first time making jerky in a smoker

[afogg]

Hello

I have a dehydrator that I regularly make jerky in but I just got a new toy and I want to play with it.

I'm 100% new at this smoking thing so I have a bunch of questions. I appreciate any I can get! 

Objective: Lamb jerky

Equipment: MasterBuilt 20in electric smoker

1. What the heck is cure#1 and how do I use it? I keep seeing it in the forum but I've never heard of it when I was doing research for the dehydrator

2. What temp and how long should I smoke it for?

3. What kind of wood chip? I have a choice of Maple, Peach, Apple, or Cherry

3. How much wood chips do I use? If I'm suppose to smoke it for 6 hours, do I put enough wood chips to last that long?

4. Do I soak the wood? I've read contradicting info about soaking the wood vs dry wood + water in the tray vs no water at all. If I put water in the tray, won't it contradict the "drying" process?

5. Do I want air vents open or close or a combination of both?

Now, I understand that smoking is basically an art form with lots of flexibility but I'd like some structure and guidelines until I'm confident enough to mess with things (I also rather not ruin an expensive batch of meat 

)

Thanks a bunch!!

Jan

 

[daveomak]

 
Hello

I have a dehydrator that I regularly make jerky in but I just got a new toy and I want to play with it.

I'm 100% new at this smoking thing so I have a bunch of questions. I appreciate any I can get! 

Objective: Lamb jerky

Equipment: MasterBuilt 20in electric smoker

1. What the heck is cure#1 and how do I use it? I keep seeing it in the forum but I've never heard of it when I was doing research for the dehydrator

When smoking food, the smoldering wood makes for a reduced oxygen environment...  that environment will promote botulism growth...   botulism is the deadliest pathogen known to man...    Cure #1 is a mix of salt and sodium nitrite (6.25%)....   It is used at a rate of 0.25%, 1.1 grams per pound of meat, 1 tsp. per 5#'s of meat...  those three measurements get you to the same place..  approx. 156 Ppm nitrite in the meat mix, which the USDA recommends...

2. What temp and how long should I smoke it for?

When smoking meats, it's best to have the meat surface dry...  smoke and water mixed make what I call "Acid Rain"...  an acrid bitter flavoring...   Dry the meat in the smoker with NO smoke at 110 ish degrees for an hour or so... then start adding smoke for several hours as you raise the smoker temperature at ~10 degree increments...   In the MES, I would add only about 1/4 cup of chips/dust every 1/2 hour or so...  final smoker temp around 160-170 until the meat reaches 145 or so...   If you are making ground jerky, the final meat temp should be ...(see the chart below)   for a safe to eat product...  ALSO, the dryness of the meat should be a factor for a long term storage...

FSIS Guidance on Safe Cooking of Non-Intact Meat Chops, Roasts, and Steaks April 2009

Temp °F / Time for 5.0 log Reduction

Unit Time

146 .........130 sec.

147......... 103 sec.

148 ...........82 sec.

149 ...........65 sec.

150........... 52 sec.

151........... 41 sec.

152........... 33 sec.

153 ...........26 sec.

154 ...........21 sec.

155 ...........17 sec.

156 ...........14 sec.

157 ...........11 sec.

158 .............0 sec.

159 .............0 sec.

160 .............0 sec.

The required lethalities are achieved instantly when the internal temperature of a cooked meat product reaches 158 °F or above. Humidity must be considered when using this Time/Temperature table.

3. What kind of wood chip? I have a choice of Maple, Peach, Apple, or Cherry

Any of those woods will be fine...  personally, I don't like cherry...   really like maple...  alder...  combo of woods for a unique flavor...

3. How much wood chips do I use? If I'm suppose to smoke it for 6 hours, do I put enough wood chips to last that long?

1/4 cup every 1/2 hour or so...

4. Do I soak the wood? I've read contradicting info about soaking the wood vs dry wood + water in the tray vs no water at all. If I put water in the tray, won't it contradict the "drying" process?

No reason to soak the wood chips...  You are correct, it defeats the purpose..

5. Do I want air vents open or close or a combination of both?

When smoking meats, the exhaust should be fully open when smoke is being added...  fresh air is a must for quality smoked products... 

When cooking meat, like a turkey, pork butts etc. I will close down the exhaust about 90% to help stop the "dreaded stall" once smoke has been stopped...

Now, I understand that smoking is basically an art form with lots of flexibility but I'd like some structure and guidelines until I'm confident enough to mess with things (I also rather not ruin an expensive batch of meat 

)

Thanks a bunch!!

Jan

Morning and Welcome.....   The MES 30 is a good unit...    making smoke can be a problem...  most of us use the AMNPS, a smoke generator imagined, built and sold by Todd Johnson... a long time, great member on the forum...  he owns AMAZN products......    http://www.amazenproducts.com/....

I hope I have helped you get started....   others will chime in with support...   
Dave

 

[afogg]

Thanks a bunch Dave!

If I'm reading correctly, I want to add cure #1 to my marinade and then put my meat in? And it's not necessary when I use the dehydrator to dry the meat?

 

[daveomak]

That's correct...    dehydrators are NOT an oxygen deprived atmosphere...   However, it is recommended when using a dehydrator and no cure, to get the meat up to 160 ish deg. F while it is still wet from the marinade... that kills the food borne pathogens...  then the temp can be lowered during the drying process....

I have read where, when drying jerkies as an example, if the meat is allowed to dehydrate at low temperatures, the food pathogens can also dehydrate without being exposed to temperatures that will effectively kill them....  they "can" go into a "suspended animation" of sorts that will allow for growing again when the proper environment is reestablished...  like in the gut maybe...   not good for the person eating it... 

One way to insure death is to cook the jerky in the brining solution..  simmer at 160 ish for a bit so the meat IT comes up, then dehydrate as normal...   The reason I say this is...    it's difficult at best to get the internal temp of a piece of meat that's 1/4" thick..   easy if it's in a liquid bath...

Anyway, this stuff I read is not perfectly clear to me so I do interpret as best I can...  they just give values and no appropriate methods for achieving same...

 

[afogg]

Hey Dave I did what you said. Start jerky at 110 for a couple hours then raise temp incrementally until 170 with wood chips added but it took a really long time. I started at 10am and when I checked at 8pm it still didn't seem to be dry enough. I ended up moving them to my dehydrator for another 2 hours but even then it doesn't seem like the jerky I was used to. This jerky was soft. 

Am I doing something wrong? Should I have left them in the smoker longer?

 

[daveomak]

If it's soft now, it will "harden up" as it cools.....   OR there is a lot of moisture retention stuff, in the mix....   Are you making your own jerky mix ??   Whose are you using ??    Sugar and syrup will hold moisture and keep the jerky soft, as will Sodium Tri Poly Phosphate....  not sure on the spelling....  Higher temps, usually will not dry the meat, as it may have formed a case hardened outer surface, making moisture release from the interior meat darn near impossible.....   

Take the jerky out and put it in a brown paper sack and in the refer...   check it every few days...   texture should change...   I've made jerky soft and NOT chewable...  after a week or three, in the sack in the refer, it was perfect..   Hey, stuff happens....  sometime you can explain it....  Sometimes not...  Keep trying and write down everything you do...  ingredients, temperature ramps, ramp times, etc....   Sometimes smoking meats can be "almost" rocket science...   everyone has made stuff they have doubts about...