Trying Jerkey

[dewy]

Been making jerkey for years now in dehydrators and in the oven but want to try a batch in my Bradley this weekend.Got the meat cut, its been sitting in the cure since last night and will be putting it on this afternoon or tommoorrow morning.Just curious if I want the vent all the way open, how many hours of smoke for such thin meat, and what temp people have had good luck with.Doing about 5 lbs sliced into 1/4 strips and found some 15 inch metal skewers in the camper that fit in the brackets for the trays so Im thinking about hanging it in there as opposed to using the racks.Any problems with this idea Im not seeing?

[NePaSmoKer]

Hi dewy

I do alot of jerky for my 2 sons overseas. I only put 1 to 1.5 hrs of smoke to the meat with vent full open and power vent fan on. I cook mine @160 to 170* until the meat is bendable not brittle. I sometimes put the 1.5 hrs of smoke to the strips then into the dehydrator for 5 hrs. Hanging is a good way too. I have some high heat food grade non stick mats that i use on my racks so the meat dont stick and have used peel-ease too. You can see on of the non stick mats on the post just below yours.

Here is a batch of jerky i did for my son in Afgahnistan. Tumbled in my reveo in my own wet marinade for 10 mins then into the smoker on the 2 top racks above the biggies for 1.5 hrs. After smoke i put in dehydrator for 3 hrs @ 150*



nepas

[sueblazer03]

 I try to put my jerky in the dehydrator for an hour or two prior to smoking it. The smoke sticks to it better and the salt doesn't leach out as much. (This happens when the heat is too high and the juices pool on the meat. Still tastes good though.)

[dewy]

Them mats are interesting, can I ask where you got them?I might be interested in some of those for different projects.Do they clean up pretty easy?

[Habanero Smoker]

Nepa Smoker may be referring to Hole-e Smokes Silicone Mats. You can get them at this site.
http://secure.thebbqguru.com/ProductCart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=118

Also check out the recipes:
http://www.thebbqguru.com/bbqDisplayList1.cfm?CategoryID=9&userType=Web&pageHeader=BBQ%20Recipes

These are easy to clean. You need two to cover each tray, and they do keep the tray cleaner You still need to clean the trays, so you should spray the tray with a nonstick spay. I also spray the mats. Most important the food does not stick to them. I use them when I smoke salmon. They cleanly come off the mats. If I place the salmon directly on the trays it stick, and I often wind up breaking the pieces as I try to remove them. I also use them to make my meatloaf logs. The mats make it very easy to roll the mats into a uniform shape. When I make my logs I like to stuff the centers with cheese, sauteed vegetable, and a variety of other types of stuffings.