Pellet smoked jerk em’ jerky

[jake0531]

First time trying to make jerky
I’m using GMG jerk emoji jerky recipe as a base.
I bought a 3lb eye of round roast, trimmed fat, sliced into roughly 1/4-1/2 inch thick slices, then sliced the long strips into smaller more jerky like length strips
The GMG recipe calls for salt, sugar, brown sugar, black pepper, bbq sauce. I added a little to their amounts for all those ingredients as the recipe was based off 2lbs of meat. I also added a little hot bbq rub, and crushed red pepper flakes. I like more heat than sweet with jerky.
I didn’t get any pictures during trimming and making the marinade, but it sure smelled jerky like. Put it in two-gallon zip lock bags and letting it marinate from last night (Friday) to Sunday about 1pm is when I plan to start.
ill be sure to take some picture of the preparation before going on to the pit. Does anyone recommend some jerky racks? I don’t have any and I’ve made deer jerky before and put it on just the grate but I think racks would give a better presentation. Thanks in advance

 

[texomakid]

I use 2 Bradley racks I kept from my previous Bradley 4 rack electric smoker (I only let 2 racks go when I gave it to my buddy ) and I also have 2 small racks I bought for the 1/2 size serving trays - I've got all 4 of them loaded and in the Yoder right now. 3rd and final batch of Christmas jerky. I bet the mesh cooking mats would work as well. You have several options.

 

[jake0531]

Smoker fired up at 185
I forgot while I was out earlier to pick up some more pellets, so all I have is apple to run right now, which isn’t ideal but it’ll work.

 

[jake0531]

I realized now going through some forum threads that I sliced the jerky in the wrong direction. Wasn’t thinking about that when I cut it the other night. Hopefully doesn’t ruin it too much

 

[martin]

Against the grain for a soft chew and with the grain for more chew. You will be fine. Looks good.

I try to slice no wider than 1/4". I then run each piece through the marinade to make sure each piece gets coverage. You may have a bit of work to get those thick pieces dry.

I am no expert but learned a lot of this site: https://www.jerkyholic.com/

Nice job so far

 

[jake0531]

Against the grain for a soft chew and with the grain for more chew. You will be fine. Looks good.

I try to slice no wider than 1/4". I then run each piece through the marinade to make sure each piece gets coverage. You may have a bit of work to get those thick pieces dry.

I am no expert but learned a lot of this site: https://www.jerkyholic.com/

Nice job so far

Yeah I messed up and went with the grain. Most were about a 1/4 but there were definitely some wider. It turned out okay for the first time. It was more sweet than what I like. I’ll dial back the sugar and bbq sauce next time and add more pepper and red pepper flake for a more kicked up heat. I’ve always thought jerky tasted better the next day after it’s made so I’ll make my final call tomorrow.

 

[martin]

I am glad it turned out okay. That's the best part about what we do in the smoke is that it really is hard to totally screw things up. When I do jerky I make up the marinade for the entire batch. When I take it out of the marinade I seperate it in half. Half I season hot and the other half not so hot and it seems to work for me. Check out the recipes at Jerkyholic. They are based on 1 pound batches and cover a lot of ground. I always use the pink salt in mine. I am paranoid about eating stuff after a few days. Generally the jerky does not last that long but it eases my mind. Gotta Go. M

 

[fleetline51]

I am glad it turned out okay. That's the best part about what we do in the smoke is that it really is hard to totally screw things up. When I do jerky I make up the marinade for the entire batch. When I take it out of the marinade I seperate it in half. Half I season hot and the other half not so hot and it seems to work for me. Check out the recipes at Jerkyholic. They are based on 1 pound batches and cover a lot of ground. I always use the pink salt in mine. I am paranoid about eating stuff after a few days. Generally the jerky does not last that long but it eases my mind. Gotta Go. M

Nice job and great pics!
Gettin' ready to smoke some jerky myself. (After the new year.) Got to find me a site to host my pics on, though...I will NOT spend another cent on Photo Bucket!
Once again, Nice Job!