dehydrators VS smokers

bill c68 said:
How do you build a smoker? I might be interested in such a project, my big chief is way too small.
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Depends on if you want a cold smoker (Jerky, cheese, Salmon, bacon, cured meats, pre-smoking meats before 'Qing, etc) or a Hot Smoker (Actually cooking food)

If you want a Hot Smoker, the easiest way is to get an old fridge (or any other insulated box...proofing boxes, etc), punch a hole in the side and insert the Bradley Smoke Generator.

If you want a cold smoker, you can do the same, only you can use an uninsulated box......or you can build one:
http://blog.bradleysmoker.com/index...y-smoker-featured-in-outdoor-canada-magazine/
 
Wrong Way said:
Depends on if you want a cold smoker (Jerky, cheese, Salmon, bacon, cured meats, pre-smoking meats before 'Qing, etc) or a Hot Smoker (Actually cooking food)

If you want a Hot Smoker, the easiest way is to get an old fridge (or any other insulated box...proofing boxes, etc), punch a hole in the side and insert the Bradley Smoke Generator.

If you want a cold smoker, you can do the same, only you can use an uninsulated box......or you can build one:
http://blog.bradleysmoker.com/index...y-smoker-featured-in-outdoor-canada-magazine/
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So... what do you want for your smoke generator?
 
todbartell said:
Cracked pepper & garlic Hi Mtn Spice...mmmmmmmm...........I could eat fifteen lbs of CP&G jerky in one sitting

I use dehydrator but would like to try smoker
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High Mountain sure does make good jerky seasonings...I am going to try some of their other seasonings too. The Cracked Pepper & Garlic was AWESOME!

I made up batch in oven.

Turned out GREAT!

Roughly 6 lbs of Jerky. It only last about 2 days.

It was VERY addicting....once you start you cannot stop!
 
I made jerky for the first time this year. Turned out really well, We used a smoker and dehydrator. Dehydrator to get most of the meat dry and then smoked them for about 30 mins to get that nice smokey flavor.
 
So is there a huge difference between making it in the oven and making it in a dehydrator ?
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I've used the oven a couple times to cure ground venison with high country seasoning added. I thought it turned out great. I used a jerky shooter and placed the sticks on a baking sheet. I turned the oven to the lowest setting and cracked the door a bit and left it in there for about 3 hours. Good eats.
 
savagelh said:
I've used the oven a couple times to cure ground venison with high country seasoning added. I thought it turned out great. I used a jerky shooter and placed the sticks on a baking sheet. I turned the oven to the lowest setting and cracked the door a bit and left it in there for about 3 hours. Good eats.
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That's good to hear, because I do not have a dehydrator, and no room for a smoker(still working on my buddy to let me put one at his house) and I just purchased this at Cabelas. On sale for $29.99 from $49.99

jerky.jpg
 
heavyBullet said:
How much are these Bradley smokers new ???
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My wonderful wife just bought me a 6 rack Bradley digital, stainless smoker/dehydrator for Christmas. It was $550 for the unit, $40 for the cover and $20/pack of wood pucks at BBQs Galore in Calgary. I got Maple, Hickory and Mesquite. You can cold smoke, hot smoke and dehydrate with it.

Of course, I couldn't wait till the 25th to open the box.:D

After seasoning it last night, I smoked a few Bratwurst with Maple wood just to test it out before making copious amounts of Deer and Elk jerky. Took just over 2 hours at 200F. Came out nice and juicy with a perfect maple smoke flavor. I'm really impressed!

The nice thing about the digital one is that it keeps a constant temp. You just plug it in, fill it with pucks, program it, press start, then walk away.

I'll be using it mostly for jerky, cheese, turkey and flank steaks. Can't wait to experiment!
 
Sounds great, but a little pricey for me, especially this time of year lol. Can your wife put me on her Christmas list ??? :D:D


Anglinfool said:
My wonderful wife just bought me a 6 rack Bradley digital, stainless smoker/dehydrator for Christmas. It was $550 for the unit, $40 for the cover and $20/pack of wood pucks at BBQs Galore in Calgary. I got Maple, Hickory and Mesquite. You can cold smoke, hot smoke and dehydrate with it.

Of course, I couldn't wait till the 25th to open the box.:D

After seasoning it last night, I smoked a few Bratwurst with Maple wood just to test it out before making copious amounts of Deer and Elk jerky. Took just over 2 hours at 200F. Came out nice and juicy with a perfect maple smoke flavor. I'm really impressed!

The nice thing about the digital one is that it keeps a constant temp. You just plug it in, fill it with pucks, program it, press start, then walk away.

I'll be using it mostly for jerky, cheese, turkey and flank steaks. Can't wait to experiment!
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For smokers the Bradley is really good and the High Mountain mixes are very good also with excellent repeatable results. I like using Alder or Maple for jerky and Apple for fish.
 
I made up up a batch of salmon last week for the Christmas season. My rig isn't too fancy but it does the trick for me. Perhaps I'll find the time to make some moose jerky over Christmas, anyone have a favourite marinate for moose?

Thks
KTK

The fillets, 5 sockeye and a 1/4 white spring ( not shown )
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The brine fixings

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The first smoke, I put all the fish in the brine overnight and pulled out the thinner pieces and gave them about 11 hrs with 4 loads of smoke. I like fruit wood, I have a pack of cherry and a pack of apple here, under it is some home made apple chips bought at a swap meet, for my final smoke I go and cut some vine maple from the yard. The smoker is an electrical box I got from the jobsite, with a hotplate.
Dec2008019.jpg


The first load is out, let it cool down before you package.

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The full load ready to package. I left the heavier pieces in the brine all day and smoked then all night 12-13 hours with about 5 smokes.

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Packaged and ready to go. Well one piece didn't quite make it:D The white spring is in the lower front corner

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I'm using an old pop bottle machine for a smoker. I gutted it out and it works great. I just smoked a bunch of salmon today. I use apple and willow branches for smoking.

salmon004.jpg
 
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