Jerky Shelves


 
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Dean Torges

R.I.P. 11/4/2016
Cleaning out the freezers for jerky meat. More pkgs of moose, venison and elk than I figured on finding, and it's all trimmed and marinating now in preparation for the smoker. Smoker is large, a converted upright freezer carcase, a casualty of home improvement (I drilled a hole through a refrigerant coil while installing a hasp to keep the door from springing open). Lotsa room inside, but I don't have stainless steel shelves enough to accommodate all this meat.

Question: can I use some 1/2" galvanized welded wire mesh? Will galvanization react to the salts in the jerky marinade? Are there other inexpensive possibilities for shelving? Will entertain any ideas as long as they are in the spirit of salvage.

Thankee.
 
Dean,
Galvanized metal puts off toxic fumes, when heated. I wouldn't suggest you use it. Some research on the Web about heated galvanized metal will give you some good information. Some old refrigerators also contain other glues and substances that can do the same. If you do use an old refrigerator, be sure to remove EVERYTHING that could be a hidden danger. Personally, I wouldn't use one.
 
Thanks for the heads up, Ray. This is not a water smoker, though, like my WSM. It's an actual smoker. Jerky does not require a temp much above 100?F. I've wired a thermostat into this smoker and can pretty much keep it pegged there. I wouldn't think there's much danger of it fuming then. Still, there must be good reasons why it's not used. Kutas uses galv. mesh for making biltong, so the galvanization in itself can't be bad.

I dunno. Will try a web search to see what I come up with. Don't hardly know what to search under. Can think of some amusing subjects to enter, but don't think they'd get me too far.
 
Empty on search for temp at which galvanization becomes hazardous.

I've also thought of using ss wire (which I have in abundance), bending into double fish hooks, and hanging them over the smoke poles, smoking meat vertically. Lotsa trouble and impractical in this instance. Some of these meat pieces are relatively small because much of the package meat was already cut across the grain in steak thicknesses, and it separated according to muscle bundles when I stripped it, so trays are really the way to go.

I have 4 ss wire trays that will hold about ten pounds of meat, but they are not large enough for this job.
 
Dean,
For some foods, especially, anything acidic, galvanized metal at any temperature is dangerous to use.

Do a search for various combinations of keywords, like, 'food galvanized', 'galvanized metal toxic', etc. I have found many listings; none that say it's okay to use galvanized materials in food preparation. You might also like to try different search engines. A few to get you started are:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>MSUE USING GALVANIZED CONTAINERS IN FOOD PRESERVATION
<LI>USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
<LI>Food and Drug Administration
<LI>USDA
[/list]
Enter the same search terms in the last two links, above, for information from their site.
 
Much beholden to you, Ray. Very informative. Thanks for taking the trouble. Will call around Columbus tomorrow and locate some stainless bakery cooling shelves or somesuch.
 
Best I have been able to find out wrt galvanization is that smokers never get hot enough to create zinc vapors. I mentioned that Kutas used galvanized mesh for jerky, and I also talked with the folks at Butcher-Packer, and they assured me that galvanized would work fine at these low temps, but that I ought to put a buffer like window screen between the meat and the galvanized because long term galv. reacts to the acids in vinegar-based marinades.

However, I decided not to mess around. Visited Walmart. Found chrome plated bakery cooling racks there, 16 by 10 for about 2.50 each. Brought ten home and made 5 trays, yoking two together by lacing a hickory arrow shaft through the bent portion of the legs. Yields a sturdy 16 by 20 tray. Slid the trays into plywood standards with a 1/2 groove plowed across to accommodate each tray, measuring it all up so the unit would fit nicely inside the smoker cabinet.

The plywood standards come out of the smoker easily when I go back to hanging meat or sausage off the smoke poles, and the shelves themselves dismantle quickly, go into the dishwasher for a cleansing, and store in a neat stack. All and all, am pleased with the results.

Jerky in last photo has been in for over 24 hours. Thermostat keeps temp. pegged between 98 and 100 F., with good air circulation. Tasted a few of the thinner pieces this morning. They are excellent. Have never made jerky at temps this low before.

I know this is a barbecue forum, but smoke is smoke as I see it. Here are some urls if you would like to check out my smoker, the trays and the jerky (after 24 hours). Ran hickory smoke through it for 6 hours for flavor. May do another pan of sawdust yet.

Hope I have negotiated the Instant UBB code successfully, but I doubt it.

shelf
smoker
inside
jerky

(edited by Chris Allingham to correct defective URL)
 
Cool! Maybe I can find a reason to drill a hole in my refrigerator so I can ruin it and convert it to a jerky smoker like you did, Dean!

That's a neat setup you have. What's the heat source?

Regards,
Chris
 
Chris, man don't need a reason to do something stupid, and he can always think one up afterwards, anyway. Heat source is an 1100 watt hot plate wired into a sensor from Plaktronics.

I've been smoking for about 5 years inside a Luhr-Jensen Big Chief with satisfactory results, all the while eyeing an old Crosley Shelvador refrigerator in the basement that Mary and I bought used when we married 42 years ago. I figured when it bit the dust I'd convert it, but it just keeps trucking. I use it for aging meat and for soaking chickens and hams, etc. The Luhr-Jensen can do 4 chickens at once. My converted freezer can handle 18 for space, no problem (though I'd need a little more oomph in wattage). The baked enamel interior finish cleans off easily after each smoke.

Did three ribs yesterday in the WSM, BRITU style. Tasty, but came out a bit tough. I shoulda followed your lead and stayed lower with the temps near the end.

chickens
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dean Torges:
[qb]The baked enamel interior finish cleans off easily after each smoke.[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>They sure don't build 'em like they used to, huh? Baked enamel...nice!

Regards,
Chris
 
Dean, I curious about how you prepare your meat & poultry (whole chickes), before smoking at these low temperatures?
 
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