Three Rounds of Beef Jerky on the Traeger

I've been making beef jerky on my Traeger. Three batches in, I've had one great result, one I learned a lot from, and one I'm really happy with.

Round one: follow the recipe

For my first time, I didn't get creative. I followed Hey Grill Hey's Dr Pepper Jalapeño Beef Jerky recipe as written.

I used wagyu top round from HEB, sliced 1/4 inch thick.

A tray of HEB American Style Wagyu top round steak, sliced thin

Marinated strips of top round laid out on two racks of the Traeger

The strips a few hours in, darker and starting to dry

The finished jerky in the smoker, dark and glossy

It turned out great. It wasn't very spicy, but the flavor was fantastic and it was super tender. Not bad for a first try.

Round two: the experiments

Naturally, the second time I decided to experiment. I picked up a few different cuts at my local HEB:

Stir fry meat cut in a french fry shape
Thicker wagyu in two cuts: boneless chuck ribs and top blade steak
Filet that I cubed up

HEB American Style Wagyu beef for stir fry, cut in thin strips

HEB American Style Wagyu boneless beef chuck Texas-style ribs

HEB American Style Wagyu boneless top blade steaks

Two USDA Choice beef tenderloin steaks from HEB

For marinades, I went with two store-bought sauces from Kroger: their Steakhouse Marinade and their Private Selection Japanese Style BBQ Grilling Sauce.

I followed the same process as the first recipe. I marinated everything overnight and then smoked it to temp.

It did not go the way I'd hoped:

The fry-shaped meat was so thin that it ended up super overdone and tough.
The thicker wagyu cuts were dry on the outside by the time the inside hit 165°F.
The cubed filet had the same problem.

Round two on the smoker: thin, shriveled strips next to thick pieces and cubes

There was also a bigger issue I didn't catch until afterward: neither sauce contained any acid. Without it, the meat didn't get tenderized at all. That's something the Hey Grill Hey recipe gets from the Dr Pepper, and I'd swapped it out without realizing what it was doing.

Round three: back to the recipe, with a twist

Today I went back to the Hey Grill Hey recipe, but this time I modified it with its components in mind instead of just swapping things out.

For the acid, I used Mexican Coke in place of the Dr Pepper.
For seasoning, I used 3 tablespoons of Meat Church Dia de la Fajita.

Again I marinated it overnight and smoked it to an internal temperature of 165°F.

I also seasoned a few of the pieces with chili pepper flakes from Flatiron Pepper Company, using one of three flakes on each: Dark and Smoky, Four Pepper Blend, and Hatch Valley Green. They added some extra heat, which the first batch was missing, and some variety to the batch.

Three Flatiron Pepper Co shakers: Dark and Smoky, Four Pepper Blend, and Hatch Valley Green

Marinated strips on two racks of the Traeger, with chili flakes on the top rack

A close-up of pieces coated in the three different chili flakes

The strips a few hours in, deep red and starting to dry

The finished batch on the Traeger, dark and dried through

This time I got the tenderness and flavor I was looking for.

What I learned

Thickness matters. Too thin and it turns to leather. Too thick and the outside dries out before the inside is done.
The acid is doing a job. Understand what each part of a recipe is for before you swap it out.
Start with a recipe that works. Experiment one piece at a time from there.

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