Can You Microwave Beef Jerky? (How To Do It, What Happens + More)

People following gluten-free and keto-friendly diets do not need to avoid tasty food. Thanks to beef jerky, you can have a delicious snack throughout the day.

However, if you find yourself with a beef jerky that is too cold or harder than usual, you might wonder whether you can microwave beef jerky. I looked into it, and here is what I found!

Can You Microwave Beef Jerky?

Beef jerky can be microwaved to soften or rehydrate the beef jerky. To do so, you need to microwave the beef jerky with water or a moist towel. Moreover, the microwave-safe dish you will use needs to have a tight lid to create steam. You can also make homemade beef jerky in the microwave in less than twenty minutes. 

Are you interested to learn more about microwaving beef jerky? To find out how beef jerky should be heated in the microwave and if you can make beef jerky at home, keep reading!

Can You Make Beef Jerky In a Microwave?

While unconventional, it is possible to make beef jerky in the microwave. Moreover, making beef jerky in the microwave only takes minutes to accomplish.

Since the microwave works by exciting the moisture in the food, prolonged microwaving should suffice to dehydrate the beef and create a beef jerky.

Can You Dehydrate Jerky In A Microwave?

You can microwave beef jerky to dehydrate the beef jerky a second time. If the beef jerky was exposed to moisture and became soft.

Microwaving can remove the extra moisture and harden the jerky. Nevertheless, dehydrating beef jerky again can make the beef jerky tasteless and too difficult to chew.

Can You Heat Beef Jerky?

Heating beef jerky is perfectly safe and acceptable, especially if you want to rehydrate, reheat, or dehydrate the beef jerky again.

To heat the beef jerky faster, the microwave is your most convenient option. Within minutes, beef jerky can be as hot, soft, or dry as you want.

How Do You Soften Beef Jerky In The Microwave?

Softening beef jerky in the microwave requires rehydrating the beef jerky. Fortunately, how much you want to rehydrate the beef jerky is up to you.

Typically, you can control how soft the beef jerky gets through the amount of water you use when steaming.

In case you want soft but not fully rehydrated beef jerky, simply use one or two tablespoons of water instead of the recommended one cup.

How To Make Beef Jerky In The Microwave?

How To Make Beef Jerky In The Microwave?

To make beef jerky in the microwave, you need to first season the beef jerky with your preferred amount of salt, pepper, and spices.

There is no need to add oil to the beef jerky because the goal is to dehydrate, not to fry. Next, leave the marinated beef in the fridge for at least one hour.

Afterward, stack 2-3 paper towels on a microwave-safe plate and transfer the beef there. Microwave the beef for eight minutes and then change the paper towels.

On the new paper towels, flip the beef and microwave again for another eight minutes. Once done, you should have stiff and chewy beef jerky.

What Happens When You Microwave Beef Jerky?

Different things can happen when you microwave beef jerky. Depending on how you microwave the beef jerky, the beef jerky can become drier or rehydrated.

When you microwave beef jerky alone, the beef jerky will lose its remaining moisture and therefore the beef jerky’s flavor. Moreover, the beef jerky can also be overly dry and inedible.

However, when you microwave beef jerky with water, the beef jerky becomes rehydrated. If you use a full cup of water in a microwave steamer, the beef jerky will expand considerably.

As such, it is important to use a container that can accommodate the beef jerky when the beef jerky expands.

Can You Microwave Bacon Jerky?

Microwaving bacon jerky will cause the bacon jerky to toughen. As a result, the bacon jerky will be difficult to cut and chew.

However, if you simply plan to rehydrate the bacon jerky, you can microwave the bacon jerky in a covered dish with water. After three or so minutes of microwaving, the bacon jerky should be fully expanded and soft.

Can Jerky Be Microwaved?

Jerky is safe to microwave but you have to know what method to use because different methods yield different results in the microwave.

Whether the jerky is beef or bacon, the jerky can become severely dehydrated when microwaved again. Consequently, microwaving jerky multiple times is not recommended.

Meanwhile, jerky can be softened or rehydrated by microwaving the jerky with water. However, you have to make sure to use a dish with a tight lid for the jerky to be steamed.

Can I Dehydrate Meat In The Microwave?

You can dehydrate any type of meat to create jerky in the microwave. However, beef is the preferred meat for jerky because beef holds up well in taste and texture when dehydrated.

Depending on how the type of meat you are using and the cut you use, dehydrating meat in the microwave can take anywhere from 8-15 minutes.

How Do You Dry Beef In The Microwave?

To dry beef in the microwave, cut the beef into thin slices or small chunks. Unless you want the beef bland, make sure to season the beef before microwaving.

Once the beef has been marinated, transfer the beef to a microwave-safe dish that has 2-3 dry paper towels on top.

Depending on how dry you want the beef to be, you can microwave it in three to five-minute intervals.

Additionally, it is important to replace the paper towels between each interval to prevent the paper towels from catching on fire.

If you want to learn if you can microwave brie, if you can microwave Brussel sprouts, and if you can microwave butter, read our related articles.

Conclusion

Microwaving beef jerky can have different results depending on the method you use. Technically, it is possible to soften, rehydrate, and create beef jerky in the microwave.

For rehydrating and softening, it is important to add just enough water to a microwave-safe dish with a lid.

Meanwhile, making homemade beef jerky is simpler because you only need to microwave the beef on a microwave-safe plate with paper towels for around eight minutes.

Leave a Comment