It's Jerky time! On going through Tomorrow!

Hey everyone. Hope everyone is doing well. The missus made me promise I would make a large batch of beef jerky so I've been excited to try making jerky with a wood fire in the vertical off set smoker. After I made the promise I realized I had no Idea what I was doing as far as using a real fire and making jerky. Only made it with a dehydrator and my WSM using the snake method.

This thread will be on going through Tomorrow when I've finished cook. Decided to get a head start on it tonight to show the full process of making jerky.

So today is cutting jerky pieces and seasoning. I purchased a 7.31lb eye round roast. Thought it was a decent price at 2.89lb.



After Trimming and slicing I had a total of 5lbs of sliced jerky meat.



I'm seasoning the jerky with Hi-mountain Hickory seasoning. Cure and seasoning together. After seasoning I took this picture and then put the meat in a ziplock bag for roughly 24 hours. I plan on doing the jerky cook tomorrow evening.



I haven't decided if I am smoking for 3 hours then finishing it off in the dehydrator. I really wanted to do the full jerky cook in the smoker but so far everyone is concerned about over smoking.

I will update tomorrow evening during the jerky cook with progress and final pictures!

Bratylten said:

Looks like you are off to a great start. Eye of Round is my goto cut for jerky now. I like to slice mine with the grain so I don't eat it as fast.

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I couldn't decide with our against the grain. I chose against the grain this time around.

Today is the day! I actually woke up real early, I was bored, was going to wait till this evening to allow the jerky to cure/season for 24 hrs. Well this isn't about making jerky, this is about learning how to run the cooker for making jerky! This jerky will be gone within a few days anyways LOL.

Hope you guys are having a wonderful Tuesday morning! Pics will be rolling through the day. Got the smoker cleaned up ready for a fire. This is looking real possible, only problem is I haven't got the fire started yet! So things might change completely. Cooker looks awesome tho set up for jerky!

Here's an Update. Everything is so bright the morning sun is shining right into the smoker! here's the set up! took the top 3 racks out of my vertical offset. I put oven racks on the top two. On my 4th (bottom) rack I laid a piece of foil big enough to leave 1in gap around it to allow air to flow through the smoker. Acting as a deflector plate.

So far I'm sitting right at 150 degree's and holding tight! This is so much easier than expected! I just hope I can continue it this way! I assumed having a small fire would be a pain in the butt!



Here's a picture of my small fire. I took my chainsaw and cut my splits in half, then split them into smaller pieces. Seems to be working fine! I will keep posting through the day! Hope everyone has a good Tuesday!

by the way I'm using Cherry wood for the fire

NickTheGreat said:

Awesome! I used to use an electric dehydrator to make jerky, but haven't done it with my WSM for some odd reason.

Excited to see how this turns out. I still have some of that high mountain seasoning laying around somewhere :idea:

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I did a thread last year about making jerky on the WSM. Here's the link http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=222943

I used the snake method. It worked really well IMO. I have lost the love I had for the WSM and cooking with charcoal since I built my new smoker. So this was the perfect chance to try it out

I've been monitoring the river country gauge. I figured since most of the jerky was hanging at the same level as that gauge it would work fine. I haven't hit any temp above 175. I've stayed between 150-160. I wont be putting the jerky in the dehydrator or oven. It's looking real good already at 1 hour in to the cook.

We're 2 hrs and 45 minutes in The color is looking pretty farkin nice if you ask me! Still pretty easy to maintain 150-200 degree's. This was the first time I was getting closer to 200 degrees. I've been running wide open to have better air flow. keeping a coal bed for a real small fire with the expanded metal I have has proved to be a slight challenge, but I've been overcoming it nicely! I've ate a couple very small pieces and the flavor its delicious! We're looking at something good here!

I had one in the far back fall and I took a bite. it had a slight bitter taste. Not sure if it was in the wrong position of the cooker. So I moved all the jerky on the left and right side and on the back of the cook to the 2nd rack. That's why it looks different this time around. I dunno if the far back is getting a doze of bad smoke or maybe that was just one piece that didn't turn out right. Other than that one piece the other two pieces I tested was fantastic.

I also might wanna add, The foil thing seems to be working beautifully. seems to be doing its job keeping temps even in the cooker. Thought of it last minute, glad I did

Closing in on 5 hours. Several thinner pieces were dry and just slightly chewy which is how I like my jerky. Here's the pictures of the hanging jerky plus the jerky I've pulled off the smoker

IamMadMan said:

that jerky looks awesome......

Now you will find it hard to enjoy store bought jerky for evermore.

I'm glad you used a kit for your first time making jerky. I am a believer you should have a cure when making jerky as my BIL didn't think it was necessary when making jerky. Then he wound up with a hospital bill and probably made some of his friends sick in the process.

HiMountian makes a nice variety of Jerky Blends, you might also check LEM and The Sausage Maker for other varieties / options.

Thanks for sharing your process with us.

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Thanks Madman. This has only been the first time smoking with a wood fire. I've been making jerky for years in the oven and dehydrator. I tried in the WSM with a snake of charcoal. I prefer to use premixed seasonings for jerky because they provide the cure. hi-mountain jerky seasoning is awesome! I am planning a huge jerky cook real soon now that I know its possible to maintain low temps real easy. I want to try my hand at curing and marinading jerky next time around. Might need the brethren's help into jumping into that project!

Took the jerky over to my neighbor, they said it was a bit smokey. but really its "smoked" jerky from a wood fire. Guess that's gonna happen. From what I've ate of it so far, it seems to have a fantastic flavor. but I've also been in the smoke all day, I'll make judgement after I get cleaned up later

Your also right about not wanting store bought jerky. This is a much better and cheaper option if you have. The wife has been on my butt for months about making another batch of jerky. Been a while Since I've done one. This is turning out to be hands down the best jerky I've cooked. Wife loves it. Don't mind it being a little bit on the smokey side.

Its pushed me over the edge, I've wanted to buy a real sausage stuffer instead of using my meat grinder stuffer attachments to make snack sticks. Now I know this is possible I've already been looking at purchasing a stuffer! The wife buys a lot of meat sticks from the store, Would save alot of money and wouldn't have all that crazy ingredients lol

Here is the thicker jerky I pulled off at 6 1/2 hours. It's a good bit darker than the previous batch I pulled from the smoker. It's also slightly dryer than what I pulled off before. Wanted a little bit of a difference as far as texture goes between each batch I pulled off. Last picture though. There's only about 10 more pieces in the smoker that isn't quite ready!

Thanks everyone for looking! Been an awesome time doing this. I'm excited, I've got a huge list of things I want to do now that requires 150 degree smoking. bacon, snack sticks, more jerky, who knows what else! This has opened a totally different can of worms!

angryelfFan said:

Man does that look tasty!!

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BillN said:

Looks amazing, nice job.

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thanks. So after everyone has tried it. turns out it was fantastic! I filled a gallon bag of jerky. I forgot to weigh it to see what the yield was.