jerky issues

[gmnshorthair]

Sunday, I tried my hand at Venison jerky, I followed the instructions as they read in the recipe section of BS. Unfortunatley they came out more like chips...crispy. Granted they were sliced somewhat thin, but the recipe tells you to slice thin and then pound with a mallet. I guess I should have been checking more often, but I did not want to keep losing heat; also had to take out after 5 1/2 hrs. Can someone tell me how thick I should be slicing?. Another question maybe someone can help with... how hot will the smoking element alone get my temp?, I realize it will depend on what all I have in, but I am just curious. Last question; where can I purchase the remote thermometer I've read about in the forum?. Again thank you all for your help.

[Bassman]

I got my remote thermometer from
www.northerntool.com. It works great. It's a maverick brand and has 2 probes,one for internal meat temp & the other for inside the smoker.It keeps the thermometer on the front of the Bradley honest. It reaches about 100 yards.

Jack

[Chez Bubba]

Bradley's recipe book is OK for what you're paying, but leaves a lot to be desired. If you only own one book on smoking, I would suggest Smoke & Spice by Bill & Cheryl Jamison.

When I've made jerky in the past, I try for about 1/4", maybe 3/8". I've never pounded it but my system works for me. The Canadians seem to have a lot more experience with this than I do. I'll yield.

In my experience, the bisquette burner will contribute 30-50d F. This of course can be varied by sun, wind, ambient temp and how open the vent is. Also is the factor of how often you open the door to "check it".

Happy Smokin',

Kirk

http://www.chezbubba.com

[Richard Pearce]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Chez Bubba</i>
<br /> The Canadians seem to have a lot more experience with this than I do. I'll yield.

Happy Smokin',

Kirk

http://www.chezbubba.com
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
<font face="Comic Sans MS"></font id="Comic Sans MS"><font size="3"></font id="size3"><font color="blue"></font id="blue">No we don't Kirk; I followed instructions and my jerky came out rather flavour-free and with the consistency of road tarmac on a winter day! I have just had a load of my venison sliced for jerky and I shall not be using the BS recipe this time.
btw, have you ever wondered where the Bradley Smoker people are on this forum? I never see anything from them![;)]