My First Smoke - BC Mule Deer

zenyo · Jan 28, 2016

Hello All,

I received my MES 30" last week and I finally have the time to do my first smoke...

After lots of reading the last couple of days I settled on the following marinade:

2 Cups Soy Sauce
2 Cups Teriyaki
2 Cups Worcestershire
2 Cups Apple Juice
2 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. Honey
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. coarse ground black pepper
2 Cloves fresh chopped garlic.

Roughly 3 Tbsp. in in one of the bowls to make a few with some bite!

IMG_2712.JPG

zenyo
Jan 28, 2016

6 Lbs of Mule deer from 2014. In hindsight I should have started with one roast, considering this is my first ever smoke... Here's hoping it wasn't a mistake.

IMG_2711.JPG

zenyo
Jan 28, 2016

Cut up into roughly 1/4" strips

IMG_2713.JPG

zenyo
Jan 28, 2016

Bagged and into the fridge for the next 36 hours.

IMG_2717.JPG

zenyo
Jan 28, 2016

I'm still torn on the smoking part. Some like to smoke at the beginning, some like to smoke at the end and some smoke the whole time... I'm thinking I'm going to smoke at the end with hickory for about 2 hours... thoughts?

I'll will finish off this post Sunday or Monday with the finished product.

tropics · Jan 29, 2016

ZENYO Looks good so far,I like using cure #1 when I make Jerky I didn't see any cure in yours.Here is a rack I made for my MES, it is for Sausage but if you get the sticks they sell for Smores,you can hang a lot of Jerky

Richie

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/174140/sausage-rack-mes40-w-step-by-step

SmokinAl · Jan 29, 2016

Sure looks like a good start on the jerky!

I still haven't made jerky yet, guess I'll have to put that on the ToDo list.

Al

zenyo · Jan 29, 2016

No I didn't use any Cure. Is it necessary for Smoking jerky or just a preference? Maybe I'll try some in my next batch to see if I can tell the difference.

I grew up making home made sausages where the only ingredients we used were Salt, Pepper and Chilli peppers. We used to hang to dry them in the cellar... No one ever got sick...

I love the racks... Thanks for the Idea!

tropics · Jan 29, 2016

ZENYO said:
No I didn't use any Cure. Is it necessary for Smoking jerky or just a preference? Maybe I'll try some in my next batch to see if I can tell the difference.

I grew up making home made sausages where the only ingredients we used were Salt, Pepper and Chilli peppers. We used to hang to dry them in the cellar... No one ever got sick...

I love the racks... Thanks for the Idea!

Botulism breeds at the low temps I feel safer using it.Good luck let me know if you try the rack

Richie

zenyo · Jan 29, 2016

I guess I have more reading to do... Although there is a ton of conflicting info out there on this topic. So if I decided to add cure to this mix, I can just dump a teaspoon in each bag and mix it up?

crankybuzzard · Jan 29, 2016

ZENYO said:
No I didn't use any Cure. Is it necessary for Smoking jerky or just a preference? Maybe I'll try some in my next batch to see if I can tell the difference.

I grew up making home made sausages where the only ingredients we used were Salt, Pepper and Chilli peppers. We used to hang to dry them in the cellar... No one ever got sick...

I love the racks... Thanks for the Idea!

Welcome to the group!

Looks like you're jerky will be quite flavorful!

When it comes to cooking and smoking at low temperatures, where you won't be following the "40-140 in 4" rule, cure is the best insurance in the world to prevent foodborne illnesses.

Not being an educated donkey with this, but I use this phrase a LOT with folks I know...

"What's never happened before, happens everyday".

This day in time, it pays to be safe.

tropics · Jan 29, 2016

ZENYO said:
I guess I have more reading to do... Although there is a ton of conflicting info out there on this topic. So if I decided to add cure to this mix, I can just dump a teaspoon in each bag and mix it up?

No not that easy you have to have the weight of the meat. 1 teaspoon for each 5 pounds of meat

Z I hope this helps

here is a link that may help more

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?736-Curing-Salts

zenyo · Jan 29, 2016

That works... I know how much meat is in each bag... Thanks for tips and links gents!

zenyo · Jan 29, 2016

Will adding the cure after the meat has already been in marinade for 20 hours still take effect? the cure will be in the bags for another 14 hours.

tropics · Jan 29, 2016

ZENYO said:
Will adding the cure after the meat has already been in marinade for 20 hours still take effect? the cure will be in the bags for another 14 hours.

Z if you can leave the meat in the cure for a day you should be in good shape,14 hrs may work but safely go the 24

Richie

zenyo · Jan 29, 2016

Got it... Thanks for the help Richie!

zenyo · Jan 30, 2016

Ok, I dt'sone

Into the smoker at 9:30 am, between 150 and 160 for 8 hours... Hickory smoke for the last 3 hours

IMG_2719.JPG

zenyo
Jan 30, 2016

The bad news first... It's over done. Its dry and breaks instead of bends. It's not hard though, it's still tender to eat... I think I know one of the things I did wrong. I cut the strips to small. I cut them 1/4 inch both ways.

The good news is the Fam loves it and can't stop eating it. The marinade was spot on for flavour.

IMG_2720.JPG

zenyo
Jan 30, 2016

crankybuzzard · Jan 30, 2016

Looks great!

I'd pay for a pound of it!

disco · Feb 2, 2016

I love venison. I love jerky. I hate the fact that your first jerky turned out way better than my first jerky did.

Points for a great first smoke.

Disco

zenyo · Feb 2, 2016

LOL... Thanks Disco...

It did turn out okay and it was well received, There's almost none left.... But we are our own worst critics and I've been racking my brain thinking about what I did wrong to make it come out dry...

Did I smoke it to long/hot?

Did I open the door too much?

Was it just because deer is super lean? This is the first time I've had deer jerky so I guess I really don't have anything to compare it too.

I have a couple of questions...

1 - As you can see in my picture I used the water pan in the smoker. it was empty I just put it there to catch the drippings.. Was that a mistake? about 2 hours into the smoke I emptied the drippings, was that a mistake? Maybe I should just let the drip pan at the bottom take care of the drippings...

2 - I used the vent up top to fine tune the temp. Should I have had that open max and used the digital temperature gauge to control the temp?

Thanks,

Al

disco · Feb 2, 2016

ZENYO said:
LOL... Thanks Disco...

It did turn out okay and it was well received, There's almost none left.... But we are our own worst critics and I've been racking my brain thinking about what I did wrong to make it come out dry...

Did I smoke it to long/hot?

Did I open the door too much?

Was it just because deer is super lean? This is the first time I've had deer jerky so I guess I really don't have anything to compare it too.

I have a couple of questions...

1 - As you can see in my picture I used the water pan in the smoker. it was empty I just put it there to catch the drippings.. Was that a mistake? about 2 hours into the smoke I emptied the drippings, was that a mistake? Maybe I should just let the drip pan at the bottom take care of the drippings...

2 - I used the vent up top to fine tune the temp. Should I have had that open max and used the digital temperature gauge to control the temp?

Thanks,

Al

I am not an expert on jerky but I have been successful over the last couple of years.

As for deer being lean, lean is a good thing in jerky. Fat doesn't dry well.

I used a Bradley and always had water in the pan and no difficulty with dryness. I don't think removing the drippings did anything.

I always use cure which allows me to cold smoke my jerky for a couple of hours. Then I put the heat on as low as possible, below 180 F to finish the dry. The last two batches, I cold smoked the jerky for 3 hours and then finished it in my dehydrator. This has given me the best results yet but only marginally better than finishing it in the smoker.

The only time I have had dry pieces was when I left them in too long. I cut my meat to 1/4 inch thick and keep checking it. when it bends with a little breaking at the surface it is done. If you dry it to break stage, it is too dry.

Just my two cents worth, there are many with more expertise than me.

If you would like more input, do a post titled "Jerky Help Needed" and ask any questions you have and experts will take a look.

Disco

crazymoon · Feb 3, 2016

Z, good looking jerky, Thinner cuts just mean less time in the smoker.You will get your jerky tweaked to your liking in a few batches !

zachd · Feb 25, 2016

Jerky is one of those things that take time you will get it down it seems like every time I make jerky I am always tweaking something. I usually do small batches until all my venison I set aside for jerky is gone I vacuum pack 5-10lb of precut jerky and just do a bag at a time. (If I do big batches I just eat it faster)

As it goes on and on it gets better and better throughout the batches. My first couple usually are not so good so I usually start off before deer season doing a couple batches of beef to get in the swing of things so my venison batches are better from the start.

Good smoke if the family loved it and it was tender who cares if it didn't bend! Sure looks like I would eat it!

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