Pork is possibly one of my favorite meats because of its variety of cuts and textures. Making pork jerky can be done in many different ways, but what you can make pork jerky in is not always clear.
So let me be clear, yes, you can make pork jerky in a smoker, and an electric smoker is best for the task. An electric smoker works so well for pork jerky because of its ability to run at low temperatures for extended times.
Of course, when making pork jerky, you need to adjust your technique by the cut of your meat. The primary reason is that some cuts of pork are leaner than other cuts and will require different procedures for best results.
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What Temperature Should I Smoke Pork Jerky?
As a rule of thumb, pork jerky should be smoked at temperatures of 165° to 195°. You want to make sure your pork is fully cooked, especially if you are not using a curing powder.
At 165°, your pork will take a few more hours to smoke than at 195°. However, it will likely be better if you use a lower temperature.
Your main concern would be the internal temperature of the pork. Your pork’s internal temperature should be no less than 155°.
If you use curing salt, like Prague powder #1, it will need to reach 135° for 30 minutes to activate fully. Once the Prague powder reaches this temperature, it will reduce the likelihood of bacterial growth. We highly recommend using Prague powder #1 in a jerky, sausage, and meat sticks made of ground meat for food safety.
How Long Does It Take to Smoke Pork Jerky?
Pork jerky typically takes around 6 hours to make; however, this can vary depending on temperature and the cut of pork.
Our first example would be something like pork loin jerky. Because of the leanness of pork loin, it will only take 6 hours at 165° to cook completely through on one quarter inch thickness pieces.
For our second example, we will cite something more along the lines of a pork shoulder or pork roast with higher fat content. Because of the high-fat content, pork shoulder jerky would take 8 hours at 165° with quarter-inch thick pieces.
Of course, you would want to reduce the time slightly as you increase the temperature. An example of this would be the same pork shoulder jerky at 185° should take around 6 hours to complete the cooking process.
How Do You Know When Pork Jerky Is Done?
With pork jerky making sure it is completely cooked is more critical than beef jerky. We are looking for an internal temperature of 155° for 5 minutes or more for safety. We would like to see a jerky free of moisture for good shelf life.
Of course, we don’t want the jerky completely dried out and hard as a rock. Sometimes this can be a delicate balancing act to get the jerky dry enough without overcooking.
For this reason, we recommend watching the jerky very closely during your last hour of cooking.
What Is the Best Cut of Pork to Make Jerky?
Our favorite cut of pork to make jerky with is pork loin. However, it’s not without its pitfalls because of its leanness.
Pork loin will take smoke and seasonings very well. This can be a benefit in prep time and smoke time.
On the downside, pork loin jerky can easily be over smoked or overcooked and turn dry. This means that pork loin jerky will require a little more effort for a far better end result.
Should Pork Jerky Rest After Smoking?
Resting food after smoking is a must. The more mellow the flavor of the food the longer it should be rested. Pork jerky should be rested for about 24 hours to prevent a bitter smoke taste.
Stronger meats like beef jerky can be consumed right after smoking but will still benefit from a 24 hour rest. Something like cheese needs an extended resting time because it is mild but also dense, requiring more time for the smoke flavor to penetrate the block.
Can I Use Ground Pork for Jerky?
Ground pork makes an excellent jerky! Pork can mix well with almost any added flavors, making it a great meat choice for jerky. The downside is that pork can be fatty, so your end product might be oily.
Mixing ground pork with lean meats like venison or some cuts of beef is very common. Many commercial jerkies use pork in their ground beef jerky as a binder because of the higher fat content.
However, there is absolutely no reason you can’t make a 100% ground pork jerky or ground pork meat stick. We recommend using a cure like Prague powder #1 in all ground preparations.
Is Ground Pork Jerky Safe?
When you handle ground pork correctly, you can make jerky with it safely. Our preferred method is using a cure or curing salt, but following safe food handling practices will also produce safe jerky.
Making sure that your pork goes from cold to hot promptly will prevent your jerky from hovering in the danger zone, allowing bacteria to grow. To help make this temperature transition fast, one tip is to preheat your smoker.
Before we take our jerky out of the refrigerator, we turn the smoker on and add a ½ cup of woodchips for a pre-smoke seasoning. After the smoking and drying process, you will need to handle your ground pork jerky as you would and other cooked meat and keep it refrigerated.
If you make a large batch, you might want to vacuum seal your pork jerk into smaller packages and freeze them for later.
Prague Powder #1 Curing Salt
Curing meat with a curing salt can add an extra layer of safety to your food. We have a few simple formulas we use when using curing salt, specifically for Prague Powder #1.
First, the pink color is for your safety to prevent confusion with table salt. Consuming unprocessed curing salt could be harmful and should never be done. The pink coloring does add a pleasant color to your finished food.
The minimum amount we use is ⅛ tsp cure to 1 pound of meat but never go under ⅛ tsp. For best results, mix all your seasoning and cure, then distribute it evenly through the meat.
For pieces of meat like jerky, let the cure work for 24 hours before smoking or drying your meat. The 24 hour rest in a refrigerator will allow the cure to work into the, more time will be needed for thicker meats like bacon.
The cure must reach a temperature of 135° for 30 minutes to fully activate. This will allow the cure to transform into a gas that has a preserving effect.
For more information on curing salts consult a curing expert; here is a great video!
What Is the Best Smoker for Pork Jerky?
No matter what kind of jerky you are making, the best smoker is the Big Chief electric smoker. The smoker has a set temperature perfect for smoked jerky and smoked fish. You cannot adjust the temperature, so you have to adjust your preparation and smoking time to get the best results.
Also, consider adding a pellet smoker tray to the Big Chief electric smoker, and you will have a great cold smoke device for items like salt, nuts, and my favorite cheese.
If you’re looking for something a little more versatile that will still give you great results for pork jerky, you might want to consider the Masterbuilt 140b electric smoker. The smoker has a standard digital control, side tube wood chip loading, a water pan, and ample shelf space.
Another benefit of the Masterbuilt 140b electric smoker is the maximum temperature of 270°, allowing you to smoke a large variety of meat, including brisket. If you’re a chicken lover, we would not recommend this smoker. However, the range of items this smoker can handle is amazing.
You can see our review for each smoker at the links below:
Big Chief electric smoker Review
Masterbuilt 140b electric smoker Review
Pork Jerky Recipes
Pork jerky recipes can be as simple as salt, pepper, and you are on your way or a long list of complicated ingredients for various background tastes.
Another option can be a simple package mix like the smokehouse jerky seasoning. With small modifications, you can customize this to your liking.
We have a few of our favorite pork jerky recipes below. Keep in mind to adjust the cooking time to match the fat content of your meat and your desired consistency.
Sweet Chili
This jerky recipe is a very mild sweet chili flavor. If you’re looking for something a little spicier, you’ll need to kick it up by adding some red pepper flakes or consider some sriracha to your wet mix.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Pork Loin
- 2 tbsp Chili Sauce
- 3 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire
- 2 tsp Vinegar
- 2 tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
- 1 tbsp Maple Syrup
- ¼ tsp Curing salt (Prague powder #1)
Optional items
- ½ tsp Sesame Oil
- 1 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes
Directions
Mix all of your ingredients in a glass bowl or Ziploc bag. Slice your pork into 1/4 in thick pieces of your desired shape. Place these pieces in the container with your seasoning mixture and thoroughly mix. Place in the refrigerator for 24 hours, turning twice to ensure even coverage.
Preheat your smoker to 165°, then add wood chips. Evenly spread your sliced pork on your grill mat and smoker great, then immediately place it in your smoker. Refill your wood when it stops smoking for the first two to three hours, depending on how smokey you like your jerky.
Allow your jerky to continue to cook for a total of 6 hours, then check for doneness. The jerky should be firm but not hard, and the internal temperature should be 155° or more. Exercise caution when going over 155° on lean meat because it will quickly get hard. Remove the jerky and leave it on the counter for 4 hours to dry.
Place the jerky in a Ziplock bag and refrigerate it for short-term storage. For long-term storage, you can vacuum seal and freeze your jerky
Thai Sweet&Hot
This is your recipe if you want that light Thai taste in your pork jerky. When we say sweet and hot for this recipe, we mean mildly sweet and hot. If you want to take it up to the next notch, you will need to increase the level of your desired flavor by double.
As always, don’t be scared to adjust the recipe to your liking; avoid changing the ratio of curing salt to meat.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Pork Loin
- 4 tbsp Oyster Sauce (1/4cup)
- 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Sugar (crushed or confection)
- 2 tsp White Pepper (double for hot)
- ¼ tsp Curing salt (Prague powder #1)
Optional items
- ½ tsp Sesame Oil
Directions
Mix all of your ingredients in a glass bowl or Ziploc bag. Slice your pork into 1/4 in thick pieces of your desired shape. Place these pieces in the container with your seasoning mixture and thoroughly mix. Place in the refrigerator for 24 hours, turning twice to ensure even coverage.
Preheat your smoker to 165°, then add wood chips. Evenly spread your sliced pork on your grill mat and smoker great, then immediately place it in your smoker. Refill your wood when it stops smoking for the first two to three hours, depending on how smokey you like your jerky.
Allow your jerky to continue to cook for a total of 6 hours, then check for doneness. The jerky should be firm but not hard, and the internal temperature should be 155° or more. Exercise caution when going over 155° on lean meat because it will quickly get hard. Remove the jerky and leave it on the counter for 4 hours to dry.
Place the jerky in a Ziplock bag and refrigerate it for short-term storage. For long-term storage, you can vacuum seal and freeze your jerky
Garlic/Pepper Ground Pork Jerky
Ground jerky is possible the easiest jerky to get great results. Also, a ground jerky can be done without placing it in the refrigerator overnight. Finally, you can always ground your pork meat, but unflavored store-bought ground pork works excellent, but the end product will likely be oilier than home ground pork.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Ground Pork
- ½ cup Coldwater
- 2 tbs Garlic Granules
- 2 tbs Course black pepper
- 1 tbs Smoked paprika
- ½ tbs Smoked salt
- ¼ tsp Cornstarch
- ¼ tsp Curing salt (Prague powder #1)
Directions
Preheat your smoker to 165°. Mix all of the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Put the meat in a large bowl and break it into small pieces. Sprinkle the dry mixture evenly on the meat, add the water, and mix thoroughly.
Next, make jerky perky pieces and place them on grill grates with grill mats on the grates. We recommend using a jerky gun, but you can roll your jerky out on parchment paper ¼ thick and cut pieces with a pizza cutter or meat slicing knife.
Put the tray all at the same time as soon as possible. Run the smoker with heavy smoke for two hours, then turn your oven on to 185°. Place the jerky into the oven for four hours. We recommend placing the grill grates and grill mats in a sheet pan to contain the oil.
Remove your jerky from the oven, pat with a paper towel to remove oil, then cool before storing it in your refrigerator. If you plan on saving your jerky for more than a week, consider vacuum sealing and freezing for best results.
You can also use a food dehydrator instead of an oven, but you will need to adjust the time to your make and model for best results.
We have a full youtube video for this recipe at this link here but if your smoker runs at 185° or a bit above you can use the super simple jerky loaf method. Check out our video below.
Conclusion
You can make delicious pork jerky in a smoker with a bit of practice. We hope we have answered most of your questions about making pork jerky.
Keep in mind these tips for best results:
- Use a curing salt or curing method.
- Preheat your smoker for a fast trip through the temperature danger zone.
- Don’t add too much smoke, two full pans of wood chips are plenty.
- Don’t overcook your jerky, warm jerky will finish by air drying.
Remember, food is art, so feel free to express your artistic tendencies in flavors as long as you keep safety in mind.
