RecTeq Xtreme Smoke Jerky

Yes, another jerky post that’s not all that dissimilar to the previous ones. However, this jerky get such rave reviews – from nearly everyone that’s tried it – that I have to keep showcasing it. I don’t know if anyone has said “It’s okay” or “too spicy” or anything negative whatsoever. So we’re doing it again.

This one is a little bit funny, because Zach was already complaining that it’ll be too spicy. We were heading into some rural population for the week, so we had a solid 5+ hour drive ahead of us. Can’t do a road trip without some jerky.

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Recipe

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The Prep Table

So I made some the week prior and all I heard was bitching. “Not going to be enough for the roadtrip”. Welp, we’re going to make some more. Except see that pile of habaneros in the corner? We’re going to triple it. This jerky was never too spicy. It has a bite as any good jerky should, but was never unbearable. I wanted to see if I blew out the previous pepper ratios, if it would make any crazy of a difference. (It did not).

So yes, I made two of these batches over two weeks, but we’ll share one voyage here. Steal the recipe below – as I’ve stolen it in the past, but with a good amount of tweaks. We gotta reduce the marinade, so let’s do it.

Slice as thin as you can and trim off any fat. Shouldn’t be a whole lot on a decently cut eye of round, but butchers vary. Put the slices in a ziploc and let that marinade cool. Please don’t throw hot marinade into a ziploc and start pre-cooking the meat. We gotta get the flavor into that meat overnight, so we aren’t in any hurry.

Do a solid mix and shuffle the flavor around. I’ll try to flip and mix whenever I think about it over the 12ish hours it’s sitting the fridge.

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The Process

Pull out a few slices and throw it on some paper towel. Wad up another few sheets of paper towel and press the hell out of the meat – dry it out. We don’t want a soggy meat into the smoker. 180F until it’s the color you want. Until it’s the texture you want. It’s a grind, but it’s worth it.

Expect to go for a few hours. Some finish quicker, some longer. All depends on the cut, thickness, and how well you pressed the marinade out of it prior to placing it on the smoker.

We know pellet smokers aren’t throwing heavy smoke onto anything – just kisses it enough. I try to use a cherry or apple.. or a cherry AND apple pellet when doing these, but anything will do. Grab your costco “competition” blend or whatever Kirkland has for cheap, no shame.

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The Result

This fantastic picture shows those two terms I threw out earlier – texture and color. But also shows how important it is to trim that fat. You saw a couple of my pieces were kinda heart shaped.. it’s because I trimmed out the fat ‘vein’. Those two in the front still had some fat on there, and you can see how it doesn’t make for a great bite. Trim the best you can as the end product is well worth it.

Another batch, another round of success stories. Brought a small bag into work and got the usual comments. My favorite “everyone makes a jerky and says try it – and I gotta tell ’em it tastes good. Yours is actually good”. Yessir, I ain’t playing around when I said this is a damn good jerky. Steal the recipe, leave a comment – I love to hear what y’all think! Might be the last jerky post of 2025, but I’m sure it’ll come back around in 2026!

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The Recipe