Smoking Jerky

[huskers06]

I am very new to smoking only had my Masterbuilt 30" electric for about a month now.  I wanted to try jerky this weekend so i got a 3lb rump roast cut it into strips about 1/4" thick.  Had the smoker set at 190 and i used hickory chips. I also did not use the water tray. I added chips in the beginning and then about 45 min into it.  I let it smoke for 3 hours.  When i tasted the jerky it is not good. Its VERY dry. Not very good flavor.  

My questions are obviously why did this happen?  Did i cook it at too high of a temp?  Did i use too much wood chips and it got too smoky?  should i have used the water pan? 

If anybody have any help would be much appreciated. 

 

[themule69]

190° is to hot. try 155°-160° also you need to check and make sure that your set temp is correct. A lot of them are off right out of the box. No you don't want to use water in the pan when you are trying to dry. A lot of us use sand or gravel in the pan wrapped in foil for all temps. You didn't say what you were using for ingredients. Try cooking a piece in a pan and see if you like the flavor. If not then try something else.

Happy smoken.

David

PS 

 

[smokin pop-pop]

I agree with TM69 190 is to hot . I start at about 135 -140 so it has time to get some smoke through it and increase to maybe 160 max.

Also I stopped using a dry ingredient mix. I slice the meat about 1/4" thick and soak it in a brine mixture for at least 24 hrs. sometimes up to 3 days depending on when I get a chance to fire up the smoker. I don't worry about internal temp. ( hard to probe a 1/4" thick meat ) instead I

do the pull test - when it pulls apart and is stringy so to speak its ready. You have to watch closely -I have had batches go from to moist to it breaking like hard candy being hit with a hammer in a heart beat !! Practice makes perfect .

Heres my brine

2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce

2/3 cup soy sauce

2 tsp. ground black pepper

2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. liquid smoke

1 tsp. red pepper flake

1 TBS honey

hope this helps - have fun

 

[huskers06]

Thank you both for your input.  I will put those suggestions to good use and ill put try it again.

Thanks,

 

[tropics]

You definitely need to use another probe to monitor the CC temp. I always use a cure when making jerky,cooking at them low temps I would rather be safe. As stated when it bends a little it should be done.