Beef Jerky smoke wood choice


 
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Hi all,

I'm about to get started on a 7 pound batch of Jerky. Hope I have enough toothpicks, anyway... I have oak and cherry smoke wood. Should I go buy another kind for the jerky or will I get the great results I'm looking for with the oak and/or cherry ???

Thanks,

Marc
 
Oh well, shame on me for not asking sooner. I went with 2 chunks of oak and 2 chunks of cherry. We'll see...

For future reference, does anyone have any thoughts on this ?

Thanks,

Marc
 
Hi Marc!

I use Oak, Hickory, Pear and Apple...whatever I happen to have around. I like the fruit woods a little better...not quite as strong.
 
I have also used apple, oak and hickory. I agree - the apple does not give quite as strong smoke flavor, I think you'll be fine. Did you marinate the meat before you smoked it?
 
Yes, marinated the meat for 2 days. Turned out great by the way ! /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Thanks guys,

Marc
 
Hey Marc...

We need more detail than that!!!! LOL

Just kidding. But I am curious to see what your final recipe was and how much salt was added or did the soy sauce add enough saltiness???

See, all these questions......
 
Ok...

The jerky was not what I expected. I think that having it sliced accross the grain was not good. I think jerky is supposed to be a little chewy.

As far as the marinade, I mixed a couple of recipes, neither of which called for salt or Tender Quick. The meat marinated for 2 days but was not salty enough. I thought I added enough cayenne to make the jerky hot. Not at all, I had to moisten it after and add pepper, cayenne, and chilly peppers and it still was weak.

It was over cooked too !!!

The biggest problem was that I could not keep the temperature below 200 on my WSM. It stayed at 250-275 no matter what I did. I added an ice tray to the top grid and that did not help. First, I had the water pan out then when temperatures reached 325, I put it back. I guess I just need some practice and for that golden guck to build up on the insides. I thought I had done a lot of research on the jerky, but you have to learn certain things from experience.

I'm going to wait a while for the next batch, but I can promise better results. Lots more salt and less coals and sliced with the grain with a tougher piece of meat next time <I used Top Round>, next time skirt.

Jerky project sucked... But, in the immortal words of Arnie: "I'll be back"...

On a more succesful note, this last weekend, I did a pulled pork that was awesome. I used the Renowned Mr. Brown recipe combined with a recipe from Ronnie Hale. Outstanding !!! Then while it was cooking, I realized that I had enough room on the grill and ran to the store to get 2 racks of baby backs. I used my left over BRITU and they were also great. I've got a picture, butI'll have to ask permission before I can post it /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif .

I'm not discouraged !!! Gonna smoke on ...
 
Hi Marc.....

I can see where you might be a little disappointed with the results.

However, the meat, and how it was cut, is NOT the problem. Top round is the single best cut of jerky meat there is...no matter how it is cut.

Trying to make jerky at those temps is just impossible. That is why I use my el cheapo electric unit.

As to the salt, I feared you would not have enough salt. Soy sauce, though laced with salt, will not provide enough. I have ruined some batches of jerky by not adding enough salt and there is really no way to add it. I have even poured it on after cooking and it just doesn't work. You need LOTS of it.

One last word on the heat level.....As I stated on my jerky page, to get the heat level up there you will need to add LOTS of heat....I have used entire bottles of hot sauce and not been happy. The heat will also be supressed by any sugar you have included. To me, that was the hardest part of making a good sweet and hot jerky. I now use my own habanero powder whenever I need some heat.

Anyway, good luck next time and DON'T GIVE UP!!
 
Hi Marc,

I just made Beef Jerky on my WSM for the second time last night and it came out great. I am able to keep the temperature down between 165 and 190 for the 3.5 hours it takes to dry the 3 lbs of meat I put on. I used one chimney of lit Kingsford with a few handfuls of unlit coals, assemble the cooker, fill the modified water pan full and add the meat on toothpicks (per Stogie) and smoke wood (Hickory & Maple). The temps usually start around 220, but with all the vents closed they drop down to around 170 within 45 minutes or so. It's then just a tweaking game with one or two vents to maintain the low temps. Unfortunately it never quite stabilizes as well as at higher temps, but it isn't too much work. Well I hope this helped out in some way. Good Luck next time.

Matt
 
Here's a tip I discovered the last time I made jerky on the WSM:

An easier way to handling all that jerky is to thread it on bamboo skewers instead of individual toothpicks. Depending on the length of the skewers you find in the Oriental section of the grocery store, six, eight, or even more jerky strips can be hung from a single skewer.

As always, your mileage may vary.

Ken
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Kevin Taylor:
[qb]As to the salt, I feared you would not have enough salt. Soy sauce, though laced with salt, will not provide enough. I have ruined some batches of jerky by not adding enough salt and there is really no way to add it. I have even poured it on after cooking and it just doesn't work. You need LOTS of it.![/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sounds to me like the best way would be to just keep dumping salt into your marinade until it won't dissolve any more into solution. That way you are sure of getting a liquid that is as salty as it can be.
 
Webb...

Actually a much easier way is to add enough so that an egg floats.

OR, just add 1/2 cup per 5-6 pounds of meat. That has worked for the last 15 years.

Stogie
 
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