1st time jerky

On the WSM, I only add one chunk of smoke wood at the beginning of the drying time.  I dry at about 100*F.

patvj2 said:

Should i add smoke to the entire drying process? If so, in all my research i have many varying temps at which to dry the jerky. I usually go with the average of the many recipes i find. I'd love anyones input.

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Remember to take note. Then you will find what works best for your taste. Just because I make it that way and like it doesn't mean anyone else will.

Happy smoken.

Dvid

Yes as bama says jerky can be over smoked quite easily.
Mule is dead on.... keep notes.
You will get a million different answers on temps.
Some folks like a higher temp til the meat is 160 for a certain amount of time then dry.
I use cure and dry at lower temps.
I have even done biltong and dried for several days with a 40 watt bulb.
Whatever you choose... make sure its safe.

I'm a little late to the party here but i'll throw in my 2 cents.

I made my first batch on my WSM and put in about 4-5 chunks of hickory. It came out VERY smoky. Not bitter but still not where I wanted it.

My 2nd batch I only put in 1 large piece of apple (which was equit to MAYBE 2-3 of the smaller chunks). Seemed to be perfect. The apple was not as heavy a flavor either so it was nice.

I put the jerky on as it came up to temp along with the wood and smoked it between 140-160 for 6 hours.

Thats how I do mine. I'm still learning "proper" methods but that's what i was told to do when i learned and it seemed to work just fine.