What'd I do wrong?! HELP!

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mojo123

Newbie
Original poster
Mar 15, 2020
13
11
First time ever making jerky and I totally blew it. I have an electric smoker and I used 3 sirloin tip steaks this time. I cut them into 1/4 slices, marinated them and cooked at 170 for about 5 hours. Meat came out sort of brittle and gross. I checked the meat every hour or so and it never got jerky like. Don't think I overcooked it but maybe..? Any tips or suggestions for next time are greatly appreciated
 
Not sure but cooking is probably the wrong wrong term. The goal is to dry the meat. Less moisture less spoilage. 1/4 thick is thicker than what I usually do. While sirloin is probably one of the leaner steaks there are better cuts of meat for jerky. Top rd as example. Leaner is better. Sure some will correct if I'm wrong but I think it need to get to 165F for 30 minutes for killing the bad things then lower for finishing.
 
Mojo,
What do you mean by "gross"? What type of marinade did you use? How long was it marinaded?
Did you smoke the entire 5 hours? I typically smoke for just 2 hours and then dehydrate for 4 hours. If I don't want a smoke flavor, I will then dehydrate at 165 for 6 hours. This is using eye of round, sliced thin at cross grain.
 
I think 170F is high. I do 1 hour @ 160F then lower to 120F with good air movement* till dry to my taste.
* In my Masterbuilt electric smoker I use a small computer fan on a rheostat to keep the air moving at low temps.
 
I used a mixture of marinade: worchestire sauce, brown sugar, and various spices. I only marinated for about 3-4 hrs. smokerjim- yes, I used the factory thermometer on the front of the smoker. What would you suggest I get for a better thermometer? I have a meat thermometer I could set in it?
 
Good smoker but still highly recommend a separate wireless digital thermometer. Also a fan (as recommended) to help circulate the air.
 
I have a inkbird 2 and 4 probe wireless thermometers, i'm happy with them. they do run specials on here quite often. if you know your thermometer is accurate try it in an empty smoker and try different temp settings and see. remember though different levels of your smoker might have different temps.
 
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