Got a little chief awhile back, haven't used it yet. You guys find using the smoker outside in the winter changes anything? Or did it just take longer to dehydrate and smoke? Did you leave it in the garage with the door open, or just put it outside somewhere out of the wind? The instructions for the smoker says it wouldn't work as well at temps below 45 farenheigt
First attempt at Jerky.
- Thread starter McHoss
- Start date
My last house had a smoker, I haven't built one here yet.
Some people like cold smoked dehydrated meat...Me? It makes me gag. Hot smoked jerky, sausage or fish gets a chance for the spices to infuse the meat. I ran my last smoker at 150~170C with the meat on grating. 4~6 hours for 1/8" slices.
Some people like cold smoked dehydrated meat...Me? It makes me gag. Hot smoked jerky, sausage or fish gets a chance for the spices to infuse the meat. I ran my last smoker at 150~170C with the meat on grating. 4~6 hours for 1/8" slices.
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I have a propane smoker so I go about 120 for an hour just to form a pelical(seal) on the meat, 150 for a couple three hours then bump to 180 to finish and don't walk to far away on the last bump cause things happen fast. I cut mine 1/4-3/8". The only smoke it gets is whatever drips to the bottom of the smoker. I use mine in all weather and it sits on a partially enclosed porch
For anyone using an oven please heed my advice. Make sure all the dripping fall into a pan not the bottom of the oven. I made a couple batches of jerky and figured if I cleaned the worst out by hand and used the self clean mode I would have an easy day. Boys and girls that cure ate a 4 inch hole in the bottom of the wife's oven on the clean cycle and I of course got stuck for a new oven and hear about it to this day. Hence why my jerky is banished to the great outdoors
For anyone using an oven please heed my advice. Make sure all the dripping fall into a pan not the bottom of the oven. I made a couple batches of jerky and figured if I cleaned the worst out by hand and used the self clean mode I would have an easy day. Boys and girls that cure ate a 4 inch hole in the bottom of the wife's oven on the clean cycle and I of course got stuck for a new oven and hear about it to this day. Hence why my jerky is banished to the great outdoors
For the dehydrator I've had good luck with soya sauce, brown sugar, liquid smoke, then pepper and use smoked paprika after the meat has sat in the brine for half a day or so. I also prefer the jerky to be more on the dry side.
Same here on the Hi Mountain blends. Bought the variation pack,,,,comes in five flavours to be used with two pounds of grind each. I used deer and I also liked the cracked pepper and garlic best. Even though I had recently bought a dehydrator, I had a friend tell me he just used the oven as instructed above and that it was an easy way of doing it so I thought I'd try using that method first. He was right; piece of cake! I almost wish I hadn't bought the dehydration unit. LOL
I'll be making up a bunch more for fishing and hunting snacks. I heard the Hi Mountain teriaki/garlic blend is tasty as well and a favourite of many.
A couple of different flavours done up here (CP&G, Cajun). When I did it in the oven I squeezed the meat out onto cooling racks:
that's some good looking jerky man.
canadian hunter312
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Brant County
Many commercial blends are fine to just a touch on the salty side, but I haven't tried one that's "very salty". Did you weigh the meat and measure the cure without packing it into the spoon? It's very easy to add too much cure. Do all of the pieces of jerky have the same flavor or are some worse than others? Many people will shy away from dry cures for jerky because it's too easy to be inconsistent coverage of the cure. I had trouble with this a couple times when I began smoking and after switching to wet cures the problem was eliminated.
Just mix the dry rub/cure with enough of your preferred liquid to marinade the jerky, but not send it swimming. There shouldn't be much liquid in the dish the next day after you've removed the last piece to place on the rack. Much easier than dry and it's a great way of adding flavors with stuff like cider, bbq sauce, hot sauce, etc.
- Location
- On the beach
Have a batch marinating in Tequila, hot sauce, lime juice, a splash of OJ and some lime salt right now. Tomorrow it hits the dehydrator.
canadian hunter312
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Brant County
One of the benefits of making a smoker out of an old fridge...you can smoke as long as the propane keeps burning properly. Smoke times are the same as in the summer. With my old little chief electric it couldn't get warm enough if it was cold outside.
I have used dry rubs/cures almost exclusively as I don't see the point in adding moisture to something you are trying to dry. Smoke fish the same way brown sugar, salt and cajun spice dry on the fillets and by morning the pan is full of liquid. Takes about 4 hours and they are done as compared to all day in a wet marinade
With the dry to get consistency I lay the meat out on a flat tray in about a 4 pound batch, about 18 sq inches of space. Mix half the required spice and cure in a shaker with large holes and sprinkle on one side. Flip the whole lot using another tray on top and repeat with other half of cure/spice mix. Let it stand for 5-10 minutes, toss in a large plastic bowl and get your hands in and mix. Toss the whole mess in a zip lock for 12 hours and get to it.
I find if left for more than 24-30 hours without cooking the salty flavour escalates
Now I need to root around in the freezer and find a couple wild turkey breasts and make some turkey jerky in Mandarin Orange as my mouth is watering for a jerky fix.
With the dry to get consistency I lay the meat out on a flat tray in about a 4 pound batch, about 18 sq inches of space. Mix half the required spice and cure in a shaker with large holes and sprinkle on one side. Flip the whole lot using another tray on top and repeat with other half of cure/spice mix. Let it stand for 5-10 minutes, toss in a large plastic bowl and get your hands in and mix. Toss the whole mess in a zip lock for 12 hours and get to it.
I find if left for more than 24-30 hours without cooking the salty flavour escalates
Now I need to root around in the freezer and find a couple wild turkey breasts and make some turkey jerky in Mandarin Orange as my mouth is watering for a jerky fix.
canadian hunter312
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Brant County
The point of adding moisture for something like jerky is to ensure the cure/spices will be distributed evenly on all pieces of meat for safety and consistency. Another big benefit is it's an excellent means of adding additional flavors that aren't possible or practical with dry cure. Going the wet route for sliced jerky saves a ton of time and messing around. Look at how much extra time and effort is required when going the dry route for jerky.
Dry:
-combine cure/spices
-put blend into shaker
-lay jerky on tray piece by agonizing piece
-sprinkle cure
-flip using a pan (two more thing's to wash)
-sprinkle cure
-toss in bowl
-put in bag(s) (risk of leakage)
-repeat (5x in my case using 20lbs)
Wet:
-combine cure, spices, and liquid in glass dish
-add meat
Like I tell the wife, as I do most of the cooking, its not the ingredients its the" Love" in the cooking that tastes so great. I have done both wet and dry cures and prefer dry as the spice stays on the meat or fish rather than in the pan. The smoking or drying time is half(time saved I guess) dry as compared to wet and when friends and neighbours notice the smoker going it is like a flock of seagulls descending so it can't be that bad. I have been told more than a few times my smoked rainbow is second to none, done dry.
That is the great part of doing your own prep, is finding what you like. My dad taught me how to do a lot of this and his adage was"You will never make something that everyone likes so make what you like" To each their own and I simply passed on what works for me.
That is the great part of doing your own prep, is finding what you like. My dad taught me how to do a lot of this and his adage was"You will never make something that everyone likes so make what you like" To each their own and I simply passed on what works for me.
That's great. I like that. My boys are right into doing the jerky with me. Both batches I've made so far they've been right there and the first to try it.
