Need jerky input.

[lilpete]

I'm wanting to do some jerky in my smoker, I have a Brinkmann electric smoker that heats to 225° with no adjustments. I know jerky is best at 150° and wondered if leaving the lid a little off to the side would be an option. Or if I should just use the oven again and not waste the meat? I have a dehydrator but I like how the meat cooks when its hanging. Any advice would be great.

 

[s2k9k]

I think you can hook up an appropriately rated rheostat and have control over your temp instead of just on/off.

 

[eight433]

I have a johnson controls thermostat I use in my kegerator that can also be used with a heater. It has a temp probe to read the temperature and you just plug the smoker into the unit and it will turn the smoker on and off accordingly. Worked like a charm with my electrically retrofitted gas smoker and ten lbs of jerky. The difference being it gives the unit full power for limited amounts of time, where a rheostat limits the amount of power given to it at a steady rate. I have no advice as to which one may be better than other.

 

[lilpete]

Thanks for the info, I think I have some work to do.

 

[palladini]

MARINADE FOR BEEF, FISH OR TURKEY JERKY
3cups soy sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup liquid smoke

If Heat is wanted, add some Crushed Chili Peppers or Cayenne Pepper or Ghost Pepper if your up to it.
Mix together, let stand for 5 minutes. Add 1-2 pounds of meat and let marinate
for 3 hours or overnight in an airtight container. Drain, place on trays to dry or smoke.  If smoking, do it from start to finish or do 3 hours at 170, full smoke then remove and put in dehydrator to finish.

 

[big lew bbq]

 
MARINADE FOR BEEF, FISH OR TURKEY JERKY
3cups soy sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup liquid smoke

If Heat is wanted, add some Crushed Chili Peppers or Cayenne Pepper or Ghost Pepper if your up to it.
Mix together, let stand for 5 minutes. Add 1-2 pounds of meat and let marinate
for 3 hours or overnight in an airtight container. Drain, place on trays to dry or smoke.  If smoking, do it from start to finish or do 3 hours at 170, full smoke then remove and put in dehydrator to finish.

1 cup of liquid smoke for 1-2lbs of meat? Seems like an awful lot of liquid smoke for a small amount of meat?  You must really like the smoke flavor?

 

[palladini]

 
1 cup of liquid smoke for 1-2lbs of meat? Seems like an awful lot of liquid smoke for a small amount of meat?  You must really like the smoke flavor?

No idea, I never use 1 to 2 I use like 8 to 10 lbs, this makes enough of it for that much.  That recipe was copy and paste from the Mr Coffee Food Dehydrator Manual.

kitchen.manualsonline.com/manuals/mfg/mr_coffee/fd5.html?idRes=510587     See Page 25