Your dehydrator’s ready, your marinade is prepped… all you need to make your big batch of homemade beef jerky is the beef itself.
But you get to the meat section at the grocery store, and you realize you’ve overlooked one important detail: which of the many cuts of beef to use.
Every cut of beef has its uses, but picking the wrong one for your jerky will result in a lot of extra work, suboptimal flavor, or even premature spoilage.
So how do you know which one to use?
Let’s take a look at the best cuts of beef for beef jerky — and find out which ones are best avoided!
How Do You Choose the Best Cut of Beef for Beef Jerky?
In general, you’ll want to pay attention to three factors when selecting a cut of beef for your jerky: the amount of fat, type of fat, and freshness.
Why the Fat Content of Your Beef Matters
Fat is the enemy of beef jerky connoisseurs. It lends an unpleasant flavor and texture to your jerky, so it needs to be trimmed prior to marination.
Any fat that remains on the beef will spoil much quicker than the rest of the jerky, posing a major food safety hazard and potentially ruining your whole batch.
That’s why the best cuts of beef for jerky are often the leanest. Starting with as little fat as possible makes your job easier, your jerky tastier, and your health safer.
Why the Type of Fat in Your Beef Matters
Even if you pick the leanest cut you can find, there will still be a little fat in your beef.
This fat can be one of two types: intermuscular or intramuscular. Knowing which type it is — and selecting the right one — will elevate your jerky to the next level.
Intermuscular fat surrounds the protein in the beef. It’s the bits and chunks hanging off the meat that needs to be removed before marinating — so the more of it there is, the more trimming you’ll need to do.
Intramuscular fat, on the other hand, is found between the muscle fibers in a marbling pattern. More marbling means more flavor, more juiciness, and a more tender bite to your jerky.
Choosing beef with more intramuscular fat and less intermuscular fat is key to making the best jerky.
Why the Freshness of Your Beef Matters
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Because the Best Jerky Doesn't Come from a Store
It can be tempting to get your beef from the discount section of the cooler, where the meat that’s approaching its sell-by date gets marked down.
After all, you’re going to be smothering it in the marinade and then dehydrating it. Does the freshness of the beef really matter?
As it turns out, it does. Sitting in plastic wrap for days alters the beef’s texture and flavor for the worse — and the longer it’s been out, the more likely it is that it’s been mishandled or brought to unsafe temperatures, putting your health at risk.
It’s the same with frozen beef: freezing makes the water molecules in the beef expand and rearrange themselves, resulting in a strange texture once thawed.
For the best beef jerky experience, head to the butcher counter and get the freshest cut possible. Otherwise, try to find the beef that’s been out in the cooler for the least amount of time.
The 5 Best Cuts of Beef for Beef Jerky
Now that we know what makes a cut of beef good for jerky let’s count down some of your best options.
#5: Sirloin Tip
All sirloin cuts can make excellent jerky, but sirloin tip is especially tender, so it’s a longtime favorite of those who can’t stand tough jerky.
A splash of marbling lends a huge boost to flavor without risking spoilage.
It’s moderately priced, so it’s a great option for those who want something a little fancier than round cuts without breaking the bank. And unlike round cuts, it’s easy to find at just about any grocery store, no matter how small or remote.
#4 and #3: Top and Bottom Round
Top and bottom round are extra-lean but still flavorful cuts that can be found at bargain prices, making them excellent choices for making beef jerky.
Bottom round is less tender than top round, but it often has more inner marbling, which can add a pop of juicy flavor.
Top round typically contains less intermuscular fat than the other round cuts — in fact, it may not have any at all. But it’s more tender than bottom round and still makes great-tasting jerky.
Both cuts require very little fat trimming and are easy to cut, so they’re popular with both commercial jerky makers and homemade jerky aficionados.
#2: Flank
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The quality of flank beef jerky is undeniable, with a strong beefy flavor and a texture that sits perfectly between overly tender and too tough. Many people say that jerky made from flank is the best they’ve ever had.
However, it can be quite pricey compared to other cuts. And turning raw flank into jerky is a pretty involved process.
It’s fattier than most of the other cuts on our list, so you’ll need to devote more time to trimming.
You’ll also need to cut it against the grain, which can be difficult but necessary: cutting it with the grain will result in a jerky that’s almost too tough to eat. For the same reason, the thickness of your cuts to be spot-on as well.
#1: Eye of Round
Balancing cost, flavor, texture, and ease of preparation in the best way possible, eye of round is the cut that many jerky makers swear by.
It’s the most tender of the many round cuts, coming from a single muscle in the center of the hind leg. And the light inner marbling adds a dash of flavor that other lean cuts lack.
The long muscle fibers in eye of round run lengthwise only, making the meat very easy to cut into strips. And there’s very little intermuscular fat to trim — usually just a single cap that comes off easily with a sharp knife.
Eye of round isn’t the cheapest cut, but it’s far from the most expensive. It’s a fantastic option if you’re on a budget and still want high-quality jerky or if you’re new to making jerky and want a cut, that’s easy to work with but still delicious.
The 3 Worst Cuts of Beef for Beef Jerky
The cuts listed below all have their uses, but jerky isn’t one of them. Avoid these cuts unless you enjoy spending way too much time and money to make subpar jerky!
3. Skirt
Skirt steaks absolutely explode with flavor, so they’re commonly used in dishes like fajitas, Philly cheesesteaks, and stir-fries. They also make great main dishes on their own.
But skirt cuts are known for their toughness — and if you think they’re tough in steak form, you’ll find them inedible once they’ve been dehydrated into jerky.
Even if you do manage to bite through a piece of skirt jerky, you’ll find an unpleasant amount of fat inside. Skirt steaks simply don’t make good beef jerky — they deserve better, and so do you.
2. Tenderloin
On the other end of the tenderness spectrum, we have the aptly-named tenderloin.
You may think you like your beef jerky tender as can be, but try some made from tenderloin, and you’ll see that there is such a thing as too tender. Tenderloin jerky nearly melts in your mouth as you eat it, which many people find downright gross.
What’s more, tenderloin is one of the most expensive beef cuts you can buy. Nobody wants to shell out a fortune for beef jerky that’s nauseatingly soft, so save your money and your appetite by skipping the tenderloin!
1. Rib
Don’t get us wrong: the various rib cuts make incredible steaks, roasts, and other dishes. And when those meaty cravings hit, nothing beats a rack of smoked ribs.
But the same qualities that make rib cuts so great for those purposes make them terrible for jerky.
That fine grain makes it nearly impossible to cut the beef into thin strips — the meat falls apart under the blade. And even if you do manage to cut decent strips, they’ll practically dissolve in the dehydrator, leaving you with tiny pieces of beef that resemble bacon bits more than jerky.
To prevent these outcomes, rib cuts need to be sliced thick — ¼” or even thicker. But these thick strips may not dehydrate evenly, resulting in an odd texture.
Finally, the intense marbling that lends the meat so much flavor also makes it impractical for jerky. High-fat content makes for jerky that takes a long time to prep, tastes off, and spoils quickly.
Although good rib-cut jerky is certainly possible to make, it’s so easy for it to go wrong that it’s best left to the experts and the experimenters. So save that lovely ribeye for a fancy dinner or a backyard barbecue — don’t waste it on barely-edible jerky!
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Best Cuts for Beef Jerky
"You might be a redneck if you think that beef jerky and moon pies are two of the major food groups."
-- Jeff Foxworthy
