Apple Moonshine Pork survived our Official Taste Testers' keep-or-kill vote, but the comments kept saying the same thing: the flavor was right, the meat was wrong. Try it on bacon, or on beef. So the Jerky.com Test Kitchen rebuilt it: the same sweet apple backbone, apple whiskey in place of moonshine, more apple from concentrate, and steak-cut bacon, hang-dried for a chew you can't get laying it flat. Love a booze-forward flavor? Try our Chipotle Bourbon Beef Jerky.
How to keep bacon jerky from getting greasy
Bacon has far more fat than beef, so it shrinks more and drips a lot. Cut the strips in half so they hang easily and don't tangle, separate every slice before it hits the marinade, and hang it so the fat drips away instead of pooling under the meat. Expect a little grease on some pieces anyway; that's bacon. Steak-cut bacon takes a long time to dry, so plan for it.
Ingredients:
- 2 lb steak-cut bacon (we used three 12 oz packs)
- 1 cup teriyaki sauce
- 1/3 cup apple juice concentrate, thawed
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp honey
- 1/4 cup apple whiskey
- 2 tsp liquid smoke
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions:
Blend the marinade: Add the teriyaki, apple juice concentrate, water, brown sugar, honey, apple whiskey, liquid smoke, garlic powder, onion powder, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper to a blender. Pulse a few times to break up the spices, then run it 5 to 10 seconds until smooth. It should be uniform and pourable.
Cut and separate the bacon: Slice the strips in half. Long strips tangle and are too long to hang in most dehydrators. Peel every slice apart so nothing goes in as one bacon block.
Marinate: Pour the marinade over the bacon and press, flip and massage every piece until there are zero dry spots. Cover and refrigerate at least 24 hours; 48 is even better. We went 2 days in these marinade containers. It should look darker and a little tacky but still hold its structure.
Hang it: Instead of laying the bacon flat, pierce each piece near one end with a stainless steel skewer and load as many as fit without touching. Hang the skewers from the underside of the dehydrator racks with stainless steel S hooks so every piece is suspended with air moving all the way around it.
Dry it: We dried ours in our Cosori dehydrator at 167°F. We expected 3 1/2 to 6 hours. At 3 hours it was still dripping and floppy, at 5 it still had a ways to go, and it finished at about 8 hours total. Keep checking.
Check for doneness: It should be chewy and even a little crispy in spots, twisted and curled from hanging, with no floppy, wet pieces. Expect grease at the bottom of the dehydrator.
More apple and bacon: our apple butter beef bacon jerky. More hang-drying: our hang-dried jalapeño pepper jelly beef bacon jerky.
Taste test notes: Doug tasted this one on camera. The mouthfeel hit first: "It's chewy and it's even crispy in spots. I'm telling you, the hang dry really does something." Flavor-wise, "the bacon is a dominant flavor here," then the sweet and the whiskey "almost at the same time," with the apple as "more of a supporting layer." On the finish: "a little bit of sweet, smoky, kind of that fatty flavor of bacon with a little bit of the whiskey warmth. It doesn't feel artificial at all." The balance held: "This could have gone too sweet, but it didn't." The verdict: "I honestly wouldn't change much about this one," apart from the long dry time. If you like our bacon jerky or Chipotle Bourbon, this one is in the same family.
Can I buy it? Apple Whiskey Bacon Jerky isn't one of our flavors right now. Apple Moonshine Pork, the kept flavor this one remixes, isn't one of our flavors right now either, but it could come back any time. Want first shot at new Test Kitchen flavors? Sign up to become an Official Jerky.com Taste Tester. You'll try new flavor drops first and vote on which ones stay.
Apple Whiskey Bacon Jerky FAQ
Can you make jerky out of bacon?
Yes. Marinate it 24-48 hours, hang or rack it with space between pieces, and dry until it's chewy with no wet, floppy spots. Expect it to drip fat as it dries.
Why hang-dry bacon jerky?
Hanging lets the fat drip away and air reach every side. The strips twist and curl, which gives a chewier texture than drying flat.
How long does bacon jerky take to dry?
Steak-cut bacon took us about 8 hours at 167°F. We expected 3 1/2 to 6, so start checking at 3 hours and be patient.
Can I use moonshine instead of apple whiskey?
Our original Apple Moonshine Pork used moonshine. We switched to apple whiskey for this remix, and it blended into the apple without taking over.
What temperature should I dry apple whiskey bacon jerky at?
The USDA recommends heating beef to 160°F (poultry to 165°F) before or during drying. The simplest way is to dry at 160°F. If your dehydrator can't reach 160°F, steam or roast the strips to 160°F first.
Rather skip the work? Try ours: Honey Pepper Bacon Jerky or the Bacon Jerky Assortment, or browse all our bacon jerky.
Is apple and whiskey better on bacon, or should we run it on beef next? Tell us in the comments!
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