40Perhaps when I feel richer, I'll invest in a grill just for jerky. If so, what would you recommend? Something like the Materblend 800 gravity series???
The other option that I'm set up for now: Start it out nice and low on a
dehydrator and then switch it over at the end to the smoker???
Best option in my opinion, get a used
Masterbuilt Electric Digital Smoker 40inch (MES40). You can find them on Facebook garage sale, Craigslist, or other places for cheap or free.
Wash it out at a car wash.
Do the simple rewire (cut ends off 4 wires and wire nut to make 2 whole wires) and then slap on a PID controller (Auber PID controller is like $150-160).
And you will have an electric smoker that out performs $1,000 electric smokers!
You will be able to do sausage, bacon, jerky ,etc. all with tight control where it holds dead on or within 1-2 degrees of your set temp. No minimum temps and no temp swings.
If you replace the safety cutff switch with one that has a higher temp limit you can do fast 325F chicken and turkey smokes and get crispy skin vs leather skin.
At this point you can basically do anything with it and it is big enough to do plenty of sausage, bacon, or jerky :D
I rock one of these so I tell you from experience ;)