First attempt in the Bradley

[glwood006]

  Hey guys, tmrw night I am going to be smoking some thick jerky. My buddy brought over the meat tonight and boy did he slice it thick.  I'll add a pic.
    So I know the basic jerky tips in the Bradley. Rotating and spinning the racks and closely monitoring the temp to stay below 155. Any others I should know?
    No my question. How long does it usually take to finish completely in the Bradley ?  I was thinking about just smoking and moving to my dehydrator. Any thoughts on this?  How long should i tun the smoke? I know depas is an expert on jerky so I hope he jumps in.


     Grant

[glwood006]

  I have two pans like this and the slices are 1/2 thick. Going to be awhile to dry out. My buddy says he likes his jerky thick so he doesn't chew right through it all in the same day.

[Bear1968]

You can finish it in the bradley but I find it easier to use the bradley just to apply smoke and finish in the dehydrator. I find it easier to get it to the desired texture..... But then again I cut mine a bit thinner ... 1/4" Either way will work. I just go for the easier of the two :D

[glwood006]

I'm thinking that as well bear. How long do you leave it in the smoke?

   Grant

[Consooger]

Wow that is some pretty thick jerky. Normally when I do my jerky I smoke for 3 hours. Some do less, I like my jerky with more smokey flavor. Most people I have read on here do for about 2 hours. I run my temp at about 150-155 during the smoke and then pull and throw it in the dehydrator. Total dry/smoke/dehydrator time my jerky is finished in about 8-9 hours. For your jerky however it will take longer since the slices are much thicker. I would set the dehydrator at 155 and come back in about 3 hours to check on it. Just my 2 cents. Let us know how it comes out. I'm doing venison later today.

John

[glwood006]

Thanks for the info John. I think I will aim for at least three hours but probably four hours of smoke. Then into the dehydrator.  I'll keep you posted.

   Grant

[Consooger]

mmmmmmmm 4 hours of smoke, that's my kind of jerky. The smokier the better!

[viper125]

Sounds good to me. I would have took a filet knife and sliced those in half. I prefer 1/4 inch. But bet they be great.

[Consooger]

Sounds good to me. I would have took a filet knife and sliced those in half. I prefer 1/4 inch. But bet they be great.

what he said, but hell, to each is own. I wanna know how that comes out. Ive done thick jerky before and it was like chewing bubble gum

[viper125]

Man this is two days later! Isnt that stuff dry yet? PICS <PICS PICS

[KyNola]

May not be!  I made some jerky out of sliced bacon that wasn't nearly that thick and in my dehydrator at 155F it took 29 hours and could have gone longer.  It was really good though.  Hmmm...... may have to do bacon jerky again.

[glwood006]

Let me first say I knew the stock Bradley is not the best thing for jerky. I am planning on doing all the miss in the new year. That being said here are the pics.

[glwood006]

I smoked in special blend for four hours then in the dehydrator for eighteen. I put in in the dehydrator at 10 pm then check it at 6 am when I left for work. Then had my buddy come check it every few hours. It went to long in the dehydrator. It tastes good but crumbles in your mouth instead of being chewy.

[viper125]

Well a little over done Id say. Bradley should have been between 130-140 degrees especially over night. Just till it bends and cracks not breaks. But really surprised it cooked that far in 8 hours. Done it my self though. But not sleeping as I never sleep while smoking. Just dont trust any thing i guess. Hope its still eatable.

[glwood006]

U only ran it for four hours in the Bradley. Rotating and turning every hour. I ran at 152, long time to get back up and charred some if the jerky closet to the burner. Really need a PID and that second element oh and a fan. It's still edible just not quite perfect yet.