Best type of smoker for jerky/charcuterie?

[meatloaf]

Hi,
So I have a traeger pellet grill for several years now and I have never smoked with anything else.... I want to make jerky/charcuterie/snack sticks at lower temperatures so the fat doesnt render but the traeger doesnt go below 165. It also doesnt have enough room for the volume i would like. So I have been looking for a new one..... I would like a pellet grill for ease of use and temperature control but i have never used propane/charcoal/wood chips.... I am wondering what is the best option for me that i dont have to babysit all day?
Thank you in advance for any input!

 

[mr_whipple]

I have a camp chef that goes to 160, which is also what I set my nesco dehydrator to. I personally don't care for the smoke on my jerky but that's my preference. That and with the jerky I use the leanest cuts I can find, so no issues with fat. Not sure what you mean when you say charcuterie... Anyway, there are a few large cabinet pellet smokers, one being the Grilla Mammoth, Pit Boss makes a few and then there are the Smokin' it ones that require the external smoke generator. There are surely more models / manufacturers. It all depends on what exactly you're trying to do and how much of it at once.

 

[meatloaf]

I have a camp chef that goes to 160, which is also what I set my nesco dehydrator to. I personally don't care for the smoke on my jerky but that's my preference. That and with the jerky I use the leanest cuts I can find, so no issues with fat. Not sure what you mean when you say charcuterie... Anyway, there are a few large cabinet pellet smokers, one being the Grilla Mammoth, Pit Boss makes a few and then there are the Smokin' it ones that require the external smoke generator. There are surely more models / manufacturers. It all depends on what exactly you're trying to do and how much of it at once.

I wanted the grilla mammoth but it doesnt go under 180 unfortunately!! For stuff like snack sticks and charcuterie I think you have to smoke them around 150 so the fat doesnt render. otherwise the delicious fat melts out of them.

 

[mr_whipple]

I wanted the grilla mammoth but it doesnt go under 180 unfortunately!! For stuff like snack sticks and charcuterie I think you have to smoke them around 150 so the fat doesnt render. otherwise the delicious fat melts out of them.

Gotcha. I use my MES40 with an Auber controller. Excellent temp control.

 

[smokerjim]

I've used my mes with mailbox mod for jerky, works great. Temps will run as low as 100 degrees so great for cooler smoke.

 

[mike243]

Lot of folks will argue a fence post about known temps and fat out due to it, I give up trying to explain that you can't beat a electric smoker for some food groups lol

 

[meatloaf]

Lot of folks will argue a fence post about known temps and fat out due to it, I give up trying to explain that you can't beat a electric smoker for some food groups lol

do you have any specific electric smoker with large cooking capacity for this purpose that you could recommend?

 

[meatloaf]

I've used my mes with mailbox mod for jerky, works great. Temps will run as low as 100 degrees so great for cooler smoke.

i will look into this thanks. does it require a lot of babysitting?

 

[smokerjim]

i will look into this thanks. does it require a lot of babysitting?

Mine doesnt require much baby sitting runs pretty close to set temp. Using the mailbox mod with the amnps tray I get 9-10 hours of continuous smoke, also another reason you'll need the pellet tray most mes smokers would burn chips under 200-210.

 

[Winterrider]

MES 40 , mailbox mod, auber PID. Best of the best for smoking fish, jerky, sausage. Just got done doing cheese. Was -2 ° out, set the auber at 40° and smoked for 4 hrs, didn't open smoker once or look at the dust tray in the mailbox.

 

[chopsaw]

didn't open smoker once or look at the dust tray in the mailbox.

Thanks for reminding me I have 2 loins hanging in my 30 . Auber set to step up from 120 to 160 . Smoke tube in the mailbox .
Takes care of itself ,,, as long as you remember you put them in there , lol .

 

[meatloaf]

I think the most important thing when smoking at lower temps is to generate the smoke out of the smoker cabinet. The reason pellet grills only go down to 160 ish degrees is they need that much heat to burn the wood to make smoke. By getting the wood burning out of the smoker cabinet you have a lot more control over the cabinet temp.

I accomplish the above via the mailbox mod on my MES 40 or my Smokey Mountain propane unit. 3 ish feet of aluminum drier vent pipe between the mailbox and smoker cabinet helps to cool the smoke as well.

If I'm smoking cheese at 60 degrees ambient temp my cabinet temp increases by only 5 degrees just from the smoldering pellets so I can add cabinet temp or decrease the temp very easily depending on what I'm smoking and the ambient temp.

okay this makes sense thank you for that advice!

 

[meatloaf]

MES 40 , mailbox mod, auber PID. Best of the best for smoking fish, jerky, sausage. Just got done doing cheese. Was -2 ° out, set the auber at 40° and smoked for 4 hrs, didn't open smoker once or look at the dust tray in the mailbox.

this seems to be the favourite!

 

[meatloaf]

A stock MES can require some babysitting depending on how good the controller is. A modded MES with mailbox and PID requires very little.

I like my MES cabinet but wish I would have just found or made my own smoker box. I gutted out the water pan junk, chip feeder, thermal cut of switch and controller. Then rewired for a PID and mailbox. I spent a lot of money on the MES for a box, racks and heating element.

yes that is what i am thinking... if you are just going to do the mailbox thing and get a separate controller why not just build your own or get a used box for super cheap/make your own

 

[sandyut]

ive done jerky on the Rec Teq. turns out great. 180 for an hour or so then I up it to 225/250 till almost dry. time depends on thickness. this is sliced EOR, not ground beef. NOTE: the jerky will dry more as it cools. no help with snack sticks cuz ive never made them, sorry.

 

[JckDanls 07]

make your own

A Smokehouse to the size you want... Just a basic plywood cabinet...PID controller with electric heat elements... Pellet tube..

That's my set up... No babysitting... The controller is programmed to ramp temps up over time...

I hang sticks in it ... Lite the pellet tube after an hour and a half of drying... Go to bed... get up in morning and they are done/close to it...

 

[Hijack73]

I think the most important thing when smoking at lower temps is to generate the smoke out of the smoker cabinet. The reason pellet grills only go down to 160 ish degrees is they need that much heat to burn the wood to make smoke. By getting the wood burning out of the smoker cabinet you have a lot more control over the cabinet temp.

I'm not too sure about that 160. Wood generally cannot combust until it's much closer to 400 Fahrenheit, and that's if the wood is dry as dust. When I got mine and I was figuring it out, I'd watch the pot. The pot has a small fire at 220, due to less pellets burning. At 3-400, it's got a big roaring fire in the pot.