Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

My first go will be with jim beam since that's what I use for almost any whisky mixers. We'll see what happens after that lol

 

Ditto. Forgot to pull out my game hens last night

 

Don't forget to rub em right first though

 

Wife always asks if I need help, and I tell her I've been rubbing my own meat long enough to know what I'm doing better than her.

 

Usually just an eye roll

 

When doing jerky I use cure #1 and either using the smoker or the dehydrator run it at 160 degrees for 1 hour to begin with then back down to 120 degrees until the 80% of the meat has reached the desired dryness. In the dehydrator this takes 10 to 12 hours depending on the relative humidity.

After most of the meat is dry to where you want it you will find some of it will still be a under dehydrated and others will be over dried but the majority is good. Put all the meat together in a 1 gallon zip top bag seal it up and let it age for a day or two. When you open the bag the moisture will have evenly distributed throughout all the pieces making all perfect.

A smoker takes longer as you don't move nearly as much dry air over the meats. This is also why using cure#1 is important as the meats stay in a danger zone for a long time until they are dry enough where botulism cannot establish. It also add a flavor profile that is desirable when making jerky

A dehumidifier is much more controlled but does add the smoke flavor. I refuse to use liquid smoke as I do not care for it but you can also use a hybrid method.

Smoke the meats for a few hours and then move to the dehydrator to finish. This method however leave the dehydrator Smokey and it will take some deep cleaning to get the racks and plastic housing from smelling of smoke. If you only dehydrate smoked stuffs then its not a big deal.

You can also reverse this process and do the initial 160 degree and 5 or 6 hours in the dehydrator and then move to the smoker while the meat is still semi moist. It won't take the smoke as well but very close and no stinky dehydrator.

The biggest thing I cannot express enough is use cure #1 in a precise amount for the meat being cured. A $12 500g x .01 digital scale for the cure and a $15 5Kg scale for weighing the meats is essential to food safety.

I have also found that using the metric system when curing is way easier than the English system. Figuring 3% of a 100 grams is far easier than 3% of 3.5274 ounces

 

Chimichurri and my own “carne asada” for taco Tuesday.



And this is definitely not smoking. Took me 5 times longer to set up the grill than it took to cook the meat lol

 

Thanks! Figured you'd have something


@itzyoboipaul

 

I also added a bit more to the original post with some method variations.

Always glad to be of assistance.

 

Never used any nitrates or nitrites on any muscle jerky in almost 40 yrs, most likely not about to start. Don’t recall killing anyone either, but my memory does fail me at times. I “used” to always use a cure when doing hamburger/SlimJim type stuff. I wonder how the cowboys ever survived, hell even current day Jamaicans....

 

That's entirely up to you how you want to process your product. Typically the salt content is enough to ward off botulism just like when making biltong you use vinegar to acidify the surface of the meat making it inhospitable to botulism. The cure is jut another level of safety and does impart a flavor that is desirable.

Not using cure is a lot like not using a condom. It only takes one time to forgo its use and your life is changed forever. Its your choice!

 

There were only 199 cases in the country per CDC, most were very small children (141). I drive a Tacoma every day, I’m WAY more afraid of that than botulism.

 

Damn you Costco

$3.49 today for the prime


Started my first ever beef jerky. Thanks for all the tips

 

I hope I don’t kill anyone... been sampleing from hour one. 3 1/2lb roast yielded just over a pound of muscle jerky.

 

Mine is being thawed as I type this. If it's done tomorrow it goes on in the morning most likely it's going to be an early Thursday morning cook.

 

Fajita is the bomb!

 

https://www.maxim.com/food-drink/get-paid-to-eat-bbq-dream-job-2018-7

 

Our new Costco?!? Damn...