Artificial Food Coloring Free Lemon-Dill Beef Jerky
Homemade beef jerky is one of those snacks that feels almost too good to be true — savory, chewy, and deeply satisfying — but store-bought versions are riddled with artificial dyes, synthetic flavor enhancers, and preservatives you'd rather not think about. This recipe keeps everything clean and bright, relying on fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and fragrant dill to build a flavor profile that's genuinely unexpected and completely addictive. Coconut aminos stand in for soy sauce, delivering that umami backbone without any of the questionable additives found in conventional jerky marinades. A touch of turmeric and fresh ginger round out the marinade with warm, earthy depth that makes every strip taste intentional and complex. The low-and-slow oven method gives you total control over what goes into your snack, which is the whole point when you're trying to avoid synthetic colorings that hide in plain sight on ingredient labels. Slicing the beef after a quick freeze makes the prep surprisingly easy, and the long marinade time means the flavors really sink in before the jerky ever hits the oven. The result is a batch of snacks you can feel genuinely good about handing to anyone.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
For the jerky
- 1 ½ lb beef top round or flank steak, trimmed of visible fat
For the marinade
- ¼ cup coconut aminos
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest (from about 1 large lemon)
- 3 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
- 1
Place the beef in the freezer for 30–45 minutes, until it is firm but not frozen solid — this makes slicing much easier. Using a sharp knife, slice the beef against the grain into strips about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. For chewier jerky, slice with the grain.
- 2
In a zip-top bag or shallow dish, combine the coconut aminos, lemon juice, lemon zest, fresh dill, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and sea salt. Stir or squeeze to mix well.
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