Cheerwine Jalapeno Beef Jerky Click here for a print-friendly version of this web page. You can find hundreds of recipes for beef jerky that use some sort of soda as a flavoring agent in the marinade. So this is our recipe using our favorite soda. This jerky is equal parts sweet and spicy and you can adjust the heat to suit your taste. The marinade is made with Cheerwine Soft Drink, one of the finer products to ever come out of the state of North Carolina. Ingredients 2.5 lbs London Broil, Eye Of Round, Top Round, Sirloin Roast, or Rump Roast sliced across the grain 3 7.5 oz cans of Cheerwine, or 3 Cups 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder 2 tsp freshly ground pepper 1 Tbsp Morton kosher salt 1 large jalapeño pepper thinly sliced 1 tsp Instacure #1, aka Prague powder Instructions Slice the beef — Slice the beef across the grain. You may wish to try different thicknesses to see which you prefer, but we like about ¼-inch. Whatever thickness you prefer, try to make all the slices even so the meat dries out evenly when you smoke it. You may find it helpful to put your meat in the freezer for 30-60 minutes before slicing as chilled meat is easier to slice. Make the marinade — Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat so the marinade can simmer until the mixture has reduced to about a cup. Chill the marinade completely. Marinate the beef — Place the sliced beef in a gallon zip top bag and pour in the marinade. Massage the beef to ensure the marinade completely coats all the meat. Refrigerate for 8-12 hours or overnight. Every few hours, give the meat another massage and turn the bag over to ensure even penetration of the marinade. Prepare your smoker — Preheat your smoker to approximately 170°F. Keeping a kamado-style cooker this low can be a challenge at first. You may wish to visit our Cold Smoking Central for articles on various ways to keep your cooker this low. Smoke the meat — Remove the meat from the marinade and place to dry on paper towels. Pat dry if necessary. Transfer the strips to the your cooker's grate and smoke for 2-3 hours. Thicker slices of meat may take longer, so check often after the first hour. You want the jerky to dry evenly. You can provide smoke any number of ways: smoker tube, chips, smoke generator, etc. The finished product should be firm and still slightly pliable, not soft. If your jerky breaks when you bend it, you have cooked it too long. Allow the jerky to cool — Remove the jerky from your cooker and allow it to cool before placing in plastic bags. Some folks like to place the jerky in the bags while still warm so it will steam. We prefer not to steam our jerky. Photos Ingredients for the marinade. The marinade reducing in a sauce pan. We kept the temperature low by burning just a few pieces of extruded coconut charcoal. We got our smoke from this fancy forced air smoke generator. The finished jerky about to be taken out of the smoker. In case you are wondering, we use a large Adjustable Rig with 3 grids from The Ceramic Grill Store.