Pizza beef jerky already worked once. It started as a joke after a TikTok comment from Vicious Viper, turned into a pineapple pizza jerky, and later became a classic pizza beef jerky that landed extremely well with our Official Taste Testers. Two later versions, one simpler and one cheesier, were good but never beat the original. So this time the Jerky.com Test Kitchen set out to make it bolder and better: ketchup, Italian seasoning, oregano, cheese powder and a little red pepper heat, hang-dried for extra chew. Want a savory, garlicky jerky right now? Try our Montreal Style Beef Jerky.
Why pizza is a tricky jerky flavor
Pizza is a compound flavor: tomato, herbs, cheese, sugar, salt and spice all competing for attention. Drying concentrates everything, so three things can go wrong. Surface stickiness from the ketchup, sugar and cheese powder. Over-herbing, especially with oregano, which can turn bitter and dusty. And sweetness creep, where it stops tasting savory. Blend the marinade smooth, marinate long and watch the dry closely.
Instructions:
Blend the marinade: Add everything to a blender: ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire, Italian seasoning, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, paprika, parsley, sugar, cheese powder and red pepper flakes. Blend until completely smooth, with no grit or clumps. The cheese powder has to be fully incorporated.
Marinate: Put the beef in a large bowl and pour the marinade over it. Lift, fold and turn the slices until every piece is evenly coated, then level the meat so every slice touches the marinade. Cover and refrigerate at least 24 hours; we went closer to 48 in these marinade containers. It should look darker and evenly coated and feel slick but not slimy.
Hang it: Instead of laying the slices flat, pierce each piece with a stainless steel skewer and load as many pieces as fit without touching. Hang the skewers from the underside of the dehydrator racks with stainless steel S hooks so the meat is suspended, spaced and gets airflow on every side. It takes a little more time, but it gives you more control over texture.
Dry it: We dried ours in our Cosori dehydrator at 167°F. We checked at 2 hours (setting up but still floppy), added an hour and a half, then another half hour, about 4 hours total. At 1/8 inch it dries fast and is easy to overdo, so babysit it.
Check for doneness: Bend a piece: it should have a little pliability, show white fibers, have some good pull and not much moisture. Pieces that touched in the dehydrator will lag behind.
Like hang-drying? It's also how we made our hang-dried jalapeño pepper jelly beef bacon jerky. Want to build your own flavor? Start with our jerky marinade guide.
Taste test notes: Kenny and Joey joined Doug for the taste test. Going in, one expected "oregano, like classic pizza flavors. I'm hoping some cheese pulls through." On texture: "It's got a nice bend to it. A nice snap." First flavors were Italian seasoning, oregano and "a sweeter tomato," with "a little bit of heat on the back end." The best sign: "If I didn't know this was pizza jerky and he gave it to me, I feel like I could pinpoint it." The chew landed "middle of the road," and the hang-dry gave it a denser bite: "You got to chew it a second." Heat ratings ran from one or two out of 10 up to three or four. The one ask for next time: "If you could pull some cheese flavor through, that would kind of connect all the dots for me." One-sentence reviews: "This is delicious jerky. One of the best ones I feel like we've done in a little bit," and "If you like pizza, you would like this jerky." The verdict: "A big keep."
Can I buy it? Pizza Beef isn't one of our flavors right now. Our test kitchen panel voted to keep it, though, so 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.
Pizza Beef Jerky FAQ
What gives pizza jerky its pizza flavor?
Ketchup for a sweet tomato base, Italian seasoning and oregano for the herbs, cheese powder, garlic and onion powder, and a little crushed red pepper.
Why use ketchup in pizza jerky?
It brings a sweet, tangy tomato base that blends smoothly into the marinade and sticks to the meat. The soy and Worcestershire pull it back toward savory.
What is hang-dried jerky?
Instead of laying slices flat, you skewer them and hang them from the dehydrator racks with S hooks. Air hits every side, and the bends give the jerky a denser, chewier bite.
How do I get more cheese flavor in pizza jerky?
That was our panel's one request. Make sure the cheese powder is fully blended into the marinade so it doesn't clump or settle.
What temperature should I dry pizza beef 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: Montreal Style Beef Jerky or Pastrami Beef Jerky, or browse all our beef jerky.
What jerky flavor should we make next? Tell us in the comments!
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Test Kitchen RecipePizza Beef Jerky Recipe (Hang-Dried, Test Kitchen Version)
Top round sliced 1/8 inch, marinated 24-48 hours in a blended ketchup, soy, Worcestershire, Italian seasoning, oregano and cheese powder marinade, then hang-dried at 167F.
Ingredients
Steps
- Add everything to a blender: ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire, Italian seasoning, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, paprika, parsley, sugar, cheese powder and red pepper flakes. Blend until completely smooth, with no grit or clumps. The cheese powder has to be fully incorporated.
- Put the beef in a large bowl and pour the marinade over it. Lift, fold and turn the slices until every piece is evenly coated, then level the meat so every slice touches the marinade. Cover and refrigerate at least 24 hours; we went closer to 48 in these marinade containers. It should look darker and evenly coated and feel slick but not slimy.
- Instead of laying the slices flat, pierce each piece with a stainless steel skewer and load as many pieces as fit without touching. Hang the skewers from the underside of the dehydrator racks with stainless steel S hooks so the meat is suspended, spaced and gets airflow on every side. It takes a little more time, but it gives you more control over texture.
- We dried ours in our Cosori dehydrator at 167°F. We checked at 2 hours (setting up but still floppy), added an hour and a half, then another half hour, about 4 hours total. At 1/8 inch it dries fast and is easy to overdo, so babysit it.
- Bend a piece: it should have a little pliability, show white fibers, have some good pull and not much moisture. Pieces that touched in the dehydrator will lag behind.
Rather let us do the drying? Over 100 flavors, ready when you are.
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