Prep time: 2 hours Cook time: 4 hrs Rest time: 1 hr Total time: 7 hrs
Macronutrients per batch: 292g fat | 84g protein | 173g carbohydrates
Makes: One medium sheet of bark
Make it AIP or Dairy-Free: Use animal fat other than ghee or butter
Make it Carnivore, Sugar-Free, Zero Carb, AIP, and Keto: Make Crunchy Beef Bars instead
The dehydrated beef gives a crunch like rice in a candy bar, the ghee holds everything together, the dates add a sweet flavor and chewy texture, and the salt finishes it off.
What you need to make Sweet Beef Bark
Ingredients:
- Ground beef
- Pitted dates
- Grass-fed ghee (or butter)
- Sea salt (ASHLEYR for 15% off)
Equipment:
Substitutions
I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure how the flavor would turn out, but you can substitute the ghee for another animal fat (tallow, duck fat, etc.) and the ground beef for another ground meat (pork, etc.).
How to make Sweet Beef Bark
Prepare the dates.
Soak the pitted dates (for the batter) in water for 1-2 hours to get them soft.
Cook the beef.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
In your cooking pan, cook the ground beef on the stove-top until done. Don’t add any fat while cooking.
Once the ground beef is done, drain out all of the fat.
Transfer the cooked ground beef to a plate. Pat the beef dry with a towel to soak up as much of the remaining fat as you can.
Transfer the ground beef to a baking sheet. Spread the pieces out in as thin of a layer as possible to promote even cooking.
Dehydrate the ground beef in the oven at 200 degrees for 3-4 hours. You may have to rotate the pieces while cooking. I usually swirl everything around with a fork every 30 min or so or when I remember. Pieces should be hard and crunchy when done. I typically keep an eye on mine at about the 2.5-hour mark.
Once the beef is fully dehydrated, remove the beef pieces from the oven and let them cool.
Make the date-ghee-salt mixture.
Heat up the ghee (or your fat of choice) on low-medium heat until melted. As soon as it melts, remove it from heat.
In a blender, combine the soaked pitted dates, melted ghee, and sea salt. Blend to form a paste.
Note: the ghee and the soaked dates probably won’t fully blend. There will be some ghee in liquid form left. This is normal.
Transfer the date-ghee-salt mixture to a bowl (liquid ghee included) and place it in the fridge until it firms up. I check it every 10 minutes or so. To speed up the process, you can place it in the freezer. When ready, the dates and the ghee should be the same texture and it will be able to be mixed into a creamy paste.
Make the bark.
When the date-ghee-salt mixture is ready, mix it with the dehydrated beef pieces.
Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Spread the bark across the parchment paper. Press it together to form a firm, thin layer.
Place the baking sheet in the fridge for 1+ hours. Once the bark hardens, cut or break it into the size of your choice. Leftovers will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 4-5 days. Enjoy!
Tips to make the best Sweet Beef Bark
- Don’t skip on soaking the dates. It makes a big difference.
- After cooking the ground beef, make sure to drain out and soak up all of the fat. The less fat you start out with, the faster the beef will dehydrate in the oven.
- When dehydrating the ground beef pieces, spread them out in a thin layer and as far away from each other as possible. They will cook faster this way. This should also prevent you from having to rotate the pieces as much.
- Since ghee softens at room temperature, these bars keep best if left in the fridge and consumed directly out of the fridge.
A few of my other favorite sweet eats:
Jumbo Chocolate Cups with Salted Chunky Date Filling
Flourless Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Sweet Beef Bark
Sweet Beef Bark
Equipment
- Baking sheet
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 9 oz pitted Medjool dates
- 1 cup grass-fed ghee (or butter)
- 1 tsp sea salt (ASHLEYR for 15% off)
Instructions
- If you’re interested solely in the recipe, skip this bullet point and keep on reading. For those interested in sourcing nutrient-dense food, low-toxic household products, and discounts on brands that may support your AB journey, you may find value in my product guides. Head over to this page if you’d like to check them out. All are free (and always will be).
Prepare the dates.
- Soak the pitted dates (for the batter) in water for 1-2 hours to get them soft.
Cook the beef.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
- In your cooking pan, cook the ground beef on the stove-top until done. Don't add any fat while cooking.
- Once the ground beef is done, drain out all of the fat.
- Transfer the cooked ground beef to a plate. Pat the beef dry with a towel to soak up as much of the remaining fat as you can.
- Transfer the ground beef to a baking sheet. Spread the pieces out in as thin of a layer as possible to promote even cooking.
Dehydrate the beef.
- Dehydrate the ground beef in the oven at 200 degrees for 3-4 hours. You may have to rotate the pieces while cooking. I usually swirl everything around with a fork every 30 min or so or when I remember. Pieces should be hard and crunchy when done. I typically keep an eye on mine at about the 2.5-hour mark.
- Once the beef is fully dehydrated, remove the beef pieces from the oven and let them cool.
Make the date-ghee-salt mixture.
- Heat up the ghee (or your fat of choice) on low-medium heat until melted. As soon as it melts, remove it from heat.
- In a blender, combine the soaked pitted dates, melted ghee, and sea salt (ASHLEYR for 15% off). Blend to form a paste.
- Note: if you go through tons of salt in your household like we do, check out this salt purchasing hack that will save you money + make things more efficient. We started this last year, and I'm so happy we did!
- Note: the ghee and the soaked dates probably won't fully blend. There will be some ghee in liquid form left. This is normal.
- Transfer the date-ghee-salt mixture to a bowl (liquid ghee included) and place it in the fridge until it firms up. I check it every 10 minutes or so. To speed up the process, you can place it in the freezer. When ready, the dates and the ghee should be the same texture and it will be able to be mixed into a creamy paste.
Make the bark.
- When the date-ghee-salt mixture is ready, mix it with the dehydrated beef pieces.
- Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Spread the bark across the parchment paper. Press it together to form a firm, thin layer.
- Place the baking sheet in the fridge for 1+ hours. Once the bark hardens, cut or break it into the size of your choice. Leftovers will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 4-5 days. Enjoy!
What I used for this recipe:
A few of my other favorite sweet eats:
Jumbo Chocolate Cups with Salted Chunky Date Filling
Flourless Lemon Blueberry Muffins
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Ashley Rothstein develops tasty, whole food, animal-based recipes that include a moderate amount of “minimally toxic” plant foods. To fix her own health issues, she bounced around between the carnivore, keto, and paleo diets for a few years. After experiencing and studying each diet philosophy, she learned she feels her best by merging the three and following an animal-based diet. As a glut at heart, she likes to channel her creativity and create meals that are healthy but also satisfy her inner gluttonous spirits.
About how many dates are in 9oz ? For your beef bark recipe.
Author
About 1.5 cups.