Roasted green chiles give this jerky a savory pepper flavor without a sugary glaze. The Real Gonzalo demonstrates the recipe with pre-sliced beef and chopped roasted chiles, keeping the meat and pepper texture visible. The heat depends on the chiles you choose; the source notes that its hot-labeled batch was surprisingly mild.

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Video by The Real Gonzalo · Watch on YouTube

Ingredients

Starting batch: 2½ lb raw lean beef; finished yield varies.

• 2½ lb pre-sliced lean beef round, trimmed, about 1/8 inch thick
• 1/2 cup peeled roasted green chiles, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp plus 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1½ tsp garlic powder
• 1½ tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp hickory liquid smoke

Equipment: sharp knife, cutting board, kitchen scale, covered food-safe container, oven, oven-safe racks, thin-tip food thermometer, clean tongs, and an adjustable-temperature dehydrator.

Allergens: Worcestershire may contain fish. Soy sauce commonly contains soy and wheat. Check the chile and smoke labels.

How to make this jerky

Step 1: Prepare the roasted chiles

Peel the roasted green chiles, remove stems and chop finely. Measure 1/2 cup after chopping. Keep the chiles refrigerated while working on the beef. Wear gloves if using a hot variety and clean pepper-contact surfaces afterward.

Step 2: Choose and separate thin beef

Use lean beef round already sliced about 1/8 inch thick, as in the source. Separate slices with clean hands, trim visible fat and cut oversized pieces into manageable strips. Keep the beef at 40°F or below while making the marinade.

Step 3: Make the marinade

Stir the Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic powder, onion powder and hickory liquid smoke in a clean bowl. Add the finely chopped roasted green chiles and mix until distributed. Reserve no raw-meat-contact marinade for serving.

Step 4: Coat and refrigerate

Turn the beef strips through the marinade until both sides of every piece are coated. Cover in a food-safe container and refrigerate overnight at 40°F or below, turning occasionally. Separate any slices stuck together so the coating reaches every surface.

Step 5: Heat to 160°F, then dry

Before drying, place the strips and marinade in a saucepan, adding enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and check with a thin-tip thermometer that the thickest strips reach 160°F internally. Work in batches if necessary. Drain with clean utensils and discard the used liquid. Arrange heated strips in a single layer on clean dehydrator racks, leaving air spaces between them. Dry at 145–155°F and check periodically. The dryer air temperature does not verify the temperature inside the meat.

Step 6: Check, cool and refrigerate

Cool a test strip before bending it. Look for a dry center and small cracks rather than a soft, wet middle; return moist pieces to the dryer. Cool the entire batch completely on clean racks before packing. Refrigerate finished jerky and freeze extra portions. A texture test does not establish a safe room-temperature shelf life.

Why this flavor works

Roasting gives the green chiles a mellow savory depth. Finely chopping them helps distribute that flavor instead of leaving a few strips with a heavy pepper mound. The marinade has soy and Worcestershire for saltiness, so it does not need automatic extra salt.

Serving and storage

Serve a small refrigerated portion with a simple lunch or fresh fruit, keeping the remainder chilled.

Keep the finished jerky refrigerated. Pack only fully cooled strips, keep hands and containers clean, and freeze portions you will not eat promptly. Moisture, thickness, and handling affect keeping quality; this home method does not establish commercial shelf stability.

A ready-to-eat option between batches

For a convenient jerky snack when you are not making a batch, explore BULK Texas Style Original Beef Jerky. Its seasoning and production process differ from this homemade adaptation.

Browse every published BULK jerky recipe.

Sources and further reading

• How to make Green Chili Beef Jerky — The Real Gonzalo
• USDA: how to make meat or poultry jerky at home
• National Center for Home Food Preservation: jerky

Original BULK adaptation after reviewing the source video’s automatic captions and ingredient discussion. Source footage and creator credit belong to The Real Gonzalo. Photographs are timestamped source-video stills. Use the full written method for details.

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