Should I Baste Or Mop My Jerky???

[OldHoss]

I am an hour and a bit into smoking with the temp at 120f.   Gonna do 2.2 hours smoke total and then dehydrate at 130f for as long as it takes.  Question is - Should I baste or mop this stuff???

I have three batches going and would use the predominant wet ingrediant - Maple Syrup, Jerk Marinade and Teriyaki - in this case for the 3 batches. 

If I should baste - When?  I was thinking about hour 3 or 4 into it.  The Jerk Jerky is looking dry now.

Sure could use some opinions on this one.

[Sailor]

When you are making jerky you are wanting to "dry" it.  Basting or mopping is adding moisture to it.  Personally I smoke at 150 and finish it off in the Bradley at 150 until done.  If you are using a dehydrator I would set it at 150.  Guess it is a personal preference as to what temp to use.  Main thing is to get the moisture out. 

[OldHoss]

When you are making jerky you are wanting to "dry" it.  Basting or mopping is adding moisture to it.  Personally I smoke at 150 and finish it off in the Bradley at 150 until done.  If you are using a dehydrator I would set it at 150.  Guess it is a personal preference as to what temp to use.  Main thing is to get the moisture out.

I was looking at a rescent post about jerky made with Soy Vay that the fella used the Teriyaki to baste 3/4 of the way through....it looked dry but "candied" at the same time.

Look here:

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=22854.0

those pics sure look sweet.

[Sailor]

Yep ....them is muebe Nuggets.  That is a specific recipe for the muebe nuggets.  Basting the nuggets gives it a glaze.  I have made the same recipe using GB for jerky.  When I make the jerky I do not bast as the meat was infused with the mix.  Normally when I make whole muscle jerky I mix and let stand in the fridge over night.  Never basted it with left over mix as I want to get it dry.  Just different recipe for the muebe nuggets  ;D

[OldHoss]

What is GB?  I see now that basteing at all from now till this is done would only time if I wanted "dry" jerky......which I do.  If I wanted moist tender jerky then basteing might be in order.  No?

EDIT:  GB stands for Ground Beef.......just occured to me.  Gotta be quick on your feet on this interweb thingy I find.

[Sailor]

Secret to good jerky is to dry it until it bends without breaking.  If you bend it and it breaks then you over dried it.  I prefer GB jerky over hole muscle.  I like the consistant texture that I get with GB.  With that said, I would never turn down whole muscle jerky if it was sent to me  ;D

[OldHoss]

This batch I have going now looks good....especially the Indian Candy.  I believe I have overspiced the Teriyaki and the Jamaican Jerk flavours however....too much too long with the marinade.   I must wait till tommorrow to see how the flavours blend though.  I have thought I overdid it in the past only to find out it was beauty.  I do know from tastings so far that it will be better than any beef product I ever bought from Jack Links.  I will post pictures of the final product on the post I have going about the use of Sure Cure.

Thanks for the tip on knowing when the jerky will be done.  I do like my jerky on the dry side.  Last time I finished at too high a temp and the final product though good suffered for it.  This time it'd low and slow.  No higher than 140f on the temperature set.....the actual temp will go higher in the unit....by about 25f or so by my previous calculations.

[Keymaster]

Sounds like you were busy Hoss. I think sailor has given you some sound advice!! Look forward to seeing some of that jerky soon :)