Mushroom Jerky Recipe: Simple, Chewy & Savoury
A practical mushroom jerky recipe focused on texture and keeping quality, using a simple marinade and a dehydrator for consistent, chewy results.
Mushroom jerky is a deeply savoury, chewy snack with a rich umami flavour that comes from slowly drying marinated mushrooms until they concentrate and darken. Made with simple ingredients like soy sauce, spices, and a touch of sweetness, it’s easy to prepare at home and keeps well, making it a practical option to throw into your rucksack and take on a long weekend camping trip.
I love jerky, and its Southern African cousin, Biltong. Since going vegetarian, I rarely miss meat, but one thing I do miss is meat based snacks such as jerky and salami sticks. I would always take these shelf stable snacks on hikes, and until I discovered mushroom jerky, I always felt the trips were missing something.
What Mushrooms Make the Best Jerky
Not all mushrooms will make a good jerky. The best results come from varieties with thick, dense flesh that can be sliced or torn into substantial pieces and dried without collapsing or turning brittle. These mushrooms hold their structure, absorb marinade well, and dry into a chewy, leathery texture rather than a crisp one.
The most reliable choices include king oyster mushrooms, regular oysters, shiitake, chicken of the woods, and hen of the woods.
Ingredients Breakdown
Mushrooms
Thick, dense varieties such as king oyster or shiitake provide the structure needed to dry into a chewy texture rather than turning brittle. For this batch, I used king oyster mushrooms because they are what I have growing in the tent right now.
Soy Sauce and Worcestershire Sauce
Supplies salt and umami while seasoning the mushrooms evenly throughout the marinating process; tamari is useful if you want a gluten-free option.
Vinegar
Adds acidity to balance the savoury elements and subtly firms the mushroom flesh as it marinates. Either rice or cider works best in my opinion. I used some of the cider vinegar we just made at home.
Sweetener (Maple Syrup, Honey, or Similar)
Rounds out the salt and acid and encourages light caramelisation during drying; it can be reduced or omitted for a more savoury result. If you want to make vegan jerky, obviously avoid using honey as the sweetener.
Smoked Paprika
Introduces a restrained smokiness that gives the jerky depth without masking the mushroom flavour.
Garlic and Onion Powder
Create a solid savoury base that concentrates well during drying, without adding excess moisture.
Fresh Garlic
Fresh garlic has a much sharper flavour than powder, and the compliment each other in marinades. Crush it well will a little salt to release the oils and help mix it thoroughly.
Black Pepper or Chilli Flakes
Provide gentle heat and sharpness, which intensify as the mushrooms lose moisture and flavours concentrate.
Optional Herbs
Dried herbs such as thyme, rosemary, or oregano can be added in small amounts to introduce a subtle aromatic note; use sparingly so they support the savoury base rather than dominate it.
Step-by-Step Instructions: Mushroom Jerky (Dehydrator Method)
Prepare the mushrooms
Slice king oyster mushrooms lengthways into strips about 5–7 mm thick, or slice shiitake caps to a similar thickness. Keep the pieces as even as possible so they dry at the same rate.
Par-cook to set the texture
Heat the oven to 180°C fan. Spread the mushrooms (it’s ok if they overlap a little) on a lined baking tray and bake for 8–12 minutes, until they soften, wilt slightly, and release some moisture but show no browning. This helps prevent a brittle finish later.
Mix the marinade
In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce or tamari, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, chilli flakes, and any sweetener.
Stir in the crushed fresh garlic last so it’s evenly dispersed rather than clumped. The marinade should taste assertive and slightly salty.
Marinate the mushrooms
Add the warm mushrooms to the marinade and toss until evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate for 24-36 hours, turning or stirring once or twice so the colour develops evenly.
Drain and blot
Transfer the mushrooms to a colander and let excess marinade drip away for a few minutes. Blot lightly with kitchen paper so the surface is coated but not wet, which helps them dry evenly.
If using dried herbs, extra pepper, or chilli flakes, toss them through now so they stick to the surface before drying.
Arrange in the dehydrator
Lay the mushrooms in a single layer on dehydrator trays, leaving small gaps between pieces for airflow. Avoid overlapping.
Dry slowly
Dehydrate at 50°C for 5–7 hours, rotating trays halfway if needed. Begin checking after about 4 hours, as thickness and mushroom type affect timing. As the mushrooms dry, they will also shrink, and it might be possible to combine the trays together.
Check for doneness
The mushroom jerky is ready when it is noticeably darker, lighter in weight, and leathery. Pieces should bend without snapping and feel dry on the surface, with no damp spots in thicker sections.
If you over-dry them, not all is lost. Leave them out in the open air for a while and they’ll re-absorb a little moisture from the surrounding humidity.
Cool and store
Let the jerky cool completely on the trays or a rack, as warmth can mask remaining moisture. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. It will last a long time as it has been both preserved in a salty, acidic liquid, as well as having most of the water removed in a dehydrator.
I store all my dried mushrooms, including jerky, in swing-top glass jars with a rubber seal. I add a few silica gel packs to keep moisture out. Mushrooms are naturally spongy and will pull moisture from the air whenever they can. Airtight jars and silica packs are the most effective way I’ve found to slow this process.
Can I Make Mushroom Jerky in the Oven?
Mushroom jerky can be made in the oven, but a dehydrator is much better for consistent results. Ovens tend to run hotter and less evenly at low temperatures, which makes it harder to dry the mushrooms slowly without tipping them from pliable to brittle. For anyone who forages or regularly cooks with mushrooms, it’s a worthwhile investment that pays off across many uses beyond jerky.
Mushroom Jerky Oven Method
If you do need to use an oven, set it to 90–100°C fan and arrange the mushrooms on a rack placed over a baking tray so air can circulate underneath. Dry for 2–3 hours, turning the pieces once and keeping the oven door slightly ajar to allow moisture to escape. Check frequently toward the end; the jerky should be leathery and pliable, not crisp, and any thicker pieces should feel dry through the centre.
Mushroom Jerky (Dehydrator Method)
Equipment
- 1 Dehydrator
Ingredients
- 400 g mushrooms king oyster, shiitake, or another suitable variety – see above. Trimmed and sliced lengthways into 5–7 mm strips
- 50 ml soy sauce or tamari
- 50 ml Worcestershire sauce
- 30 ml rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp 1 g chilli flakes optional,adjust to taste
- 2 cloves fresh garlic finely crushed with a pinch of salt
- Optional: 1 tsp dried thyme rosemary, or oregano
Instructions
- Trim any tough ends and slice the mushrooms lengthways into even strips about 5–7 mm thick.
- Heat the oven to 180°C fan, spread the mushrooms in a single layer on a lined tray, and bake for 8–12 minutes until softened and slightly wilted with no browning, then cool for 5 minutes.
- Whisk together the soy sauce or tamari, Worcestershire sauce vinegar, maple syrup or honey, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and chilli flakes. Crush the fresh garlic with a small pinch of salt until paste-like, then stir it into the marinade.
- Add the mushrooms to the marinade, toss thoroughly, cover, and refrigerate for 24–36 hours, stirring or turning once or twice for even colour.
- Drain the mushrooms in a colander for 3–5 minutes, then blot lightly with kitchen paper so they’re coated but not dripping; remove any large garlic pieces clinging to the surface.
- Arrange the mushrooms in a single layer on dehydrator trays with a little space between pieces and dry at 50°C for 5–7 hours, rotating trays halfway if your dehydrator dries unevenly.
- Start checking after about 4–5 hours; they’re done when darker, leathery, and pliable, bending without snapping and feeling dry through the centre of thicker strips.
- Cool completely before packing, then store airtight in the fridge.
Notes
- Smoky BBQ: Add 1–2 tsp smoked paprika or chipotle powder and a splash of Worcestershire-style vegan sauce; reduce the sweetener slightly if your sauce is already sweet.
- Peppery and savoury: Increase black pepper, add crushed coriander seed, and finish with a small pinch of ground bay or thyme.
- Warm and aromatic: Add ground ginger, a pinch of allspice or five-spice, and use honey instead of maple for a rounder sweetness.
- Sweetener: Maple syrup, honey, or brown sugar all work; keep the quantity modest so the jerky dries cleanly rather than sticky.
- Vinegar: Rice, apple cider, or malt vinegar can be used interchangeably, depending on what you have
- Maple Syrup: If you want these to be vegan, choose maple syrup over honey.
Yes, but stick to thick, dense mushrooms such as king oyster, shiitake, or maitake. Thin or watery mushrooms tend to shrink too much and dry brittle rather than chewy.
This usually means it was sliced too thin or dried too long. Next time, cut slightly thicker pieces and pull them from the dehydrator as soon as they bend without snapping.
When dried thoroughly, mushroom jerky will keep for several weeks to a few months in an airtight container in the fridge. The key is low residual moisture; pieces should feel dry and leathery all the way through before storing.
Yes. Fully dried mushroom jerky keeps well out of the fridge for a few days, making it suitable for camping and multi-day hikes. For longer trips or warm conditions, dry it slightly firmer than usual and avoid packing any pieces that still feel soft in the centre.
If you dry the mushrooms too long and they turn brittle instead of chewy, all is not lost. Leave them uncovered on the counter for a while and they’ll pull a little moisture from the air, softening back up naturally.
