Use of Water Bowl with Jerky

[paulsnapp]

I have a new Bradley smoker and new to making jerky.  I have read through several instructions here on the Bradley site.  In one place it says to fill the water bowl half full when making jerky and change it often.  In another place is has a footnote to not put any water at all in the bowl when making jerky.  Could someone tell me which is the correct method?  Water in the bowl or no water in the bowl?  Thanks!

[GusRobin]

If I am using pucks, I use water.

[Sailor]

Yep, Always put water in the water bowl when you are using pucks.  After the smoke you can empty the spent pucks and water and just put the water bowl back to catch any drippings.  If you are smoking meats that produce fats you want to have water in that bowl.  Don't want no grease fires. :o

[OldHoss]

Keep the vent on top all the way open at all times.  After your smoke is applied you can go with no water in the pan IF the meat is not dripping fat....which it shouldn't as you should have removed it before hand. 

Also do not let the internal temperature in the unit go above 170f or so at any time or you risk a hard dry product.  I will not advise you further as I am not a jerky guru here but I will pass that temp recommendation on as I once made jerky where I finished the cook at a temp of 200f or so and it was dry in a way that could have been prevented if I had just gone slower and longer.  Look around here and there is plenty of good advice from folks who know more than I do.

Also know that the actual temperature where your meat is in the unit will be different from the set temp and temp reading on the digital readout of the unit itself.  The differences can be as much as 30f I have found and there is a huge hotspot going up the back of the unit.

[josbocc]

Paulsnapp,

I don't use my Bradley to make jerky..., I have an 80l Cabelas dehydrator for that.  However, I have smoked enough with my Bradley, and have paid attention to some of the more seasoned members of this forum, so I will offer my proverbial 2 cents.

Whenever applying smoke, use water.  One of the primary reasons for getting the Bradley is that the smoke is very concentrated, and pure.  When that puck is pushed off of the burner, and into the water, we are eliminating the acrid smoke that comes from the blackened remains of that puck.

The amount of smoke applied is a personal decision.  IMHO, 2 hours is usually sufficient.  Some people like to go longer, and sometimes it is appropriate especially with larger cuts of meat.  With Jerky, you are dealing with a relatively thin slice of meat, therefore the smoke will penetrate rather rapidly.  I don't think that applying any more than 2 hours of smoke, will yield a jerky that you find tasty.

Once the smoke application is finished, all you want to do is dry the jerky.  Therefore the removal of the water bowl at that point is prudent.  Keep your temps fairly low.  I dry my jerky at 145 F.  In the Bradley you could probably get away with a temp as high as 170.  Remember, you are drying the meat, not cooking it.

Check some of NePaSmokers posts.  He is the KING of jerky, and won't stear you wrong.  Good Luck, and welcome to the forum.

Jeff

[Consooger]

If I am using pucks, I use water.

Same as Gus. If using pucks I keep the water in there until they are all finished and then I pull the bowl out completely. Normally I will transfer the jerky into the dehydrator afterwards. If I am running another batch in the bradley I will keep the water bowl out all together. Why add more moisture if you're esentially trying to take it out of the meat.

[smokeitall]

I used to use the Bradley for making jerky, that is until I tried making it in my Cabela's 80L, never looked back.  There is hot spots in the Bradley so rack rotations are a must, with the 80L I have never done a rack roatation.....set it and forget it.  Good luck

[Consooger]

I used to use the Bradley for making jerky, that is until I tried making it in my Cabela's 80L, never looked back.  There is hot spots in the Bradley so rack rotations are a must, with the 80L I have never done a rack roatation.....set it and forget it.  Good luck

same here, I smoke in the bradley and move to the 80L just need to check the jerky if you have a mixture of thick and thinner pieces.

[josbocc]

I used to use the Bradley for making jerky, that is until I tried making it in my Cabela's 80L, never looked back.  There is hot spots in the Bradley so rack rotations are a must, with the 80L I have never done a rack roatation.....set it and forget it.  Good luck

Smokeitall,

I see you mention that you've never done a rotation in your 80l.  I found that to get consistency in my jerky that halfway through, I need to rotate the racks top to bottom, and front to back (with the full-size racks).  Are you doing whole muscle, or ground beef?  And if you don't mind my asking, what temp are you drying at?

Thanks,
Jeff