Giving jerky a try...

jaredpost · November 07, 2009, 11:47:58 AM

Well I've been wanting some jerky for a while and I was at cash n' carry yesterday and found a killer sale on top sirloin. So I'm gonna try smoking some jerky for the first time. Since I'm new to this I went with a seasoning pack but I'll probably try some of the recipe's from here soon. I've got 2 pounds getting seasoned and cured right now and it'll go in the smoker tomorrow.

I've been reading different posts on here about temperatures and how much smoke. I'm planning to use hickory smoke for a few hours and keep the temp. around 150* (does this sound right?). Any idea how long I should this will take? I don't want to over cook my first batch.

FLBentRider · November 07, 2009, 12:39:35 PM

150F sounds about right, maybe a little hotter.

You will want to rotate your racks hourly, empty the water bowl when the smoke is done and keep the vent wide open.

KyNola · November 07, 2009, 12:45:18 PM

Jared,
I'm the last guy who should be responding as I've just started making jerky myself. Your start temp looks right. An hour or two of smoke will be more than enough. You can begin to bump the temp up slightly as the dehydrating time goes on but I wouldn't exceed 170. How long can depend on a lot of things. My friend the jerky king NePaS told me that you want jerky to bend but not snap apart when you are testing for doneness. Snap apart means too done. It will firm up more once it's out and cooling down.

Would someone with way more experience with jerky than me please respond and help Jared out?

KyNola

FLBR, just saw your post right before I sent this. Jared, he's right on.

Smokin Soon · November 07, 2009, 07:16:42 PM

Just have to do a test run and keep an eye on it for the first run. I use a dehydrator after the smoke but it can be done entirely in the Bradley. I like a softer "chew" in my jerky, I taste test along the way! Just remember there is no bad Jerky cooks, you are just fine tuning your tastes!

jaredpost · November 15, 2009, 04:51:27 PM

Well as it goes with new things, this was less than favorable. I checked it every hour sometimes every half hour and ended up with a very dry and tough product. I had the cabinet at 155* for 6 hours and used 2 hours of hickory smoke. I kept checking on it but didn't know if it was quite done yet.

I just finished a new batch today and used the same temperature for only 4 hours and it turned out much better. probably could have used another half hour but I'm pretty happy with it compared to my first try. Now that I am getting comfortable with it I think I'll try some recipe's from here instead of the stuff that came in a box.

Who has the best jerky recipe's? I saw the soy jerky one that sounded good but I'd like to find few to try.

Tenpoint5 · November 15, 2009, 04:59:05 PM

Nepas is the resident jerky GURU!! He sent me some and it was PDG if you ask me.

KyNola · November 15, 2009, 05:55:19 PM

Hey Jared,
A couple questions for you. First, what kind of Bradley do you have and second, what are you using to monitor the temp inside the tower? If you're using the temp gauge from the Original or the Digital, that could very well be part of your learning curve. Neither are extremely accurate. Get you a good digital temp monitor like the Maverick ET-73 to more accurately monitor the temp inside the tower.

Sounds like you're well on the way.

Congrats my friend,
KyNola

kodiak1 · November 15, 2009, 06:12:42 PM

Just made a four pound batch yesterday. Now I am kickin my caboose for not making fourty pounds.
Dang that stuff is good. Can't keep the wife and the grandkid out of that stuff.

Ken.

jaredpost · November 16, 2009, 02:06:52 PM

Quote from: KyNola on November 15, 2009, 05:55:19 PM
Hey Jared,
A couple questions for you. First, what kind of Bradley do you have and second, what are you using to monitor the temp inside the tower? If you're using the temp gauge from the Original or the Digital, that could very well be part of your learning curve. Neither are extremely accurate. Get you a good digital temp monitor like the Maverick ET-73 to more accurately monitor the temp inside the tower.

Sounds like you're well on the way.

Congrats my friend,
KyNola

I have the bradley smoke engine attached to a food proofer. I have a PID with the probe just above half way up on the back wall and then I have the Maverick ET-73 and put the probe about the same height but at the front.

After my new batch of jerky cooled down overnight, I really think it turned out great. Now its time to try some new recipe's.

KyNola · November 16, 2009, 06:43:21 PM

My apologies Jared. I didn't realize you were using a different smoker cabinet than the Bradley cabinet.

Sorry my friend. Smoke on.

KyNola

KevinG · November 16, 2009, 08:57:43 PM

I'm not sure if this is what you might be looking for, but it worked out great for me.

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=12124.0

jaredpost · November 16, 2009, 09:20:07 PM

Quote from: KevinG on November 16, 2009, 08:57:43 PM
I'm not sure if this is what you might be looking for, but it worked out great for me.

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=12124.0

Thanks for the link, thats sounds like a good recipe to try. Which of the spices did you put on after the wet marinade? Was it just the pepper? Would you use regular brown sugar or skip it all together?

KevinG · November 17, 2009, 05:40:09 AM

I would mix all the liquids with the Kosher Salt, light brown sugar or no sugar, Non fat dry milk, and Cure and soak the meat. Then I would sprinkle on all the rest after pulling to drip dry. The sugar is still questionable, it turned out great according to my friends at work with it, but I'm leaning against using it next time. You could probably cut the recipe in two and try it both ways to see what tastes better.