MES Venison Jerky help needed

Bump,

Hello Neut! I think most people have there own way of doing jerky, experimenting until they get what they like and works best for them.

Here's how I do mine:

Jerky was one of the first things I worked on and worked on to get it just right. I suppose I've smoked close to 100 lbs since I started smoking.

I thread the meat onto non stick skewers I picked up at Wally World and hang those horizontal from small S hooks on the top rack. If I have more than will fit on the top rack and the meat isn't too long (don't want it touching the meat below), I'll use the second rack as well. 

I have the damper wide open, chip loader and tray are out and preheat the MES to 180* or so. This temp allows for opening the door to put the jerky in. Then I reset my temp to 120*-130*. I also use a smoke generator with the lower smoking temps. 

I  start at 120*-130* with no smoke to dry the jerky for about an 1-1.5 hrs, bump temp to 140*-1500* for 2.5-3 hrs with smoke, bump temp to 160*-170* (I also continue with smoke until it runs out) to finish it off (usually another 2-3 hrs), but no higher than 170*. I start checking it using the bend test (you should be able to bend it without breaking and have white fibers showing) after about 5 hrs on the smaller/thinner pieces and periodically check the remainder until it's done. Mine usually takes 7-8 hrs to finish.

This is some I did a while back and I did change the smoker temps since this thread:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/123611/elk-jerky-again

I  make sure all pieces are cut to the same thickness, otherwise it drives me nuts. (I shoot for 1/4").

I find that using a jerky recipe that uses cure makes a big difference.

Lots of air flow.

Barely any smoke; even TBS can be too much if you run it for more than an hour or so.

I lay mine flat on racks, and rotate the racks every 30 minutes or so. Even then, each piece will not be done at the same time - remove each piece when it is done!

Don't leave a bowl of finished jerky on the counter or the dog will gain weight.

Dont dry it out too much, you're making jerky, not "venison dust".

I start at low temps, maybe 125 or so for a couple hours. Then bump up to 150, then to 175 to finish. I really dont know if thats necessary though, could probably just do it all at 175?

It takes me around 4-8 hours depending on the weather and how thick my slices are.

We vac seal a lot in pocket size packages and put them in the freezer.

hth