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[Whistlerduck]

Hi all,

I seem to have an issue with my jerky not drying. I marinaded goose jerky overnight. strips are 1/4 and some may be a little thicker but not much. I put the jerky in for 2 hrs of apple smoke(160). removed the water tray and turned it down to 150 for an hr. The i turned it to 140 for 6 hrs and I noticed it was still to soft in the center. I bumped it up to 170 and it now has almost three hrs at 170 which due to ambient temps is around 163. Why wont it dry. I had one small piece that was dry thru and still bendy and it tasted great and was dry. Is it common for the jerky to take this long? It is 40 degree F outside and we live next to the ocean(Atlantic) so its damp and cold essentially. Looking for some input...its in the BDS 6 rack right now!!

-Whistlerduck

[ragweed]

If I counted right, that's 12 hrs.  Seems a little long, indeed.  But, if you have the smoker loaded full, might explain it.  Keep the vent wide open and hang in there.  Be careful not to "cook" it with the higher temp.  I finish my jerky in dehydrators so I don't know how long mine would take if kept in the Bradley.  I smoke for 2 hrs at 150 F, then to the dehydrators at 150 F.  Takes around 6 - 7 hrs for 2 1/2 lbs in each dehydrator.  Hope this helps.

[Saber 4]

I'm not a jerky "expert" by any means but I have made a few batches and I think you hit the nail on the head, the humidity and windy conditions that are delaying the drying. I have had jerky take many more hours than the last batch of the same, That's one of the reason's I went to smoking in the Bradley and moving to a dehydrator. I'm sure the experts will be along shortly with more information and to correct any mistakes I have made. Go with what works for you.

[Keymaster]

Is your Top Vent Wide Open to release all the moisture?

[Whistlerduck]

Appreciate the replies. The vent is wide open to release the moisture. There is just over 4lbs of jerky in there. I cut a piece in 2 and its almost dry thru but still redish in the thicker pieces(goose is dark red). I think I'll be picking up a dehydrator in the future. So what I am hearing is just keep checking until dry right thru then....I was panicing thinking it would never dry....

[Saber 4]

Patience is the hardest thing to learn in Bradley smoking, Don't worry about the panicking, you should have seen the text messages I had going back and forth with 10.5 when I smoked my first sausage. This is the dehydrator I got and I love it, http://www.basspro.com/RedHead-Stainless-Steel-10Tray-Food-Dehydrator/product/1303230601415/ others use the round dehydrator's and love them so do some looking and get what will work best for your needs and budget.

[Whistlerduck]

Thanks kindly...its some slow drying...just tried another piece and man, it is some tasty. We are on another shoot saturday morning and the boys are going to love naw'in on this stuff in their ground blinds. I am going to order a dehydrator pronto! Now will outside temps affect the dehydrator if I do it in the garage? I guess another question would be, does anyone use the dehydrator indoors? Any moisture problems ?

-Whistlerduck

[Saber 4]

I have mine in the laundry room for now and I either turn on the A/C in the summer or the vent fan to exhaust the extra moisture, but I have done that from the beginning not because I had a problem that needed to be solved. I don't think the temp in the garage would be a problem, I wouldn't use outside though. Mine has a fan that blows the heated air across the racks so that shouldn't be affected to much by a cooler temperature in the garage.

[ragweed]

I only dehydrate in the house.  Wife likes the aroma!  I'm one of the ones that have round dehydrators.  Cheap little Nesco brand.  Plastic but they work great.

BTW, I'm jealous of your goose jerky.  Haven't had the raw material now for several years.  :( :(  But boy was it goooood jerky!

[Gafala]

Thanks kindly...its some slow drying...just tried another piece and man, it is some tasty. We are on another shoot saturday morning and the boys are going to love naw'in on this stuff in their ground blinds. I am going to order a dehydrator pronto! Now will outside temps affect the dehydrator if I do it in the garage? I guess another question would be, does anyone use the dehydrator indoors? Any moisture problems ?

-Whistlerduck

I have a round stacking type and use it in doors and no problems with moisture, the only problem we have is our dog has her nose in the air because of smells.

[Saber 4]

Thanks kindly...its some slow drying...just tried another piece and man, it is some tasty. We are on another shoot saturday morning and the boys are going to love naw'in on this stuff in their ground blinds. I am going to order a dehydrator pronto! Now will outside temps affect the dehydrator if I do it in the garage? I guess another question would be, does anyone use the dehydrator indoors? Any moisture problems ?

-Whistlerduck

I have a round stacking type and use it in doors and no problems with moisture, the only problem we have is our dog has her nose in the air because of smells.

Sounds like a good problem to have :)

[MoHuka]

Whistler Duck,

I do lots of venison jerky...10-pounds at a time in my PID controlled 6-rack (4 extra racks upside down).  I use LEM's Hot Jerky Seasoning and marinate all night..I smoke for 3 hours either Hickory or Mesquite as we like a heavier smoke taste.  I start at 120 degrees and ramp 10 degrees an hour until 160 and hold for 2 hours.  Ii is usually close to done at this point but I move it to the dehydrator in the basement and then cull every 30 minutes or so and place in a brown paper grocery sack.  I use the bend test to determine when finished, should bend and not break.  After cooking I vacuum seal and freeze...hope this helps.

[Whistlerduck]

It took close to 14 hrs to dry. Very,very damp day and evening, cold etc. It will need to be a dry day for me to try that again. I will say that I now understand why people use a dehydrator for drying and the smoker for its job. Thanks all for walking me off the ledge. I know at one point I was thinking of trashing it and starting over another day. Appreciate the responses and no matter how minor or major they all helped!

If you have never had goose jerky, it is awesome. The dark red meat and grain makes a great jerky. This was my first run at making it and the taste as simple as it is, is excellent and a great benchmark to start with. From here I can add hot, terrakyi(which it kind of already is but you can do a stronger one) pepper or whatever flavor tickles your fancy.

Heres what I did for what its worth! Really great flavor and like I said, so easy to add your own twist to it.

- I marinaded overnight, and does it ever turn thick by morning. Awesome stuff.
- Cleaned all goose breasts of fat and fatty skin. sliced the length of the breast(ie from head to toe if the breast was still on the bird)
- Sliced 1/4 in thick. If I use the BDS for the entire process I will be using thinner slices!

Qty. 2.5 lbs sliced meat
Marinade:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup of maple syrup(pure)
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup worcestershire sauce
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 hrs apple smoke at 160
1 hr at 150
several hrs at 140  (strongly recommend dry conditions(outside) or a dehydrator at this stage lol)

[KyNola]

In my amateur opinion the reason it took 14 hours is revealed in the last 3 lines of what you did.  Started at 160 for 2 hours, 1 hour at 150 and then several hours at 140.  You need to reverse that.  Start at 130-140 for an hour or two.  Bump to 150 for an hour and then bump to 160 for the remainder.

[Whistlerduck]

Thanks KyNola, at what point did you smoke?