This Spicy Smoked Pork Jerky recipe is amazing! It's marinated in a chipotle and citrus marinade with just the right amount of spice to keep you hankering for one more piece. You may also want to try my elk jerky recipe!
Although I created this recipe to be prepared in a Traeger, you can also use a dehydrator or an oven if you need to.
I'll never forget the first time I tried smoked pork jerky. I mean it was just a few weeks ago 😬. While driving on a long stretch of road called Farm to Market, we decided to stop at a pork processing establishment called Farm to Market Pork & Beef.
After looking around to see what they had to offer, we settled on a package of jalapeno brats and some smoked pork jerky.
Their smoked jerky did not disappoint! We managed to devour it before we made it back to the house. We decided right then and there that the first recipe we were going to prepare our new Traeger was smoked pork jerky. Here's how we did it!
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😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- I've never liked overly sweet jerky. To me, it defeats the purpose of eating jerky. Jerky is supposed to be a low-carb snack!
- I LOVE spicy, smoked jerky with BOLD flavors. I kept all this in mind when choosing what ingredients to add to the pork jerky marinade. The result is a perfect balance of flavors.
- Jerky makes an excellent on-the-go snack and keeps for a long time, especially when refrigerated.
🛒 What You Need For This Recipe
🔖 Ingredient & Substitutions
- Pork Tenderloin: The best cut of meat to use for making pork jerky is pork loin. The loin should be sliced against the grain.
- Orange/Pineapple Juice: To add a bit of sweetness and tang, I used a combination of freshly squeezed orange and pineapple juice. However, you can use either one or a combination of the two.
- Pomegranate Molasses: Pomegranate Molasses adds another depth of flavor but can be left out since we're only adding 1 tablespoon and most people don't already have some. However, if you'd like to add it, you can purchase pomegranate molasses on Amazon.
- Chipotle in Adobo Sauce: The spice in the marinade comes from the chipotle peppers (jalapeno peppers). I used ½ of a 7-ounce can. To reduce the amount of spice less may be used.
🥓 How to Make Smoked Pork Jerky
Step 1: Slice the pork against the grain into 2" x 6" strips that are ⅛" to ¼" thick.
Step 2: Mix the remaining ingredients and blend until you have a smooth marinade.
Step 3: Next, layer the marinade and the pork strips inside a large ziplock bag. Massage the marinade into the pork for a few minutes to make sure all the strips are coated in the marinade. Refrigerate for a minimum of 8 hours or preferably overnight.
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Step 4: Heat the Traeger to 180 degrees F. Place the pork strips on a rack or directly on the grate and smoke for 5 to 6 hours or until the meat is dry but still pliable.
If the cooled jerky is bent in half, it should bend but not break.
Oven Directions
- Preheat oven to 175 degrees F
- Place jerky on a wire rack, with a foil-lined tray underneath. Allow room for air circulation between the jerky pieces.
- Bake until dry and leathery or approximately 3 to 4 hours.
Dehydrator Directions
- To prepare this pork jerky recipe in a dehydrator, place the pork strips on the dehydrator trays leaving enough space for air circulation.
- Use the jerky settings for your particular model to determine the temperature and length of time to dehydrate the pork. It takes approximately 6 hours to make jerky in my dehydrator.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Pork tenderloin is the best cut for making pork jerky. Tenderloin has the right texture and is pretty lean. Make sure to trim off any excess fat before slicing and marinating the pork because the fat will cause the jerky to go rancid quicker.
There's no reason why you can't dehydrate pork or use it to make pork jerky. You just have to follow proper food-handling guidelines. This includes avoiding cross-contamination, sanitizing the work area, and washing your hands frequently while handling the raw pork.
You also need to make sure that the pork is cooked to the right temperature.
The taste of pork jerky will obviously depend on the marinade used before dehydrating or smoking the jerky.
With the right marinade, the pork can taste spicy, salty, or sweet. Pork Jerky can also be smokey or peppery, depending on the amount of smoke and pepper used in preparing it.
Still, another factor that can determine the taste is the flavor of the pellets used.
Many factors affect how long your jerky will last. Let's take a look at a few of these factors:
1. Cool Completely — Allow the jerky to cool completely before storing, otherwise, the warm jerky will create condensation in the bag or container that it's stored in. The moisture will encourage bacteria growth.
2. Proper Storage — Store cooled jerky in an airtight container. Using a vacuum sealer is a great option. Storing the jerky in a refrigerator extends its life while freezing it extends its life even further.
3. Cure — Using a cure is yet another way to extend the life of your jerky. The pink-curing salt inhibits bacteria growth and helps to maintain the flavor and appearance of the jerky. 1 teaspoon is enough to cure 5 lbs. of meat, so you would need ½ of a teaspoon for this recipe.
Looking for other tasty pork recipes? This air fryer pork belly recipe is a Filipino dish known as "lechon kawali."
Perhaps pork medallions with onion gravy are more up your alley? And if you need another fantastic jerky recipe, check out my latest spicy smoked beef jerky recipe!
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- Slicing the pork is easier if the pork is semi-frozen instead of completely thawed.
- The pellet flavor used to make smoked pork jerky depends on your preference. We used hickory, but cherry, alder, pecan, apple, or maple would be great options as well.
- Pomegranate molasses is more tart than sweet. If you decide to replace it, add 1 tablespoon of blackstrap molasses plus one teaspoon of vinegar to the marinade.
- If using a dehydrator or an oven to make this jerky, you will want to add a teaspoon of liquid smoke to the marinade to give the jerky a smoky flavor.
🥩 More Delicious Smoker Recipes
📖 Recipe
Spicy Smoked Pork Jerky
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2½ lbs pork tenderloin
- 3½ ounces chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (½ can)
- ⅓ cup orange juice (or pineapple juice or 50/50 of each)
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses (or replace with 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses and a teaspoon of vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Slice the pork against the grain into 2" x 6" strips that are ⅛" to ¼" thick.
- Mix the remaining ingredients and blend until you have a smooth marinade.
- Layer the marinade and the pork strips inside a large ziplock bag. Massage the marinade into the pork for a few minutes to make sure all the strips are coated in the marinade. Refrigerate for a minimum of 8 hours or preferably overnight.
- Heat the Traeger to 180 degrees F. Place the pork strips on a rack or directly on the grate and smoke for 5 to 6 hours or until the meat is dry but still pliable.
Notes
- Slicing the pork is easier if the pork is semi-frozen instead of completely thawed.
- The pellet flavor used to make smoked pork jerky depends on your preference. We used hickory, but cherry, alder, pecan, apple, or maple would be great options as well.
- Pomegranate molasses is more tart than sweet. If you decide to replace it, add 1 tablespoon of blackstrap molasses plus one teaspoon of vinegar to the marinade.
- If using a dehydrator or an oven to make this jerky, you will want to add a teaspoon of liquid smoke to the marinade to give the jerky a smoky flavor.
Matt says
I’ve tried several pork jerky recipes and this is my favorite! I smoke it more like 5 hours on the traeger at 180 as I like it a little dryer. Sometimes I finish it for a few minutes at 225 just to make sure it’s safe. I like mine super spicy so I bought some dried chili arbol peppers from the grocery store and blend them into small flakes and add that to the marinade.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Matt, thanks for the comment and review. We love it spicy too, I like your idea of using arbol chiles. We always have those on hand so I might have to do that the next time I make it!
Charles says
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you, Charles!
Clifton says
Hilda you don 't have enough stars to give this recipe a fair rating have even made it on Bottom Round &E O R but always go back to the (I use ) Center Cut pork loin have some cowboy friends and neighbors that rate the pork jerky using your recipe the #1 best jerky they have ever eaten and their friends say the same thing
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Clifton, I'm so glad you like it! Have you tried my elk jerky recipe? I think I like that one even more! I've been marinating beef round recently and smoking it instead of using the dehydrator as the recipe states. So good! Thanks again for your comment, it made my day! 🙂
C B says
E O R is short for Eye Of Round is has been my go to meat till I found your recipe I have used Top , Bottom , and Eye of Found also sirloin but that all changed I had never heard of pork jerky let along make any now that is about all I make just love the texture of pork loin and the Chipotle peppers going to try a 6 lb E O R using your recipe by the way I smoke all my jerky and use Morton's tender quick meat cure
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you very much for your explanation! Having served in the military, I'm usually really good with acronyms, but that one had me stumped. 🙂