Jerky Machine


 
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Mike Chavez

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In addition to my WSM. I own a Brinkman Smoke King. Kind a like a "el cheapo Brinkman" on steroids. Large side door, 3 level cooking grates. It is fairly heavy so it holds heat pretty good. The main problem with it is as with all Brinkman water smokers. "No heat control". So after much thought I purchased an After Burner for it. I've tried Jerky in the WSM and it did a fair job. It also took about 8 hours. As previously stated elsewhere the WSM is not a very good dehydrator. However this new Jerky setup (Smoke King/AfterBurner) is the ticket. I can maintain 140 to 160 no problem. Hang the jerky from cooking racks. Leave door cracked for first hour to facilitate drying. Then put the smoke to her. So far I have only used apple wood for the jerky. Outstanding. In five hours I've got some of the best jerky I have ever tasted. Hell I could sell this stuff if we did't eat it up so fast. I also purchased the High Mountain Jerky cutting board and knife set and that realy makes life much easier. The seasonings are really good too. Next thing for this set up I will try smoked sausage. But this week end will be doing briskets for the first time in WSM will post results.
 
Mike,

How do you like your Afterburner? Have you cooked anything with it besides the Jerky? I have an ECB that needs a little refurbishing but might work OK with an Afterburner.

You also mentioned that the Smoke King doesn't provide temp control...wouldn't the Afterburner pretty much take care of that issue? You could pop/drill some holes in the top of the 'King' to get some heat flow.
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Mark WAR EAGLE!!
 
Hi Mark,
Yes,IMO the after burner is the soultion to the temp control problem with the Brinkman smokers. I have yet to use it for anything but jerky. However I am cooking for a birthday party this weekend and am doing a brisket in the WSM. I've also got some "country style" pork ribs and I am considering smoking them with the Smoke King/Afterburner combo. I am also going to cook some chicken thigh chunks wraped in bacon. I will post cook results.
 
Hi all,
Got a small problem. The jerky is really great execpt for 1 small thing. If I keep it for more than a week it starts to mold. I have tried putting paper towels in the bags with the jerky to keep mosture down but still get mold any and all suggestions will be appriciated. By the way the country ribs turned out good.
 
Mike, blend a tsp of Instacure (sausagemaker.com) or a tsp of DQ Curing Salt (butcher-packer.com) into the recipe for each three lbs of meat. Tenderquick already has salt and sugar added to it and will change the proportions of your recipe, so I almost never use it for anything unless I use it and it alone. DQ is my preference of the two.

You shouldn't store uncured jerky in a plastic bag (which I assume you did since you placed a paper towel inside the "bag"). Not in a jar, either. Paper sack is preferable, and a refrigerator w/out auto defrost is even better yet. You won't have mold probs. with cured jerky regardless of how you store or bag it.
 
Hi Dean
Thanks for the paper bag suggestion will try.
I cure my jerky for at least 24 hours using the high mountain jerkey cure. Do you think I should add more sodium nitrite I have a bag of that for when I use my own recipie. I realy like the flavor of the regular high mountain stuff. I usually use the original and jazz it up with fresh cracked black pepper and extra garlic.
Thanks again
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mike Chavez:
[qb]
Do you think I should add more sodium nitrite ... I realy like the flavor of the regular high mountain stuff. [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Mike, I assumed you were mixing your own recipe and leaving out the sodium nitrite because the results you describe coincide exactly with my early results, before sodium nitrite, when I depended on the salt, Worscestershire and soy sauce in the recipe to carry the day. If the High Mountain recipe contains sodium nitrite in it, I'd guess it doesn't contain enough (though I don't know why they would only add an ineffective amount).

Since adding at the rate of 1 Tb per ten pounds of meat into my recipe, storage is no longer an issue. I can misplace an open plastic bag in the back seat of the truck, find it a month or so later, sans refrigeration, and it's fine.
 
Mike, found a cache in a paper sack today while organizing a cupboard. Made it last fall at rate of 1 Tb per 10 lbs. Went through winter, a wet, humid spring, and is still good. Actually, very good. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
 
Hi Dean,
Wow thats along time, that paper bag storage sounds like the way to go. The plastic bag must have something to do with the mold forming. We must have alot of mold spores here on the East coast. It might be a while till I have time to make some more jerky. I work entierly too much. Will keep you posted
 
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