Shoe leather

[mhiykmeel63]

Ughhhhh! Tried doing a couple batches of nuggets yesterday. One batch with Teriyakei, the other was A1, had them cured and marinated for 24 hours. Smoked them for 2 hours at 150, then removed the water bowl and kept them between 150 and 160 for another 5 hours. They were like leather! Couldnt even bite or chew them! Any clues? I used stew meat just like the last batch but these were just nasty!

[NePaSmoKer]

Ughhhhh! Tried doing a couple batches of nuggets yesterday. One batch with Teriyakei, the other was A1, had them cured and marinated for 24 hours. Smoked them for 2 hours at 150, then removed the water bowl and kept them between 150 and 160 for another 5 hours. They were like leather! Couldnt even bite or chew them! Any clues? I used stew meat just like the last batch but these were just nasty!

Yeah

Dont use no water.

[mhiykmeel63]

Could anything else cause that? I want to try them again but kinda wondering

[Consooger]

how thick were the cuts? I had this issue once before. Depending on how thick you cut the pieces will depend on the cook time. Did you finish them off in the smoker or dehydrator. If you have them in the smoker you should be rotating the racks every hour. I even rotate them in the dehydrator depending on the load I have in it. Also if you have thicker and not so thick pieces you have to keep an eye on them because they may not need a whole 5-6 hours of cook time. Also how many lbs did you have going?

Normally when I do my batches I do 5 lb batches, 1 hour dry time at 150
2-3 hours smoke 155-160 degrees
3-4 hours (depending on thickness) of finish time.

John

[viper125]

Some stew meat is just real tough. Better using steak of some sort even round.

[mhiykmeel63]

What do you mean "dry time"? That might of been the problem, I took them right outta the marinade then to the smoker. I don't have a dehydrator so I did it all in the bradley. Im thinking part of the problem is all the meat may not have been complelty thawed. Guess I'll know what not to do next time. Thanx guys

[Buck36]

Some stew meat is just real tough. Better using steak of some sort even round.

Last batch I did, I used half stew meat and half cubed steak. Huge difference!

The cubed steak was easier to eat and took more of the marinade.

[Consooger]

What do you mean "dry time"? That might of been the problem, I took them right outta the marinade then to the smoker. I don't have a dehydrator so I did it all in the bradley. Im thinking part of the problem is all the meat may not have been complelty thawed. Guess I'll know what not to do next time. Thanx guys

By dry time I mean I put it into the smoker right out of the container/bag I have it in at 150 for an hour so it's not all wet and dripping if I use a wet marinade. I find that works best for me with the batches I use. I also use London Broil for my meat, VERY lean, you have to cut it yourself and sometimes can be a chore but I normally buy t in 30 lb batches and cut it all at once. I cut it all by hand, I find it kinda relaxing (strangely enough) and I get the exact cuts that I want.

John