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The Best Carnivore Diet Beef Jerky to Buy and Make
In a world filled with dietary trends and nutritional philosophies, the carnivore diet has emerged as a powerful and ancestrally aligned approach to reclaiming health and wellness. This minimalist diet revolves around a simple concept–eat only animal products. Among the many nourishing sources of animal-based sustenance, beef jerky has gained particular attention as a convenient whole-food snack that can be aligned with the carnivore lifestyle.
In this article, we delve into the world carnivore beef jerky, and jerky-like dried meats, exploring the nutritional benefits, do-it-yourself recipes, and top store-bought brands to choose from.
Table of Contents
Can You Eat Beef Jerky on the Carnivore Diet?
Beef jerky and other dried meats are allowed on the carnivore diet, granted they are made without plant products, including vinegar, soy sauce, sugars, oils, and spices other than salt.
Finding store-bought varieties of carnivore diet beef jerky that are can be tricky.
This is why we offer a few dried-meat jerky alternatives that are fantastic on the carnivore diet. As well as a complete carnivore diet beef jerky and biltong recipes below.
Carnivore Snax
As far as carnivore dried meat snacks are concerned, Carnivore Snax takes the crown.
These meat chips are made by true carnivore diet enthusiasts. And they’re endorsed by none other than podcast host Joe Rogan, who said, “It’s my favorite snack! You guys have really got the process nailed. The result is better than anyone else is achieving.”
The key to the crispy “meat chip” texture is a proprietary process that you can’t replicate at home.
They’re also made without any additives–just meat and salt. That means no seasonings, sugar, or marinades.
All Carnivore Snax meat options are sourced from ranchers using regenerative agricultural practices. This means they treat their animals humanely and rotate their stock to fertilize the land and even sequester carbon. This makes for healthier, more nutritious animals, healthier land, and happier humans.
We love that their approach is mission-driven. They oppose the unfounded vilification of meat by making an extremely nutritious and environmentally beneficial meat product.
Beef Liver Crisps
Beef liver crisps from the Carnivore Aurelius aren’t as tasty as Carnivore Snax, but they are more nutrient-dense.
Beef liver is one of the healthiest foods on earth. And carrying along some beef liver crisps is basically the equivalent of a completely natural and far more effective multivitamin.
A single serving of beef liver crisps provides:
- 180% of Vitamin A (retinol)
- 540% of Vitamin B12
- 260% of copper
- 90% of Riboflavin
- 40% of folate
- 30% of selenium
Beef liver crisps offer the added bonus of crunch, which is rare on a carnivore diet that cuts out all tortilla and potato chips.
Carnivore Aurelius, who is well among his more than 700,000 Instagram followers, claims, “There isn’t a food on earth with greater potential to transform the way you look, feel, and perform than grass-fed beef liver.”
When considering the nutrient density of beef liver, we can’t disagree.
Carnivore Diet Biltong
Biltong is basically the South African version of beef jerky. It’s almost always more fatty than beef jerky, making it more suited for the high-fat low-carb carnivore diet.
Bilton is air-dried, whereas most beef jerky is smoked. This gives it a milder flavor. However, biltong is almost always marinated with vinegar, making it more of a zero-carb carnivore-adjacent snack.
The “purest” store-bought biltong we’ve found is Brooklyn Biltong’s Naked Meat Flavor. It is made with only four simple ingredients including grass-fed beef, apple cider vinegar, and salt.
Homemade Carnivore Diet Beef Jerky Recipe
This carnivore diet beef jerky recipe was developed by Ribeye Rach after she couldn’t find any true carnivore diet beef jerky that was free from marinades and spices.
Rachel came to carnivore to heal a litany of debilitating disorders including dysautonomia, ehlers-danlos syndrome, chiari malformation, craniocervical instability, tethered cord syndrome, intracranial hypertension, gastroparesis, adrenal insufficiency, chronic lyme disease, among others.
This is one of the recipes that got her healthy and back on her feet. And it’s made with only beef and salt.
Ingredients & Supplies
- 1-2lbs of ribeye steak or pre-cut beef stir fry strips
- Redmond’s Real Salt
- Dehydrator
Going with ribeye steak means you can select the highest quality meat. But it’s also possible to get quality stir fry strips, which are already cut to the perfect size for jerky, saving you a ton of time. Look for top round or sirloin strips.
You can also ask your butcher to cut a roast into jerky-sized strips. The uniformity will ensure a standard time and even doneness.
For complete and free directions, click here
Carnivore Diet Beef Jerky: The Bottom Line
When it comes to beef jerky on carnivore, it’s important to take a close look at the ingredients of any store-bought variety.
All the commercial jerky we’ve explored contains marinades and spices that are not carnivore-friendly.
It’s also worth noting that though jerky is pretty much just meat, it’s generally from low-fat cuts. As a low-carb high-fat diet, it’s important to get at least 70% of your calories from fat.
That said, making your carnivore diet beef jerky at home from ribeye and fattier cuts will ensure you’re meeting your macro ratios.
For those times when you’re on the go and just need a convenient jerky-like snack, Carnivore Snax, and Grass Fed Beef Liver Crisps are two remarkably nutritious options.
