Wait. Bacon and jerky in the same sentence? No that is not a typo, you read that right.
Bacon jerky, ladies and gents is one of my favorite snacks and soon to be yours too! This stuff is delicious and super easy to make.
So now I have tempted you with this yummy snack, you might want to know how to make bacon jerky right? Lets get into it!
Table of contents
Why Make This Bacon Jerky?
There is nothing better than homemade beef jerky. You know exactly what’s in it and it tastes way better than from the store.
Plus its super simple to do make this recipe and great use to use up that extra bacon.
Want another declious way to use bacon? What could be better than smoked shotgun shells recipes? It is pasta stuffed with cheese, and meat then wrapped in bacon and smoked.
What You Need To Make Bacon Jerky
Equipment You Will Need
- 2 x cooling racks with cooling trays
- Pellet smoker, charcoal smoker, gas smoker or an indoor electric smoker
- Your preferred wood, wood chips, charcoal or fuel source
- Zipper-lock plastic bags for storage
- Basting brush
Ingredients For Bacon Jerky
- 2 pounds of regular-cut bacon
- Brown sugar
- Sea salt
- Black pepper (coarse is best)
- Garlic Powder
- Onion powder
- Sriracha or your preferred hot sauce (or bbq sauce)
- Honey
Getting regular-cut bacon is important because thick-cut will be very chewing, and thin-cut will cook far too quickly ad crisp up.
How To Make Bacon Jerky In A Smoker
Follow my 4 steps below to make the perfect bacon jerky.
1: Prepare the Smoker
Following your smoker’s manufacturers, instructions preheat your smoker to 190°F. My top picks for wood to use for bacon jerky are apple, cherry, hickory pecan, or maple. But feel free to use your preferred wood or wood chips.
2: Prepare the Bacon
- In a bowl mix together your spice rub. Above I have used brown sugar, sea salt, fresh black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Feel free to sub in your own spice mix. In another bowl mix together honey and sriracha hot sauce.
- Set the cooling racks on the cooling trays and lay the bacon out flat. Being sure the bacon pieces are not touching so the smoke can penetrate all parts of the bacon evenly.
- Lightly coat your bacon on both sides with your honey and sriracha mix using a basting brush. If you do not like spicy sriracha you can always use bbq sauce or a more mild hot sauce.
- Sprinkle over your spice rub. I prefer a light sprinkle. Once you applied the dry rub to one side, flip the bacon over and apply it to the other side. Place in the refrigerator for around an hour.
3: Smoke the Bacon
- Place the trays in your smoker. This is the first part of the cooking process and will take about 2 hours.
- Make sure that the bacon is kept as far from the fire as possible and that the temperature remains right around 190°F. Allowing it to cook to quickly or slowly will end in a bad batch of bacon jerky.
- After 30 minutes of cooking, check the cooling trays for excess bacon grease. If they’re full, then you’ll want to dump them. Whether or not you save the drippings for other recipes or put it in an old coffee can to throw out is up to you. Repeat this process every 30 minutes.
- At this point, you’ll also want to make sure it’s cooking evenly on both sides by carefully turning several pieces over. As long as the temperature is steady, you likely won’t have to worry about this problem, but it’s good to check anyway and flip them all if you feel the bottom is cooking faster than the top.
4: Cooking Your Bacon Jerky
- At the 2 hour mark, the second cooking process starts. This part of the process will take about 3 hours. If you don’t have an oven or a dehydrator you can continue to use your smoker.
Note: It is important to maintain a steady temperature during the second cooking process. - Start by pre-heating the oven or dehydrator to 190°F. Once at temperature bring your bacon in from the smoker. Dump any accumulated bacon grease and blot the meat to remove as much of the excess grease as possible.
- Slide the bacon trays into the oven. This next cook should take anywhere between 2 – 3 hours. If you are using a dehydrator it will be closer to the 2 hour mark.
- You should check for the first time after one hour. If you start seeing the desired color and texture changes, you’ll need to start checking more often to make sure it doesn’t go too far. It’s not uncommon to be checking every 15 minutes near the end of the process.
- Once the bacon jerky is exactly the way you want it, remove from the oven and let rest on the cooling rack. Remove any excess grease with a paper towel. Once it has cooled it’s now ready to be enjoyed!
How To Make Bacon Jerky in a Dehydrator
If you have ever wondered if you can dehydrate bacon? Well, you’re in luck you can!
We have done this many times before and comes out delicious. Since this method does not include a smoker, my hot tip to add a little bit more flavor would be to add in a little bit of liquid smoke to your honey and sriracha sauce.
- Follow the same steps above for preparing your bacon. Once in the refrigerator continue with the following steps.
- Turn on your dehydrator and pre heat at 190°F. Once at temperature place your bacon in.
- Every half hour, pull out the bacon jerky and pat them dry. You find each time there will be more grease.
- Depending on your preference, the bacon jerky should take around 3 hours. The best thing to do is to check it for color and texture every 15 – 20 minutes.
- Once at your preferred color and texture, remove from dehydrator and rest for an hour or so before eating.
- Store the bacon jerky in a sealed container and consume within 7 days.
How to Make Bacon Jerky in the Smoker
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
How To Store Bacon Jerky
Make sure you get all of the grease off, before you store your bacon jerky by giving it a good pat down.
Then, it’s a simple matter of putting about 4 ounces of bacon jerky in each Zipper-lock plastic bag. Or if you would prefer use a air-tight container with a piece of paper towel at the bottom.
Keep your bacon jerky in a cool, dry, dark place so they’ll be ready for you whenever you want to enjoy it.
Want to Make Beef Jerky?
Want to make beef jerky instead of bacon jerky? You are in luck! See how to make beef jerky on a pit boss pellet grill, it’s simple and delicious.
To make the delicious beef jerky, make sure you pick the best cut of beef for jerky.
What’s your favorite type of jerky?
Charlie
Smoke On!
Charlie
Author: Charlie Reeves
Hi, I’m Charlie, I have been meat-smoking and grilling for the past 15 years. I have an array of different smokers, thermometers, and have a love for finding the right wood and charcoal combo My favourite recipes are my EXTRA CRISPY smoked pork belly, juicy pulled pork, smoked brisket, duck poppers, and ANY SEAFOOD I grill).
I loves sharing his tips with beginners, helping them navigate the world of smoking. I find it’s not just about cooking; it’s a quest for that perfect smoky flavor.
You will usually find me playing with the kids, perfecting my brisket bark, or sipping beers with boys around the fire. Can’t wait to share all my delicious smoking and grilling recipes with you!
You can read more about me on our About Us page.
Hungry For More?
Hi thete to every one, thhe contents existing at this website are in fact remarkable for people knowledge, well, keep up the nice
work fellows.
Charlie, first off, thanks for postin this, ive recently started doing beef jerky, my friend asked me for bacon jerky, im going the dehydrator route. You said to cook the bacon, im assuming over low heat to not toast it. Or is there a better way to get it done??
Hiya Art,
Ohhhh I bloody love this jerky! Sorry for the confusion, first part in the smoker will slightly cook it and add flavour whereas the slow cook in the oven helps its dry out and finishing cook. Let me know if that works for you 🙂
Charlie
In this article, there’s 2 parts … Smoking it in a smoker for 2 hours then right under that it states cooking it in the oven for 3 hours. Are they 2 different methods? Or am I supposed to do the smoker for 2 hours then move it in the oven for another 3 hours? I just want to clarify that.
Hi Tara 🙂
No worries, that is one method, you need to complete both parts to get that deeeeeeelicious bacon jerky 🙂 Let me know how you go with it!
Charlie
Charlie, and to all jerky munchers.. this is flea owl with a tip.. one thought is while using wood smoker you will create a flavor edge on your walls of your smoker. Thus if you mix your different meats in the same smoker (pork) is fatty and will create a odd flavor when you try to smoke beef or chicken after. Simple rule for me is keep pork in its own smoker!!. Mixing chicken with beef is ok . This may be usefull if you wish full flavor of your beef jerky. Tell me Charlie if im confused on this matter let me know your thoughts, true some creators prefer mixing. To each their own. No matter what smokin brothers not only will you love your creations but will save alot of cash in the long run.
Smokers of Holland Flea Owl
Hiya Robert & the smokers of Holland Flea Owl!! Hope your having an awesome Saturday! Seriously legit question!! I have had a few mates ask me this as well, I prefer to mix, I like all the different layers of flavour my smoker has accumulated over the years! Any tips on a marinade for beef jerky?? I looove trying out new ones!
Cheers
Charlie!
Hey charlie, wow sorry its ben soooo long for a response,,,my bad,,, in answer to your question i use as a base a bbq powder from my meat store which to this day i dont realy know its contense. But adding a little Indonesië (katjap) with other liquid bbq sause i creat my owne flaviors. I did smoke pork only to relize that pork needs to have a higher temp than beef . For my beef its 50 Celsius and for pork it needs to be 90 to make shure even the core is well cooked…..raw pork is a no..no.i wish i could send you my majick powder only us customs would destroy it( BUMMER ). I have had alot of complements here and even the butcher says im the master. Lets be honste … jerky.. ita american thing 4 shure. So my advice is to all smokers is ( trial and error ) the more you do the better you get. Oh by the way BEST WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR!!
SMOKERS OF HOLLAND FLEA OWL
heeeey mate! hope you had an awesome christmas and new year as well!! Ive tried katjap before, love the sweetness it brings! Where are you based I’d love to come try some of the stuff your making!