first time smoking jerky this weekend

[bryd]

got the jerky in the marinade waiting for saturday cant wait, looking for any helpful tips to make my first batch awesome!! any advise would be greatly appreciated. thanks from a new smoke junkie

 

[themule69]

What are you using for marinade?

David

 

[pc farmer]

What are you making it in?

 

[bryd]

making it in a masterbuilt pro smoker

 

[s2k9k]

Did you use cure#1 in the marinade?

 

[bryd]

i used 1c soy, 1/2 c jim beam, 1/2 c non pasturized honey, 1/8 c franks, 1/8 c lea and parrins, and a dash of my buddies bbq sauce, 2tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tbsp onion powder, 1tbsp cayanne, 1 tbsp chillie powder, 3 cloves fresh pressed garlic, lots of ground pepper. it tasted good, i could really taste the bourbon.

 

[s2k9k]

Since you didn't use cure#1 I would smoke at a little higher temp, 140*-150* to start for a couple of hours then bump it up to 160* and hold it there until it is dry.
I always use cure#1 and start at 100* for an hour, then apply smoke and start ramping the temp about 10* every hour and max out at 160* for the finish.
Without cure you need to get the temp of the meat up pretty quick to avoid any bacteria to start growing.
With cure you can keep the temps low for much longer.