and should have added pineapple juice at the end, but ignored my smart self and ended up with very flavorful but mealy pork.
Jon
July 10, 2013
Wow....long time afficando of homemade jerky, will add & try this one. Thanks for a great blog from you & your team. Great recipies, keep-em coming.
anotherfoodieblogger
July 7, 2013
I MUST try this! Where can one buy pear nectar?
savorthis
July 7, 2013
I can find Kern's at Safeway, but Whole Foods also has pear juice. bulgogi traditionally uses grated Asian pear so that probably would work too.
ChrisJS
July 6, 2013
This beef jerky recipe is SICK and by sick I mean awesome. I've been making jerky for around 5 years now along with my friends. I made this and spread it around the circle. Had to juice a pear and made it a bit more spicy, otherwise I followed the recipe. Everyone loved it, thanks for the recipe!
savorthis
July 7, 2013
That's great! I'm so glad you liked it and hope you'll post the recipes you've used as well.
William W.
July 6, 2013
This jerky is delicious! No dehydrator is big plus, and I can't wait to play around with the spices!
andrea L.
July 5, 2013
Beef jerky is the ultimate road tripping snack! I make it all the time with my dehydrator :)
JanetFL
July 4, 2013
Congratulations, savorthis! I never heard of jerky until we started coming to Colorado and have yet to try it. Because this is your recipe, I'll give it a go!
savorthis
July 4, 2013
Thanks Janet. It is funny because until I made this recipe I had no idea there were people who did NOT grow up on jerky!
QueenSashy
July 4, 2013
This is magnificent!
savorthis
July 4, 2013
Thanks! You know, I can't stop commenting on those chai ribs of yours and I think those flavors would be a fantastic jerky recipe too!
srcerer
June 28, 2013
I've always wanted to make jerky but have never gotten around to it - despite having a dehydrator on hand for several years. So I decided to give this a go. This pulled together easily. The marinade is exceptional and incredibly tasty. I'm now inspired to use it for our next grill. We used bottom round and it all turned out great - despite the fact I forgot to put it on a rack in our deck oven. I had to leave most of the cooking in the capable hands of my partner, who makes his living creating cured meats. It took longer than 4 hours here - it was exceptionally muggy that day. I didn't have Kochukaru but I used a fantastic chili from India on half the pieces to spark it up. It worked perfectly. I couldn't find Pear nectar so it was Pear juice for us. I fed this to a small group of artisan meat makers and it was a big hit! I've been having for snacks after breakfast and late afternoon. I would definitely take this on the road or better yet, on a long backpacking trip.
vvvanessa
June 28, 2013
I was one of the lucky beneficiaries of srcerer's efforts. The jerky is delicious, the combination of flavors terrific. I would totally love to have this in my traveling snack kit!
savorthis
June 29, 2013
I'm so glad that you made it srcerer and, better yet, had another Food52er to try it too! And with such a respectable meat loving crew...
gingerroot
June 21, 2013
This looks great, savorthis! We grew up with jerky and although I have not eaten it in years, now I'm happy to have a recipe to try.
savorthis
June 21, 2013
I think people either grew up with it or not. Naturally in Colorado it's a staple so it never occurred to me it wasn't a mainstream snack. I hope you give it a go...I had not made it before and it's so much better than what you can buy since you have control over the cut of meat.
EmilyC
June 14, 2013
I don't think I've ever tried beef jerky, or if I have, it was so long ago I don't remember! It's never appealed to me, but your version is making me reconsider. It looks and sounds really good!
savorthis
June 14, 2013
I'm stunned! Though I don't blame you- I suppose it might be an odd thing if you didn't grow up with it. I was trying to explain it to my daughter and ended up saying it was like really good steak flavored gum...though that is not really true when you make it yourself because you can pick good beef and make it without the odd chewy parts. My daughter loved it and promptly packed it for her school snack. You have to try it now just so you can say you did!
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