jerky rack question

dave01 · October 07, 2014, 05:42:31 AM

Hi all, I'm planning to buy some frog matts for my 6 rack smoker and was wondering about how many pounds of ground meat jerky I would get per rack. I would like to do a 15lb batch but don't know about how many racks that would take, maybe 6 racks wouldn't be enough.
Thanks in advance for you help, Dave

watchdog56 · October 07, 2014, 06:33:26 AM

I have a 6 rack also. I just did 5 lbs using gb and it filled my 6 rack plus I had to invert 3 racks on top for a total of 9 racks. I stuffed the gb into the 2 1/2 casings then put in freezer to stiffen up then sliced thin.

manfromplaid · October 07, 2014, 07:27:52 AM

buy extra 6 racks invert them to double up. but even 12 will not be enough to do 15 lbs at 1 go. I have a 4 rack and extra 4 and I do about 5 lbs at a time
mix up 5 lbs first and see how room you use before mixing the next batch

Roget · October 07, 2014, 07:31:23 AM

It will depend somewhat on which tip you use on your gun. (assuming you use a gun)
The last time I did jerky I did 5 lbs. & I think I had 5 or 6 racks. Some of mine was shot as round sticks so it didn't take up as much space. Also if you use a wide flat tip it will take up less space than a narrow tip due to having less spaces in between pieces.
I have never done as much as you are planning at one time so I don't know, but I would think that might be a really fully loaded smoker.
Good luck with your smoke, & let us know how it turns out (& how many racks it took)

MoHuka · October 07, 2014, 09:06:02 AM

I have a 6 rack and use 4 extras inverted for a total of 10 racks and it holds right at 10 pounds so that makes 1 pound a rack, give or take..as stated in previous thread will make a difference how thick you are shooting them if using GB.

dave01 · October 07, 2014, 01:25:41 PM

Thanks everyone. Now I guess I'll order some more racks and about 10 frog matts

Matth · October 19, 2014, 12:48:30 PM

I'm still a newbie but I'd worry about overloading the smoker with that big a batch. I think I'd want a fan and a second element before attempting that big a batch. My 4 rack smoker has neither.

dave01 · October 19, 2014, 01:11:36 PM

Hi Matth, I have a 900 watt mod with 2 - 2 1/2" fans

Matth · October 19, 2014, 05:29:14 PM

Quote from: dave01 on October 19, 2014, 01:11:36 PM
Hi Matth, I have a 900 watt mod with 2 - 2 1/2" fans

Smoke on then. Let us know how it turns out.

Andy55 · October 22, 2014, 06:16:04 AM

5 lbs of raw will fill 7-8 racks. I have a 4 rack and I invert 4 racks. smoke 1 hr 40 min @ 200 degrees. Heat or dry for 2-3 hrs. Mmmmm Good!!!!!!!!