First attempt at making jerky! 18 pounds!

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russmn

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Apr 14, 2016
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Ive been debating on if I should give making jerky a try. So the other day I decided to see if I could get my charcoal smoker to stay at jerky temps. To my surprise I was able to run it at 120 130 140 150 and 160 with ease! The next day I was off to the meat market ! 15 pounds of eye of round sliced to 1/4 inch and 3 pounds of chicken breast! I also picked up multiple seasonings and cure.
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I seasoned and cured all the meat the day before smoking it! Most of the seasonings were a pre mix from the Market except I added jalapeno powder and honey to the bbq. The chicken i used Hooters buffalo sauce mesquit and sriracha sauce. There is also 7 pounds of peppercorn garlic not pictured here.

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The following morning I let all the jerky air dry for about an hour and a half while my smoker got up to temp.
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Here is a picture of my smoker and of the fire box. I used alder wood chips that I sprinkled on top of all the charcoal. I lit about a hand full of charcoal in a chimney to light it !
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loaded up and chugging along
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Almost done!
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At about 8 hours in jerky started to be done ! By 9 hours all the jerky was finished ! I didn't go by temp to decide when it was finished. I went by looks,feel, and texture.
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I took this jerky opportunity to go buy another toy haha it was "NEEDED" should be mentioned after all the jerky was finished I let it cool on the counter. That night I placed all the jerky in paper bags and placed it in the fridge to soak up any last bit of moisture. The following morning I sealed it up.
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I have to say the pepper and garlic was my favorite beef flavor. The chicken jerky was my favorite! It was amazing ! All the jerky had just the right amount of softness and salt! I have to say out of everything I've ever smoked this is the best first run of anything I've Smoked! Friends and family are all very happy
 
Sweet! The charcoal cabinet smokers have my attention lately as I am a purist -charcoal/wood.Nothing seems to come close to the real thing.
 
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Sweet! The charcoal cabinet smokers have my attention lately as I am a purist -charcoal/wood.Nothing seems to come close to the real thing.

This smoker has been a dream come true! T&k smokers are amazing
 
That is some excellent looking jerky!
And to do it with charcoal, well that just puts it over the top!
Very nice work!
And congrats on making the carousel!
Al
 
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Thank you al ! I appreciate that! Having a good turn out like this with charcoal really surprised me to! Almost everything i read about charcoal and jerky wasn' very good. The practice round the day before really helped with temperature management! I encourage anyone to try practice runs ! Charcoal and wood is cheaper then meat haha !
 
I guess you could buy 6 Masterbuilt 40 smokers or one of those..
I would take that one.

Lol
Nice stuff.. looks real good.. I like that jerky type. .


You love to bring up how expensive my smoker is lol does my $2,600.00 smoker price bother you ? Haha cause I've smoked on everything from this to a free one from a garage sale to my drums . You smoke on what ya got! I use to smoke 2 packs a day at 9.80 a pack and my gift to my self if I quit was a new shiny smoker! Lol and I quit
 
You love to bring up how expensive my smoker is lol does my $2,600.00 smoker price bother you ? Haha cause I've smoked on everything from this to a free one from a garage sale to my drums . You smoke on what ya got! I use to smoke 2 packs a day at 9.80 a pack and my gift to my self if I quit was a new shiny smoker! Lol and I quit

So you quit smoking so you could smoke even more. I approve of the irony.o_O
 
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Great looking jerky you have there, Lots to snack on and share..... Been awhile since I have done any myself. Good job and congrats on the carousel ride.
 
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