Can you turn a bowl of noodle soup into beef jerky? We had to find out. Our Test Kitchen grabbed two orders of pho to go from a favorite spot in Oklahoma City, boiled the broth down with the jalapeños, onion and basil, added a hefty squeeze of hoisin and let the beef soak it all up.
The result is savory, broth-forward jerky with a little hoisin sweetness. It's not a punch-you-in-the-face flavor, and the taste testers split on it. Watch the video below to see why.
The story behind this one
Pho is one of the most comforting bowls of soup on the planet, so we wanted to see if all that rich, aromatic broth could make the jump to beef jerky. Since it was our first time trying it, we didn't try to fake it. We went to our favorite pho spot in Oklahoma City, ordered two bowls to go and built the whole marinade from the real thing.
Why these ingredients
Real pho broth
The broth is the soul of pho, so it's the base of our marinade. Starting with the restaurant's own broth meant we got all of their spices and slow-simmered flavor without having to recreate it.
The fixings
Pho comes with a pile of fresh toppings, and we didn't waste them. We tore up the jalapeños, onion and basil and simmered them right in the broth while it reduced, so their flavor cooked deep into the stock.
Hoisin
The restaurant tossed in a few hoisin packets, but they were basically hoisin packets for ants. We grabbed our own bottle. Hoisin adds the sweet, savory depth you'd normally squirt into your bowl at the table.
How we made it, and why each step matters
Reduce the broth with the veggies
Boiling the broth down concentrates the flavor so it isn't watered down when it hits the meat. Throwing the jalapeños, onion and basil in while it reduces lets their flavor soak into the broth instead of just floating on top.
Pour it over the beef
Our pre-sliced eye of round came in at just over 1 pound 14 ounces. We added the meat to a bowl and poured the reduced stock right over the top. We were a little worried we'd boiled it down too far to cover everything, but it turned out to be just enough. Next time we'd probably keep a bit more.
Separate and mix
Pre-sliced meat sticks together, so pull every piece apart first, so every slice gets fully soaked in that broth. Then toss it thoroughly until everything is coated.
Let it soak
Lid on tight, into the fridge for about two days. By the time we pulled it out, there was barely any marinade left in the bottom of the bowl. That means the meat soaked up nearly all of it, with nice, even coverage.
Rack it and dry it
Lay every piece flat with nothing folded over, and keep the pieces from touching so air flows all the way around. We set the machine to 140°F and, knowing this marinade, expected 3 to 4 hours. We started checking at 2½ hours and called it done at about 3½. You're looking for jerky that's starting to pull apart, with no surface moisture and no oily feel.
What the taste testers said
We loved the texture, not too hard and not too soft, with a good tear. Flavor-wise, this is one you have to chew. The more you chew, the more of that pho broth comes through, and we could actually pick out the broth from our favorite spot. It was less sweet than expected, though we'd admit we went in a little heavy on the hoisin.
- Tester one got the broth and the veggies from it, plus a little hoisin sweetness. Called it savory and not super bold, but a pretty good flavor. Thumbs up.
- Tester two, a big pho fan, got mushroom and hoisin first and was a little underwhelmed. It missed the notes he loves most in a bowl of pho. Thumbs down.
- Tester three had to go searching for the flavors, but said if you know it's pho you can pick out the complexity. It isn't salty, peppery, garlicky or smoky like most jerky. A very unique take. Thumbs up.
Final score: two thumbs up, one thumb down.
If we made it again
Honestly, we'd skip the restaurant broth. Next time we'd try to recreate the pho flavor ourselves and push for a bolder, more in-your-face profile. If you're a pho lover, this recipe is a fun starting point to play with.
- Go lighter on the hoisin if you want the broth to shine.
- Reduce a bit less so you've got plenty of liquid to cover the meat.
- Keep notes on what you change so you can dial it in batch after batch.
Serving and storage
This is a mellow, savory jerky that's great for slow snacking, since it gets better the longer you chew. Let it cool completely before you bag it, then keep it in an airtight container or zip bag.
Tried it? Let us know in the comments how your version turned out and what you'd change.
Watch us make it
Test Kitchen RecipePho Beef Jerky Recipe
Takeout pho broth reduced with its jalapeños, onion and basil, plus hoisin sauce. Marinate about 2 days, then dry at 140°F for about 3 1/2 hours.
Equipment
- Dehydrator
- Mixing bowl with a tight lid
Ingredients
Steps
- Reduce the brothTear up the jalapeños, onion and basil that came with the pho and add them to the broth while it reduces, so the vegetable flavor cooks deep into the stock.
- Add hoisinStir in hoisin sauce. The takeout packets are tiny, so use your own bottle.
- MarinateAdd the meat to a bowl, pour the reduced stock over it, pull apart any pieces that are stuck together and mix until every piece is coated. Cover tightly and refrigerate for about 2 days.
- Rack it upLay the strips flat on the dehydrator trays with nothing folded over and no pieces touching.
- DryDry at 140°F. Start checking at about 2 1/2 hours. Ours was done at about 3 1/2 hours, when it started to pull apart with no surface moisture.
Tips & storage
Broth amount: Reduce it enough to concentrate the flavor but keep enough to cover the meat. We nearly cut it too close.
Hoisin: Go easy. Our batch leaned a little heavy on it.
Next time: We'd skip the takeout broth and build a bolder pho flavor from scratch.
Rather skip the broth? Let us do the drying.
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