One of the most unhinged jerkies we've ever tried: a T-bone steak, turned into jerky with the bone still in. A T-bone is two steaks in one, a strip on one side and a tenderloin on the other, so the Jerky.com Test Kitchen built a steak sauce marinade around soy, Worcestershire and A1, then finished it with a cowboy butter dust. The taste testers' one-sentence review: "Really, really good. It surpassed my expectations." Craving garlicky steakhouse flavor now? Try our Old Fashioned Garlic Beef Jerky.
Why bone-in jerky is tricky
The bone sits between the strip and the tenderloin like a divider, and the channel next to it loves to hold moisture. The meat near the bone takes longer to finish than the thin edges, so control the slice, the spacing and the heat, and let time do its job. Tell your butcher the exact number you want; we asked for 3/16 inch.
Instructions:
Mix the marinade: Whisk the soy sauce, Worcestershire, A1, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, liquid smoke and vinegar into one smooth, dark mix. Keep going until there are no sugar clumps or islands of spice.
Marinate: Slide the slices in one at a time and separate them so every slice touches the marinade. Cover and refrigerate 24 to 48 hours; we went close to 48 in these marinade containers. The bones keep the meat from settling to the bottom, so turn it several times (we turned ours about six times).
Rack it up: Lift each slice, let the excess drip off for a few seconds and lay it flat on the rack. No overlap, no folded edges. Pieces that touch dry like one big piece.
Add the cowboy butter dust: Season the first side with a light, even layer of cowboy butter seasoning, flip and season the second side. Don't pile it on; it turns to paste in the wetter spots near the bone.
Dry it: We dried ours in our Cosori dehydrator at 167°F and started checking at 3 hours. The meat near the bone takes the longest. Ours took about 7 hours.
Check for doneness: It should look smaller and darker. Let a piece cool, then bend it: if it cracks with white fibers, it's done. If it bends like rubber, give it about 45 more minutes. Don't judge it while it's hot.
Love the steak sauce angle? See our A1 steak sauce beef jerky. For more bone-in jerky, try our Mongolian BBQ bone-in short rib jerky.
Taste test notes: The bone makes a built-in handle: "It's crazy. Grab a whole slab. Like it's like a little handle to it, you know?" First reactions: "I think it's delicious. I think it's so good." and "Yeah, bold flavor but savory." Garlic hit first. On texture, the panel found it "more tender, but it is a little inconsistent," changing depending on where you bite. Spice built the longer it lingered. Asked what they'd change: "I don't know what you could add to make it better to be honest." And on a plane with trail mix or M&M's as the other options? "Oh, easy."
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Bone-In T-Bone Steak Jerky FAQ
Can you make jerky from a T-bone steak with the bone in?
Yes. Have the butcher slice bone-in T-bones to about 3/16 inch, marinate 24 to 48 hours, then dry until the meat near the bone cracks with white fibers when bent.
Why does bone-in jerky dry unevenly?
The channel next to the bone holds moisture, so that meat finishes later than the thin edges. Keep slices even, leave space between them and check often.
How do you marinate bone-in steak slices?
The bones keep slices from settling, so separate each slice in the marinade and turn the batch several times while it marinates.
What is the cowboy butter dust for?
It adds a garlic butter flavor. Use a light, even layer on both sides right before drying; too much turns to paste near the bone.
What temperature should I dry T-bone steak 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: Old Fashioned Garlic Beef Jerky or Old Fashioned Peppered Beef Jerky, or browse all our beef jerky.
What's the weirdest thing you want to see turned into jerky next? Tell us in the comments!
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Test Kitchen RecipeBone-In T-Bone Steak Jerky Recipe (With Cowboy Butter Dust)
Bone-in T-bone steaks sliced 3/16 inch, marinated 24-48 hours in a soy, Worcestershire and A1 steak sauce marinade, dusted with cowboy butter seasoning and dried at 167F.
Ingredients
Steps
- Whisk the soy sauce, Worcestershire, A1, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, liquid smoke and vinegar into one smooth, dark mix. Keep going until there are no sugar clumps or islands of spice.
- Slide the slices in one at a time and separate them so every slice touches the marinade. Cover and refrigerate 24 to 48 hours; we went close to 48 in these marinade containers. The bones keep the meat from settling to the bottom, so turn it several times (we turned ours about six times).
- Lift each slice, let the excess drip off for a few seconds and lay it flat on the rack. No overlap, no folded edges. Pieces that touch dry like one big piece.
- Season the first side with a light, even layer of cowboy butter seasoning, flip and season the second side. Don't pile it on; it turns to paste in the wetter spots near the bone.
- We dried ours in our Cosori dehydrator at 167°F and started checking at 3 hours. The meat near the bone takes the longest. Ours took about 7 hours.
- It should look smaller and darker. Let a piece cool, then bend it: if it cracks with white fibers, it's done. If it bends like rubber, give it about 45 more minutes. Don't judge it while it's hot.
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