Disclaimers: I use Cure #1 in my jerky for added safety. I also keep my jerky in a Ziplock in the refrigerator, for safety. I have traveled with it, unrefrigerated, for ten days with no problems.
I've been searching for a tender, thick cut jerky technique for a while. This past year I've changed up my WSM charcoal/wood loading technique, and also when I load meat for all my smokes for ribs, butts, briskets, etc. The results have been a significant improvement in flavor. I decided to try it with jerky. It worked!
The spreadsheet I use for my jerky recipe calculations is shown below. I typically cure my jerky meat (bottom round roast trimmed of fat) for 24 to 96 hours, dictated by my schedule. I'll cut the meat in 1/2" thick slices, about 1" wide. Cure, rinse, dry with paper towels after laying the meat out on cookie sheets. I put down a layer of paper towels, lay out the meat, pat it dry with another paper towel, cover that with more paper towels, put down another layer of meat, and repeat until all meat has been dried.
Before loading my WSM I take the lower grate out of the barrel and set it aside.
WSM charcoal/wood loading technique: I use Royal Oak Ridge briquettes, a dense, inexpensive charcoal. If there is unused charcoal in the charcoal ring, I'll knock the ash off, clean out the ash bowl if necessary, then add another of layer of new charcoal on top of the used. Then I'll put down 6 fist size chunks of the wood of my choice (hickory, oak, cherry, etc). If using mesquite, I only add 3 pieces, half as much (a little mesquite goes a long way). Regardless of the wood, I make sure one of the chunks is in the center. Then I add more charcoal on top, but create a dimple in the center of the pile. The wood chunk in the center must have one level of briquettes covering it.
For jerky, I fire up 4 (yes, only 4) Ridge briquettes until they are about 2/3's ashed over. Into the center of the charcoal/wood pile they go. Bottom vents are all closed. Top vent full open. Mav chamber probe is in the center of the top grate. Reassemble the barrel, put two cement bricks center against the top grate handles, and put the cover on the WSM. (I have older pics below of this setup).
The temp of the chamber will SLOWLY climb to about 135 over an hour to an hour and a half. The wood gets pre-heated, and you have usable smoke.
I load the meat on the top grate, then put the lower grate on top of the bricks. I fill that with the remaining meat. On goes the lid, the temp drops quite a bit, then SLOWLY climbs.
My target is 150-160F, 165F max. When it reaches 160F after about two more hours, I'll use the top vent to control temp. Closing it down by 1/3rd to 1/2 is usually enough. If your WSM goes shade, sun, shade like mine does as the sun moves across the sky, don't be surprised to see the chamber temp jump up by 10F when the sun hits it. Close down the top vent a little more to keep the temp where you want it, open it a little if the temp starts dropping.
At five hours I'll take a peak to see how the pieces around the hotter edges are doing. At 6 hours usually those are ready to come off. Other pieces will go longer. This past Sunday, about half came off at 6 hours, the remainder at 7 hours after loading the meat.
I could not believe how tender the meat was. I finally achieved what I was trying to find; tender, thick cut jerky (or cured meat, you decide). Total finished weight was 49% of the starting weight.
I let the meat cool for a couple hours on the countertop, single layers on clean cookie sheets, then put it in a Ziplock with a folded paper towel inside the Ziplock to absorb any moisture.
A screen snip of my spreadsheet recipe calculator. I plug in the weight of the meat and it does the rest. I usually round up:
A picture from last year with thin cut jerky of the way I set up my two levels for smoking. I wasn't using the probe that you can see. Those bricks are now black BTW:
Thick cut piece from this past Sunday. Because I keep it in the refrigerator, I nuke what I'm going to eat at 10 seconds per ounce. No nuking is necessary if traveling and room temp:
After a tender bite:
I've been searching for a tender, thick cut jerky technique for a while. This past year I've changed up my WSM charcoal/wood loading technique, and also when I load meat for all my smokes for ribs, butts, briskets, etc. The results have been a significant improvement in flavor. I decided to try it with jerky. It worked!
The spreadsheet I use for my jerky recipe calculations is shown below. I typically cure my jerky meat (bottom round roast trimmed of fat) for 24 to 96 hours, dictated by my schedule. I'll cut the meat in 1/2" thick slices, about 1" wide. Cure, rinse, dry with paper towels after laying the meat out on cookie sheets. I put down a layer of paper towels, lay out the meat, pat it dry with another paper towel, cover that with more paper towels, put down another layer of meat, and repeat until all meat has been dried.
Before loading my WSM I take the lower grate out of the barrel and set it aside.
WSM charcoal/wood loading technique: I use Royal Oak Ridge briquettes, a dense, inexpensive charcoal. If there is unused charcoal in the charcoal ring, I'll knock the ash off, clean out the ash bowl if necessary, then add another of layer of new charcoal on top of the used. Then I'll put down 6 fist size chunks of the wood of my choice (hickory, oak, cherry, etc). If using mesquite, I only add 3 pieces, half as much (a little mesquite goes a long way). Regardless of the wood, I make sure one of the chunks is in the center. Then I add more charcoal on top, but create a dimple in the center of the pile. The wood chunk in the center must have one level of briquettes covering it.
For jerky, I fire up 4 (yes, only 4) Ridge briquettes until they are about 2/3's ashed over. Into the center of the charcoal/wood pile they go. Bottom vents are all closed. Top vent full open. Mav chamber probe is in the center of the top grate. Reassemble the barrel, put two cement bricks center against the top grate handles, and put the cover on the WSM. (I have older pics below of this setup).
The temp of the chamber will SLOWLY climb to about 135 over an hour to an hour and a half. The wood gets pre-heated, and you have usable smoke.
I load the meat on the top grate, then put the lower grate on top of the bricks. I fill that with the remaining meat. On goes the lid, the temp drops quite a bit, then SLOWLY climbs.
My target is 150-160F, 165F max. When it reaches 160F after about two more hours, I'll use the top vent to control temp. Closing it down by 1/3rd to 1/2 is usually enough. If your WSM goes shade, sun, shade like mine does as the sun moves across the sky, don't be surprised to see the chamber temp jump up by 10F when the sun hits it. Close down the top vent a little more to keep the temp where you want it, open it a little if the temp starts dropping.
At five hours I'll take a peak to see how the pieces around the hotter edges are doing. At 6 hours usually those are ready to come off. Other pieces will go longer. This past Sunday, about half came off at 6 hours, the remainder at 7 hours after loading the meat.
I could not believe how tender the meat was. I finally achieved what I was trying to find; tender, thick cut jerky (or cured meat, you decide). Total finished weight was 49% of the starting weight.
I let the meat cool for a couple hours on the countertop, single layers on clean cookie sheets, then put it in a Ziplock with a folded paper towel inside the Ziplock to absorb any moisture.
A screen snip of my spreadsheet recipe calculator. I plug in the weight of the meat and it does the rest. I usually round up:
A picture from last year with thin cut jerky of the way I set up my two levels for smoking. I wasn't using the probe that you can see. Those bricks are now black BTW:
Thick cut piece from this past Sunday. Because I keep it in the refrigerator, I nuke what I'm going to eat at 10 seconds per ounce. No nuking is necessary if traveling and room temp:
After a tender bite:
