Jerky & Tomatoes


 
Don Cash

Don Cash

TVWBB Gold Member
Got a full day in front of the smoker planned for the beautiful Fall day.

First up, jerky and smoke-dried tomatoes. Later my friend is bringing his WSM over and we're going to do a practice cook of the Salted Turkey recipe that's on the home page.

Tomatoes were a little over ripe so I cut them last night and let them sit in the fridge uncovered overnight to start the drying...Don't know if this will do anything but I figured it couldn't hurt. Here they are before going on the smoker.

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Jerky has been marinating for two days. This is a top round london broil that was cut by the butcher with the grain. He cut it a little thicker than I wanted...Oh well, it will just be on longer than anticipated.

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Three coals to start the Minion. (love the gas assist on the Performer)

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Set up. An old coffee can dremmeled to the same height as the charcoal ring.

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Lit her up at 7:30. Now, at 8:30 she's holding rock steady at 130*. More pics to come later...

Turkey goes on around noon.
 
Don,
Looks like a great smoking day!

I do want to add, IMO, the meat needs to be cut much thinner than it appears to be in your picture.
I really think it will take a very long time to totally dry at this thickness.

I've made jerky for many years, and always cut the meat to about the thickness of thick bacon slices.

Hopefully another jerky maker will chime in with their opinion.

Good luck, and I'm looking forward to more pics!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bob Correll:
I do want to add, IMO, the meat needs to be cut much thinner than it appears to be in your picture. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Absolutely agree. I picked out a london broil and asked the butcher to cut it 1/4" (what the recipe called for). This is what he came back with. Next time I'll ask for the slices to be the thickness of thick bacon. Great idea!

Also, the tomatoes are supposed to take 12-18 hours so the smoker will be running that long anyway...
 
Well, the jerky turned out pretty dag gone good...the tomatoes, not so much. After a long day in front of the smoker (and many beers), I laid down on the on the couch while the tomatoes were finishing up. Next thing I knew it was morning
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Ooops. I did taste one that wasn't quite done before the slumber and it was amazing so I'll definitely try this again...

The turkey was off the charts good!!

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Sorry to hear about the 'maters Don, stuff happens, but the jerky looks tasty!

I've wanted to try smoking tomatoes, but never think of it while they're in season.
 
So Don, the tomatoes, were they just over dried or ash? If just over dried, I've made a smoke tomato powder and you might be surprised what re-hydrating them in some liquid will give you.
My best luck has been a good long smoke at the lowest temp possible and finish drying on racks in the oven or a dehydrator. Actually, I've had a couple of batches that after a good twelve plus hours in the smoker just sat there for a couple days (smoker sitting in the sun) till I could be bothered to sort them and finish drying where necessary.
Glad the jerky worked out for you and I'm going to give that "salted turkey" a spin after seeing your success!
 
Marc, Actually they were under dried. I was using the coffee can as a charcoal ring so it was a very small amount of charcoal. I was having to replenish the coals every 5-6 hours or so. The fire probably went out sometime around midnight and I woke up around 6...so they were "off the heat" for about 6 hours. They were still pretty wet and mealy looking this morning. They were probably salvageable but they really didn't look too appetizing. Next time I'll use a full ring of charcoal and just start it with three coals, Minion...then in the oven to finish. Thanks for the help/advice!

As for the turkey, you'll love it! All of my guests raved about it.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Clint:
time/temp/recipe on the jerky? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I used this recipe: http://thebbqguru.net/jerkypage.htm

I kept the WSM around 150* and it too around 10 hours.
 
Looks great Don! Thanks. We've been making jerky for ~20 years but the original marinade recipe was lost long ago. I've never pre-dried the meat, and always get impatient & marinate for a very short period- overnight is pushing it for me it seems. My marinade is soy sauce, cayanne, black pepper, garlic & onion powder, & whatever else sounds like a good idea at the time. I've also been using a ronco food dehydrator my dad gave me ~10 years ago but never yet the smoker.

I always cut against the grain - is it OK going with the grain? I suppose it'll last longer so that's probably a good benefit.

I think I'll try a half batch, I just can't resist. How do you intend to store your jerky, if you're lucky enough to have extra?
 
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