hotrod,
If you are going to make jerky I would recommend High Mountain Pepper and Garlic Jerky seasoning. Just follow directions on box.
I would suggest making sticks or chopped and formed jerky.
Here is what I would recommend.
Buy a 5 # stuffer (assuming you have access to a grinder). Grind the meat with 10% pork fat. Use the seasoning I have pasted. It comes with cure. Or, try the one with MSG. They only had without msg when I bought some. It was AWESOME!!! Kind of spicey out of the smoker.
Not quite as spicey the next day after cooled. Everyone LOVED it.
You can also make this type of jerky without stuffing in the callogen casings that I used. In fact, you can make this type of jerky without casing and WITHOUT a stuffer. Just grind meat the same as if you were going to stuff, and instead, take about a pound or so and place in between the wax sides of freezer paper and make it flat and then use a knife or something to make strips. Lay them out on your racks smoke it. Rotate your racks, flip the pieces and take off pieces as they are done. (Put your probe in a piece towards the end of the cook/smoke if you are not sure if it is done) You will get the hang of it after a couple of 5# batches.
http://www.northcentralfoods.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=10&products_id=44&osCsid=e80a56805f1117eef87e687189b6b873Here is the link and here is a picture. Notice the strips run parallel to the heat element.
