Beef Jerky on the Carnivore Diet: Ultimate Guide to Benefits, Tips, and Best Choices

The carnivore diet, an increasingly popular regimen, involves consuming exclusively animal products, eliminating all plant-based foods and carbohydrates. This approach has garnered attention due to reported benefits and compelling before-and-after stories. For those adhering to this diet, finding suitable snacks can be challenging. Beef jerky emerges as a convenient and often readily available option.

Understanding the Carnivore Diet

The carnivore diet comes in many forms, ranging from strictly red meat and water to more flexible forms that allow for snacks. Similar to the ketogenic diet, several levels of the carnivore diet vary in restrictiveness. Those on a strict carnivore diet may only consume one or two meals per day with no snacking in between. Typically, those on a more restrictive form of a carnivore diet stick only with consuming ruminant meat and avoid eggs, dairy products, or other animal-based products or snacks. Harvard Medical School declares that zero-carb diets stimulate ketogenesis, a process that facilitates fat burning. According to a 2021 study by the University of California's Department of Nutrition Sciences, 76 percent of participants reported improved digestion after eliminating plant-based foods.

Is Beef Jerky Carnivore-Friendly?

So can you eat beef jerky on the carnivore diet? Yes - as a matter of fact, this is one of the most popular carnivore diet snacks. Beef jerky fits well into this category because it is made entirely from meat. It aids in sustaining the diet on the road, at work or even in emergencies. The answer to the question, “Can I have beef jerky on Carnivore” is a big yes, as beef jerky is a Carnivore-friendly snack that can provide proper satiety between main meals.

Benefits of Beef Jerky on a Carnivore Diet

Protein-Rich & Low-Carb: Beef jerky is a rich source of protein containing virtually zero carbs. High-quality beef jerky that aligns with the guidelines for the carnivore diet is essentially dried meat in its purest form. It’s packed with protein, sometimes more than 20 grams per serving. As a lean protein source, beef jerky can be beneficial for individuals looking to increase their protein intake on the go.
Full Amino Acids Profile: Jerky has all nine amino acids. These nutrients all play important roles in helping you live life to the fullest.
Boosts Satiety: Beef jerky has high protein that makes one feel full.
Portable & Convenient: Beef jerky does not need cooking, is light and easy to carry along and does not require any preparation. Let’s face it, one of the hardest parts of switching over to the carnivore diet is finding snacks you can on-the-go. Few animal-based snacks are shelf-stable, they need to be refrigerated. It’s lightweight and can be kept at room temperature so you don’t have to stress about spoilage when you’re trying to bring snacks throughout your daily travels.
Shelf-Stable Fuel: Jerky does not spoil immediately, remaining fresh for weeks (or months) at room temperature. Consider beef jerky shelf stability, which is the ability to resist spoilage and maintain quality over time.
Promotes Weight Loss: Low-fat beef jerky and other high-protein snacks contribute to satiety and lower energy consumption as a whole.

Navigating the Beef Jerky Aisle: What to Watch Out For

While beef jerky can be a convenient carnivore snack, not all options are created equal. Many commercially available beef jerky products contain additives that are not compliant with the carnivore diet.

Sugar & Sweeteners: Sweeteners and sugar contain carbohydrates, which violate the zero-carb diet of the carnivore diet. A carnivore diet does not allow for any sugar or sweet items which can raise your blood glucose levels. As you look for carnivore snacks in the beef jerky section, make sure to read labels carefully. Many beef jerky products contain added sugar or sauces like teriyaki flavor, which adds lots of carbs and will throw you out of ketosis on your carnivore diet.
Worcestershire and Soy Sauce: Worcestershire and soy sauces are made of gluten, additives, and vegetable products.
Preservatives & MSG: Artificial chemicals added to processed foods include preservatives and MSG. Health experts caution about high sodium content and potential additives in some commercial beef jerky products.
Spices & Flavorings: Even the natural spices and flavorings are products of plants. There’s more to the carnivore diet beef jerky story than meets the eye since so many brands use plant-based ingredients for seasoning their jerky.

Key Considerations When Choosing Beef Jerky

Keep to Salt and Beef: Select pure beef and salt jerky. Beef jerky is acceptable as long as it consists of meat and salt. The fewer ingredients you see on the nutrition facts, the better. Ideally, it would just be beef and salt - although this is incredibly rare.
Skip Marinades and Seasonings: Do not take pre-marinated or flavored jerky. Don’t just take our word for it, though - we’ve earned the trust of more than 110,000 customers and counting.
Check Labels of Ingredients: Always read labels to make certain you are not getting sneaky sugars, soy, or preservatives. The more ingredients on the label, the more likely you’re putting problematic plant-based ingredients into your body.
Choose Grass Feed Beef: Choose jerky with grass-fed beef.

Making Your Own Carnivore-Friendly Beef Jerky

Yes, home-made jerky allows complete control of the ingredients. The best choice is to make jerky at home to control the additives. If you ask seasoned veterans what they struggle with the most on carnivore diet, it’ll be coping with cravings.

Selecting the Right Meat

Generally, the best meats for beef jerky are tender and lean cuts with high fat and low carbohydrate content. Not all meats provide this nutritional value and the best options are lean, high-fat meats that provide a jerky with a soft texture. Based on these factors, the following cuts of meat are suggested if you want to make jerky at home. Cuts of beef that work really well for jerky are bottom round, top round, london broil, and sirloin.

Preparing Beef Jerky at Home

To have the best beef jerky for Carnivore, follow these steps and prepare the jerky:

Remove all fat from the meat and put it in the freezer for about 2 hours. It makes the meat easier to cut thin.
Remove the meat from the freezer and slice it 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. If it’s too thick, first cut it in half horizontally. *Beef stir fry strips: Often grocery stores will sell beef "stir fry strips", which is beef that is already cut to the perfect size for making jerky. This makes the whole process so much easier! If you would like to cut them yourself.
Create a Carnivore-friendly marinade. You can use salt and pepper with other Carnivore-approved ingredients like bone broth.

Drying Beef Jerky

After marinating, the beef slices are ready to turn into jerky. You can use either an oven or a dehydrator to dry beef jerky. The dehydrator is a better option for making beef jerky as it is designed to maintain a consistently low temperature, which is ideal for drying meat. But if you don’t have a dehydrator, an oven can do the job for you, so you don’t need to buy additional equipment.

Using an Oven

Here are the steps to make beef jerky using the oven:

Preheat the oven to 250°F.
Line the oven bottom with foil.
Pat the meat dry with paper towels.
Arrange the meat in a single layer on a roasting rack and place it in the oven.
Reduce the heat to 150°F and let it dry slowly for about 8 hours.
Remove the jerky from the oven.
Store the jerky in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can also store jerky outside of the refrigerator at room temperature, but it will retain its texture longer in the refrigerator and won't spoil.

Using a Dehydrator

Here’s how to make beef jerky with a dehydrator:

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Arrange the beef slices in the dehydrator close together but not overlapping. Arrange them in your dehydrator very close together but not overlapping.
Set the dehydrator to 165°F for 3 hours. Set dehydrator to 165 degrees for 3 hours.
Check the jerky every 20-30 minutes after 3 hours, until it reaches your desired level of dryness. At about 3 hours, start checking on the jerky every 20-30 minutes to see if it's cooked how you would like it. Some people prefer it more soft (like me) and others prefer it very dry. Cook times vary depending on the thickness of the strips of beef and personal preference. I typically let mine cook for around 3 hours. But some go 4 hours or longer. Experiment with it and you'll find what you like the best!
Remove the jerky from the dehydrator and store it in the refrigerator or a jar at room temperature.

Note that the drying time on both methods depends on the thickness of the beef strips and your preference. Dry the beef at 160°F or even in the aluminum oven- slow removal of moisture until the jerky becomes firm yet a little bit bendable.

Histamine Intolerance Tips

For those of you with histamine intolerance, you may want to cook your jerky for a shorter amount of time. The longer you cook it, the higher in histamine the meat will be. So make sure your beef strips are very thin so they'll dehydrate quickly! To minimize histamine build-up, store your jerky in the freezer. Frozen jerky still tastes good, I promise!

Another thing to consider is getting un-aged beef. This can make a huge difference from store-bought meats that are typically aged for around 30 days. I use unaged beef from White Oak Pastures (use "RIBEYERACH" for 15% off), Northstar Bison, or BillyDoe Meats and that makes a big difference in my reactions.

Don't give up on healing your histamine intolerance, but of course be very careful if your reactions are severe. Things like meditation, eating outside, and reducing stress/anxiety can greatly reduce reactions (as our bodies produce histamines, too).

Top Beef Jerky Brands for the Carnivore Diet

If you don’t have an oven or dehydrator or are busy and don’t have time to prepare and dry beef jerky, you can buy ready-to-use beef jerky. There are many brands of beef jerky in the market and it may be overwhelming to choose the ones that best fit your Carnivore Diet goals and taste preferences. Here are some of the Carnivore-friendly beef jerky brands, selected based on their nutritional values, ingredients, brand reputation, and customer reviews.

Read also: Explore Keto Beef Mince Recipes

CHOMPS Jerky (Original Beef Stick): It’s made from 100% grass-fed beef and provides 9-10 grams of protein per serving.
Country Archer Zero Sugar Classic Beef Jerky: It’s made from 100% grass-fed beef and delivers 12 grams of protein per serving.
Lorissa's Kitchen (Original Sticks): Lorissa's Kitchen is a jerky brand that provides jerky with simple, clean ingredients and high-quality proteins. Its beef jerky and sticks are made with minimal ingredients, no preservatives, nitrates, or nitrites.

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