Spicy Smoked Pork Jerky (2024)

This Spicy Smoked Pork Jerky recipe is amazing! It's marinated in a chipotle and citrus marinade with just the right amount of spice to keep you hankering for one more piece. You may also want to try my elk jerky recipe!

Although I created this recipe to be prepared in a Traeger, you can also use a dehydrator or an oven if you need to.

I'll never forget the first time I tried smoked pork jerky. I mean it was just a few weeks ago 😬. While driving on a long stretch of road called Farm to Market, we decided to stop at a pork processing establishment called Farm to Market Pork & Beef.

After looking around to see what they had to offer, we settled on a package of jalapeno brats and some smoked pork jerky.

Their smoked jerky did not disappoint! We managed to devour it before we made it back to the house. We decided right then and there that the first recipe we were going to prepare our new Traeger was smoked pork jerky. Here's how we did it!

🧐Why This Recipe Works

I've never liked overly sweet jerky. To me, it defeats the purpose of eating jerky. Jerky is supposed to be a low-carb snack!

I LOVE is spicy, smoked jerky with BOLD flavors. I kept all this in mind when choosing what ingredients to add to the pork jerky marinade. The result is a perfect balance of flavors.

Jerky makes an excellent on the go snack and keeps for a long time, especially when refrigerated.

🛒What Goes Into This Recipe

🔖Recipe Ingredient & Substitutions

• Pork Tenderloin — The best cut of meat to use for making pork jerky is pork loin. The loin should be sliced against the grain.
• Orange/Pineapple Juice — To add a bit of sweetness and tang, I used a combination of freshly squeezed orange and pineapple juice. However, you can use either one or a combination of the two.
• Pomegranate Molasses — Pomegranate Molasses adds another depth of flavor but can be left out since we're only adding 1 tablespoon and most people don't already have some. However, if you'd like to add it, you can purchase pomegranate molasses on Amazon.
• Chipotle in Adobo Sauce — The spice in the marinade comes from the chipotle peppers (jalapeno peppers). I used ½ of a 7-ounce can. To reduce the amount of spice less may be used.

🥓How to Make Smoked Pork Jerky

Step 1: Slice the pork against the grain into 2" x 6" strips that are ⅛" to ¼" thick.

Step 2: Mix the remaining ingredients and blend until you have a smooth marinade.

Step 3: Next, layer the marinade and the pork strips inside a large ziplock bag. Massage the marinade into the pork for a few minutes to make sure all the strips are coated in the marinade. Refrigerate for a minimum of 8 hours or preferably overnight.

Step 4: Heat the Traeger to 180 degrees F. Place the pork strips on a rack or directly on the grate and smoke for 5 to 6 hours or until the meat is dry but still pliable.

If the cooled jerky is bent in half, it should bend but not break.

Oven Directions

• Preheat oven to 175 degrees F
• Place jerky on a wire rack, with a foil-lined tray underneath. Allow room for air circulation between the jerky pieces.
• Bake until dry and leathery or approximately 3 to 4 hours.

Dehydrator Directions

• To prepare this pork jerky recipe in a dehydrator, place the pork strips on the dehydrator trays leaving enough space for air circulation.
• Use the jerky settings for your particular model to determine the temperature and length of time to dehydrate the pork. It takes approximately 6 hours to make jerky in my dehydrator.

🤷🏻‍♀️Recipe FAQs

Looking for other tasty pork recipes? This air fryer pork belly recipe is a Filipino dish is known as "lechon kawali." Lisa from Little Bit Recipes will show you how to make it the easy way, in an air fryer!

Perhaps pork medallions with onion gravy is more up your alley? Wendie, from butteryourbiscuit.com, will show you everything you need to know to create this beautiful dish!

👩🏼‍🍳Pro Tips

• Slicing the pork is easier if the pork is semi-frozen instead of completely thawed.
• The pellet flavor used to make smoked pork jerky depends on your preference. We used hickory, but cherry, alder, pecan, apple, or maple would be great options as well.
• Pomegranate molasses is more tart than sweet. If you decide to replace it, add 1 tablespoon of blackstrap molasses plus one teaspoon of vinegar to the marinade.
• If using a dehydrator or an oven to make this jerky, you will want to add a teaspoon of liquid smoke to the marinade to give the jerky a smoky flavor.

📖 Recipe