Well it has taken some time to get the data I wanted to present to you all on my trials with test samples of Jerky Screens from a company about 60 miles up the road from where I live.
First off, I have to confess I have not tried any other products from other companines (except for the non-stick coated jerky racks that lasted for a couple uses and were tossed) but from what I see on the web, the lower temp product samples I received look just like them and they may all come from the same source.
The two types of screens I tested were USDA Plastic Screens (polyproylene polymer) and USDA PTFE coated Fiberglass Screens. The Plastic is rated at 200 degrees and the PTFE is rated at 500 deg.
The Plastic is O.K. I suspect it is just like all the others out there. It does discolor a little, and takes a little cleaning to get the hardest stuck particles off. Certainly a dream compared to the non-stick coated racks or non-coated racks with non-stick spray. The one problem I ran into with the plastic is it did suffer some melting. This was a sheet located in the lowest rack position and at the back of the box. As the heater turned on to keep the box temp up at 200 hundred, it would have exceeded the 200 degree point and started to melt the plastic. For this, I would not consider the plastic for smoking.
I must say I am very impressed with the 500 deg high temp PTFE Coated Fiberglass. Nothing really sticks and they didn't discolor. Light dish soap and brush or dish cloth and you are good to go. I suspect a toss in the dish washer would do as well, but this is so easy to clean there was no need.
In testing, I smoked jerky, sausage, ribs, brisket, butt, and pistachios. I always take my product out of the smoker after the smoke is over and use the house convection oven or dehydrator to finish so not all of the tests may be typical of what you may do - start to finish in the bradley. I did do one session of ribs start to finish (except for the FTC) just to push the product to see if I could get some sticking. I also suspect that a 20 hour pork butt might be a little tougher of a test but I also believe, these guys would come clean. After I receive my full sized set of 12, I may just run a 20 hour pig to see if it takes any more effort to clean after the goo turns to charcoal. My favorite screen and what I am ordering is the HP-0951HW. The HW in this part number signified it has more non-stick the the HP-0951. I like the HP-0109 but they are no longer available.
Following are pictures of the sample pieces the company sent me to test.
Here is the picture of the two PTFEs .
(http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q78/GizmoPhoto/Smoking093.jpg)
Here is the picture of the PTFE and the two plastics.
(http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q78/GizmoPhoto/Smoking095.jpg)
Here is a picture after one of the test smokes. After the quick cleaning they looked like new again.
(http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q78/GizmoPhoto/Smoking160.jpg)
I will follow up on this post when I get some ordering information for you all. I suspect the cost for us will be very comparable or better than what you are seeing for the plastics found else where. Hope to have that information for you all real soon. Sorry for the delay. I actually didn't want to post this until I had that nailed down but since there has been a few posts of interest, I didn't want to delay any further.
Gizmo, what is the opening size. Would these hold nuts is the real question. Thanks for posting on this.
1/8 inch by 3/16 on the small grid size. You won't be able to smoke mustard seeds directly on them but anything the size of popcorn seeds or higher is a go. I don't know that a popcorn seed would take the smoke well until after it is cooked so even though it would not fall through, it may not be worth it. ;D The pistachios I did were no problem.
Quote from: Gizmo on April 24, 2008, 11:53:50 PM
;D The pistachios I did were no problem.
Well you knew exactly where I was going huh. Thats pretty good :D
Great Job Gizmo! ;)
I look forward to seeing the supplier/pricing.
Mike
Quote from: Mr Walleye on April 25, 2008, 05:41:28 AM
Great Job Gizmo! ;)
I look forward to seeing the supplier/pricing.
Mike
Same here. Great work.
Thanks for the research - I'm chompin' at the bit to buy some.
Hey Gizmo,
Any update on where to buy these ?
Why yes.
Thank You for the Segway.
Just to let everyone know, I contacted Bryan at Yard and Pool (sorry if I am letting the cat - no not wildcat, out of the bag a little early) to see if he was interested in carrying the product. He was and started communications with the Manufacturer. He has been hard at work in getting things lined up for us and is close to being able to offer these. Thank you all for your patience on my delays.
I hope you all find these screens as high quality as I do. These are non-stick-PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene used in GoreTex and nonstick cookware) coated fiberglass and are rated at 500 degrees. I actually use the screens (the small samples for now) for every thing I do, not just jerky. They keep a lot of the goo off of the racks and make cleanup a lot easier.
Hopefully Bryan can fill in the rest of the info soon (availabilty and price).
Bryan, Thanks for looking into this for us and taking the chance.
Quote from: Gizmo on May 15, 2008, 10:06:00 PM
Why yes.
Thank You for the Segway.
Just to let everyone know, I contacted Bryan at Yard and Pool (sorry if I am letting the cat - no not wildcat, out of the bag a little early) to see if he was interested in carrying the product. He was and started communications with the Manufacturer. He has been hard at work in getting things lined up for us and is close to being able to offer these. Thank you all for your patience on my delays.
I hope you all find these screens as high quality as I do. These are non-stick-PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene used in GoreTex and nonstick cookware) coated fiberglass and are rated at 500 degrees. I actually use the screens (the small samples for now) for every thing I do, not just jerky. They keep a lot of the goo off of the racks and make cleanup a lot easier.
Hopefully Bryan can fill in the rest of the info soon (availabilty and price).
Bryan, Thanks for looking into this for us and taking the chance.
I already clawed and chewed a large enough hole in the bottom to escape. :P ;D
Thanks for the research and Bryan, I am interested.
Quote from: Gizmo on May 15, 2008, 10:06:00 PM
Bryan, Thanks for looking into this for us and taking the chance.
Gizmo,
Everyone should be thanking you. You have done all the hard work and testing.
As far as availability and pricing goes I will have that for everyone early next week. Unfortunately, DuPont's biggest competitor closed its doors so DuPont has raised the price of non-stick since it now has a monopoly so these were priced a little higher then I thought they would be. But I will make sure to work out some pricing for all forum members.
As soon as I have all the info I will post it here. Thanks again Gizmo.
Bryan
I to am very interested, had been planing on ordering some of the jekly screens, I think I'll hold out till these are available!!
C
I am also interested.They would be great for indian candy (not pc but oh well lol :o :o) and the rest of smoking and cooking in the Bradley :P.
Mike
Wow not even an hour ago I was searching ebay and amazon for some jerkey trays and couldnt find any. Put me down for a set I would love to have some.
Now I got to go find a good jerky recipe......
TT - Try Hi Mountain Original Blend. I have 13 pounds ready to go in a few hours.
It is an awesome flavor.
Speaking of Jerky - I use Hi Mountain as well. Has anyone tried to create a Jerky cure "from scratch" ?
I thought it would be great to have a "cure base" and then add whatever flavors to that base.
Quote from: Gizmo on May 16, 2008, 09:47:52 PM
TT - Try Hi Mountain Original Blend. I have 13 pounds ready to go in a few hours.
It is an awesome flavor.
Giz...im guessing this is a pre package mix?
Quote from: FLBentRider on May 17, 2008, 03:12:03 AM
Speaking of Jerky - I use Hi Mountain as well. Has anyone tried to create a Jerky cure "from scratch" ?
I thought it would be great to have a "cure base" and then add whatever flavors to that base.
FL...I do have one that Ive made from scratch. I will see if I can find it when I get home Sunday nite. I also was wondering if anyone else used a mix from scratch?
I figure it would be a mix of cure #1, salt, and whatever flavorings you want. I just don't have the correct ratio's.
TT- Yes it is prepackaged. Sugar cure and seasonings. The seasonings are what I would like to duplicate.
Saw some high temp screens at a local cooking store yesterday. 15x10.5 for $20.00.
Sorry for the delay getting this information posted but I finally have some information for the jerky screens. We are going to carry the 500 degree high temp screen in a 10" x 13" size. These are the model #HP-0951HW that Gizmo tested.
The screens are going to be priced at $9.99 a piece and $8.99 each if you buy 4 or more. If anyone needs large quantities let me know and I would be happy to work with you. Sorry we can't offer these any cheaper right now but as I posted before DuPont just raised all of their prices due to their major competition closing their doors.
The screens have been ordered but I do not have a delivery date yet. As soon as I have this information I will let you know.
Below is the link to the screens on our web site. If you like you can pre-order the screens and as soon as they arrive we will get them shipped. Gizmo, I hope you don't mind but I used your image since I don't have the screens yet.
http://www.yardandpool.com/High-Temp-Jerky-Screen-p1900.html
Gizmo, thanks again for taking the time to try these out and finding us a quality product.
No problem begolf. Glad you were able to get things hooked up and make use of my sorry ###. That is an awesome price. Heck of a comparison to my local store option at $20 bucks. I don't think the 2 inches are worth $10 especially since it would have to be cut off to fit inside the smoker trays.
My next test will be to see how the sample holds up on the grill (trying to keep it under 500). I'll try some fish and anything else I can think of that has a tendency to stick and pull apart when lifting off the grill.
Giz, you have become a model product tester. Thank you. :)
Glad to. Anything that needs to be done. ;)
Thanks Gizmo - your efforts are appreciated.
Just a quick update on the Jerky Screens. I spoke with the manufacturer and it seems non-stick is in short supply so it is holding up their manufacturing. I am supposed to have a ship date from him tomorrow.
If you have already ordered these, but are also waiting on other items, and the delay is going to be lengthy I will make sure your other items are shipped ASAP. I will post the date as soon as I hear back from the manufacturer. Thanks for everyone's patience.
Got mine ordered!!! Thanks begolf I cant wait to get some jerkey made in my bradley.
Hey everyone,
Just wanted to give a quick update on the jerky screens. We now have them in stock. These are not the exact screens that Gizmo tested. Unfortunately, we were running into shipping delays and thanks to the help of another board member I was able to get what I believe are pretty close to the same screens Gizmo tested much faster. A few board members have purchased these and I am looking forward to hearing the feedback on how the screens performed.
So if you were waiting to get these until they were in stock we now have them. Thanks for everyone's patience. I hope to be more active on the board but work has me swamped lately. Hope everyone is doing well.
Bryan
So far they so good - they should be called Mafia Screeens - nothing sticks!
Would these screens also be good for doing almonds? That's on my project list
Quote from: Smokin Soon on June 29, 2008, 08:36:27 PM
Would these screens also be good for doing almonds? That's on my project list
SS,
I haven't used these for almonds but I think smoking nuts may be the reason some forums members are purchasing these. The holes in the screens are small enough that the nuts will not fall through.
I also have an update on the pricing. I was able to get these screens at a little better price so the screens will now be $7.99 each or $7.50 for 4 or more. Anyone that has already purchased these screens at the old price will be issued a credit for the difference.
Bryan
They are good for almonds except there is nothing to keep them from falling through the edges of the racks. Not a big deal, they worked great the first time I used them.
I got my jerky screens today from Y&P, looks like they will do the job. After I do a load of almonds I will give feedback. I like the fact they are cut to fit the Bradley racks.
Mrs. FLBentRider dried 8lb of jerky last night. She says the screens are Great!
I have used the screens for:
Almonds
Chicken
Ribs
Jerky
Nothing sticks.
Run through the dishwasher - clean.
FL, ditto that! I did 2 7.5# butts with the screens just to test and cut the cleanup time in half. I think I will now use them for everything.