This homemade pork jerky is one of the recipes from our YouTube channel. It is the sweet, sticky Chinese kind, often called bakkwa: minced pork mixed with soy sauce, sugar, five-spice and a pinch of red yeast rice powder, rolled out into a flat sheet, dried slowly in the oven, cut into squares and tossed in sesame seeds. In our video it is called the best homemade snack to enjoy during cold weather, and the glossy, chewy pieces at the end show why.
It is not the tough strip jerky you buy at a gas station. Because the meat is minced and rolled into a flat sheet, it dries into a soft, chewy sheet that you cut with scissors. Then comes the step most recipes skip: the pieces are steamed for 20 minutes, which makes them tender and shiny again before the sesame goes on.
You don’t need a dehydrator. The sheets hang over an ordinary oven rack on their baking paper, and the oven runs low, 80 to 100°C (175 to 210°F), for two hours with a chopstick holding the door open a crack so the moisture can get out. It takes an afternoon, but most of that is waiting.
Every amount below comes from our video, down to the gram, so you can make it exactly as shown. Keep a box in the fridge for snacks, lunch boxes or movie night, and freeze the rest.
What you need
- Minced pork, 500 g.
- Seasoning: salt 4 g, soy sauce 20 g, fish powder 3 g, five-spice powder 2 g, black pepper 4 g.
- Sweet and colour: sugar 55 g, red yeast rice powder 1 g (it gives the red colour).
- Baijiu (Chinese liquor), 10 g.
- Tapioca starch 15 g and baking soda 1 g.
- Sesame oil, 6 g.
- White sesame seeds, for tossing at the end.
- Double-sided silicone-coated baking paper, a rolling pin, kitchen scissors and a steamer.
Our video doesn’t give an amount for the sesame seeds. In the footage a sprinkle is tossed through until the pieces are speckled all over.
Homemade Pork Jerky (Bakkwa-Style Pork Snacks)
Ingredients
Method
- Put 500 grams of minced pork in a large bowl. Add the salt, soy sauce, fish powder, five-spice powder, baijiu, red yeast rice powder, tapioca starch, baking soda, black pepper, sugar and sesame oil.
- Stir everything into the meat, then pound the mixture for texture. In our video a massage gun inside a clean plastic bag does the pounding. If you don’t have a tool, use your hands.
- Mix the meat filling well, cover the bowl with cling film and refrigerate it for 1 hour to marinate.
- Spoon a portion of the meat onto a sheet of baking paper that is silicone-coated on both sides. It won’t stick, even without oil.
- Lay a second sheet of baking paper on top, press it flat with your hands, then roll it out with a rolling pin into an even sheet. Don’t roll it out too thin.
- Peel off the top sheet of paper. The meat should be smooth and even all over.
- Hang each sheet, still on its bottom paper, over the oven rack. Leave some space between the sheets.
- Dry them in the oven at 80 to 100°C (175 to 210°F) for 2 hours. Wedge a chopstick in the door to keep it slightly open so the moisture can escape. No need to flip them often.
- Peel the dried meat off the paper and cut it into bite-size pieces with kitchen scissors.
- Steam the pieces for 20 minutes.
- Tip the steamed pieces into a bowl, sprinkle with white sesame seeds and toss until coated.
- Refrigerate and eat within 7 days, or freeze for longer. When ready to eat, warm the pieces in the oven at 100°C (210°F) for 10 minutes.
Video
Notes
Tips
- Roll it even, but not too thin. Our video warns against rolling it too thin. An even sheet dries evenly in the two hours.
- Use the right paper. Baking paper that is silicone-coated on both sides lets the meat peel off cleanly with no oil.
- Leave the door open a crack. The chopstick trick lets steam escape, so the meat dries instead of cooking in its own moisture.
- Leave space between the sheets so warm air reaches both sides.
- Don’t skip the steaming. 20 minutes of steam turns the dry sheets soft and glossy.
- Like it chewier? Our video says that letting it dry longer makes it chewier.
Questions people ask
What is bakkwa?
Bakkwa is a sweet, savoury Chinese dried meat, usually pork, sold in thin square sheets. This homemade version uses minced pork, so you can roll it out at home and dry it in a regular oven.
Can I make pork jerky in the oven without a dehydrator?
Yes, that is exactly how it is done here. The sheets hang over the oven rack at 80 to 100°C (175 to 210°F) for 2 hours, with the door propped slightly open.
How long does homemade pork jerky last?
Our video says to keep it in the fridge and eat it within 7 days, or freeze it for longer storage. Warm the pieces at 100°C (210°F) for 10 minutes when you are ready to eat them.
What can I use instead of baijiu?
Our video uses baijiu, so that is what we can show you. It adds flavour to the marinade.
You might also like
- Zucchini stir-fry with minced meat, another recipe from our channel.
- Asian meatball soup with edamame, for the rest of that pack of minced pork.
- Vietnamese caramel pork, if you love sweet and salty pork.
