Uncle Frog wants to get Smokin'

[uncle frog]

Howdy hi. I'm a total newbie interested in reading more about the art of smoking meat. Meat lovers enjoy a variety of delicious meats; smoked being one of them. Delicious smokey meats. Ready to fire one up!

 

[smoked]

welcome to the forums, a weatlh of info is found here!!! I highly suggest signing up for jeff's 5 day ecourse on smoking.....it's a great place to start!!!

 

[ultramag]

Welcome to SMF Uncle Frog!!! I second smoked's recommendation of the 5-day eCourse. Loads of great information sent right to your email box, and it's free to boot. ;)

 

[msmith]

Welcome aboard Uncle Frog

 

[uncle frog]

Thanks, you three! There really IS a TON of information here. I was reading through the jerky forum quite a bit last night. I'm one to read a lot, ask an occassional question and then dip my toe slowing into a new hobby. I first thought that smoking meats would be very straight forward ... but there's a lot more to it. I suppose we all start out with the basics, make a couple mistakes and advance from there. Anyway, good morning, and thank you for the kind welcome messages!

 

[illini]

One more question Uncle Frog

Where is "Jesus Bacon"...or the meaning is?...just curious!

Welcome to SMF

 

[gunslinger]

Welcome to SMF. It's not as hard or complicated as it sounds. Patience is the key. Try it, it'll hook ya.
I was looking at your website. Looks like you really do like meat.

 

[uncle frog]

Thanks!

Illini, Jesus Bacon isn't so much a geographical place but rather a state of mind. It is a little inside joke so I'm not terribly surprised to get that question. We live in Michigan, so you and I are kind of neighbors, eh?

Gunslinger, thanks for the vote of confidence. I'll be trying out a few things at the novice level in the not too distant future. And yes, we do enjoy our meat around here. All the best!

 

[uncle frog]

Think you can make jerky from deli cut roast beef?

 

[ultramag]

I wouldn't think it would be what you would want to use Frog, not to mention it would be an expensive habit.

 

[pigcicles]

Uncle Frog - I have to agree with Chad on this one. If you're serious about jerky, not just once a year thing, go to the meat counter and get a good lean piece of beef that isn't too pricey. On sale is best.

Take it home and slightly freeze it to make cutting it easier. Prepare with a rub or marinade and get to smokin some jerky. Some people smoke the meat then finish it in a dehydrator - your choice.

Smoked meat is good - dehydrated is good for longer, well at some houses, it won't last here. Be sure to store properly and keep the meat lean.

Keep Smokin

 

[uncle frog]

Thanks ultramag & PigCicles. I was half joking with the deli cut roast beef question. But only half joking. The serious half is that I'm already itching to try something, and we happened to have that in the fridge. From what I've been reading, a good round roast (on sale) works best. The top is supposedly leaner than the bottom cut, but harder to find.

Thanks for the tip on leaness, PigCicles. I guess the dried smoked meat preserves and the fat can go rancid? And the freezing first. Yes, we've made braciolone before, and slightly freezing prior to cutting makes all the difference in the world.

We've got a really nice set of Cutco knives. No electric slicer, but I believe this knife set to be of good quality. I'm still reading in the jerky section, but is it really possible for novice to cut the meat thin enough for making good jerky? Is there a good thread on cutting tips and techniques here?

 

[gunslinger]

Deli meat is already cooked. I Don't think it would be a good candidate. It's probably been sliced too thin anyway and would end up nothing.
As for slicing, while a slicer works best, jerky is cut pretty thick. 1/4 to 3/8 inch, depending on your preference. If you like it chewy and somewhat moist, you can cut it even thicker and not smoke till dry. But you should eat it asap, vacuum pack and freeze what you don't eat.

 

[cheech]

Welcome from a fellow Michigander

 

[uncle frog]

Howdy, Cheech! BTW ... "Dave's not here, man."

Are a majory of this forum's members from the mid-west?

 

[pyre]

There's quite a few midwesterners around here.

The first time I did jerky I sliced it by hand without freezing. I had a few peices that ended up a little thicker than I would have liked. They took a little while longer to really dry well in the smoker.

 

[cheech]

You know it does seem that way

 

[uncle frog]

BTW, I really am enjoying the 5 day e-course. Nice work on that! There is a lot of the same information in other areas of this forum, but the e-course presents it in digestable amounts and in an orderly fashion. I've got two more to go. But I do like what I see so far.

 

[uncle frog]

I'm still too much of a newbie to try the smoking just yet. But I got myself a dehydrator and $20 of bottom round at $2.99 on sale and I'll be doing my first jerky experiment. I boiled the meat for 10 minutes to get rid of any nasties, and have the steaks firming up in the freezer. Soon I'll slice it and marinate it in a 50/50 mix of worcestershire and soy sauce over night. Then get to the dehydrating in the morning so it will be ready by lunch. If that all goes well, maybe I'll dip my toe into the smoking someday soon.

Anyway, please wish me luck on my first experiment. I hope to be reporting on great results in less than 24 hours.

 

[msmith]

Uncle Frog just jump right in and try smoking you wont know until you try. Hey you have to crawl before you walk.