Jerky in a MES?

[heapomeat]

Any tips on a first timer to do jerky in my new MES?

I just got my Weston 12" slicer, have done a couple of chickens and ribs in my new stainless MES, so now its time to try some jerky.

I'm thinking of some 1/4" thick sliced top round beef, soaked overnight in some Yoshida's terriyaki sauce, but am puzzled for length and temp in the smoker. Any tips or suggestions would be great!

thanks.

 

[djohn312]

I have a MES and I use the Hi Mountain mix and they say 200 for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. If you like it soft I would start checking it at 2 hours. They problem with checking it is you don't want to stop checking it,

 

[placebo]

Yep time all depends on thickness and how moist or dry you like your jerky. I have done 1/8" @ 185 for about 4 hours.

 

[morkdach]

240 and start checking at two hours keep checking till its all done or empty smoker wicth will come 1'st

 

[djohn312]

Yup thats about it. The problem I have is it never last more than a day in house between the kids , wife , myself and have to fight off the dog.

 

[meandmytwodogs]

I tried the Yoshido's several years ago when I was just getting started making jerky. It came out really sticky. I've had great success with the High Mountain and more recently I've been using Jim Melton's marinade. It has a soy sauce base with some peppers. I have been bumping it up with more cayenne to give it the kick I like. Easiest found at Cabella's.
The Hotter the Better!

 

[heapomeat]

thanks all.

Stopped by a resteraunt supply store last night and picked up a 12 POUND top sirloin huge slab of roast. $2.89 a pound, and not that much more than top round butt roast so it'll be tender jerky.

I'm going to play with this first batch, do 1/2 with grain, 1/2 against grain, soaked in Yoshidas terryaki sauce with a chilli glaze chinnese dipping sauce mixed in for a sugary hot style jerky.

How much does the meat shrink? I'm thinking of starting with 1/4" slices, so if it goes down to 1/8" to 3/16" that'd be great. I might try some micro thin 1/8" to start and see how that turns out too.

The MES seems to throw alot of smoke, so I figure on just 1/2 - 1 cup of hickory wood chips to start to not overpower the meat.


I'll do some good que photos of the huge roast, slicing, marinade, and of course smoking........looking forward to more smoking fun.

 

[heapomeat]

yes I agree it's going to be sticky, sticky sweet!

I'll dab and wipe off any extra sauce before the smoker, might try to spritz it in the smoker with some spicy apple cider like the 3-2-1 rib recipe for sweet and moist.

I found the Weston 12" slicer needed some work right out of the box, the belt was too loose, (needed adjustment to max position) and needed some lube on the slider, as well as the motor needed re-rigging to eliminate some grinding on a cooling fan.......still for $99 plus $50 shipping, I'm happy but it is definately a "cheap" harbor freight tool type "commercial" slicer. Resteraunt owners need not apply.

 

[brianlhobbs]

I also have been thinking about trying to make some jerky in a MES.

There is a Venison Jerky recipe in the back of the owners manual of my MES that says to "Smoke for 12-16 Hours at 140 Deg".

It looks like most of you are using much higher heat and less time. Is there something I'm missing?


Brian

 

[fireguy]

Sound great heap... I too like my meat sticky now and again... keep us informed... I am always curious on smoked jerky, as i have never been happy with mine out of the smoker. ( cooked too hot with too much smoke) At the risk of getting linched... so far I prefer my dehydrator, only cause im used to jerky on it..plus I cant get my temp low enough with my set up on my smoker.. Good luck

 

[earache_my_eye]

You're not missing anything, Brian......making jerky, whether in an oven, dehydrator, or smoker really shouldn't be done above about 150 - 155*...any higher than that and you start "cooking" the meat instead of dehydrating it.

I would also suggest giving it a brine cure in Morton Tender Quick first just to be safe with it.

 

[placebo]

I found this link to be quite informative for the jerky making process:

http://www.randyq.addr.com/jerky/jerky.htm

 

[heapomeat]

Awesome link Placebo, thanks!

let me resize the photos I took of the process and I'll post them soon.

Bacially the jerky turned out great for a first experiment batch, some was a bit dried out after about 6 hours at 150, while some other pieces were still moist. I pulled it all off, and for the "bark like" dry pieces I put them in a 1 gallon zip lock bag, and spritzed them with a bit of apple cider/coke mixture I had in a bottle I use for 3-2-1 ribs and steaks.

Pictures to come, the Weston 12" slicer worked great for 3/16" - 1/4" thick slices. Nice to get a big roast as some of the pieces were at least 6" x 8" like you get at a convience store counter. But home made is more fun and better tasting!

 

[heapomeat]

Here you all go, start to finish jerky in a MES sliced with a 12" weston slicer, great deal on the slicer at $99 for sure.

1/4 thick large slices from a big 11 pound top sirloin roast.

Marinaded over night in teryaki and sweet chilli dipping sauce.

Hickory chips, 2 loads in the smoker about 1 cup each.

smoked about 6 hours at 150.

Note the doubled up racks, I made some out of some small stainless racks I had, bent up one edge 1", so it spaces the meat for full smoke surround.

While pretty black on the outside, still tender on the inside.

Next batch, I'd probally only use 1 load of wood chips, and even go longer on the smoker at a lower temp. But still I'd give this batch a solid 7 out of 10 stars.

 

[mossymo]

HeapOmeat
I like the double rack set up, looking at the pics before reading your post it caught my attention immediatly. Do you recall where you got those stainless racks?

 

[kookie]

Great looking jerky......Glad it turned out great for you.......Good job................

 

[heapomeat]

The doubled up racks were actually from a vertical hanging shoe rack for closets (grins), so always keep you eye open for alternative materials you can find at a garage sale and such. I'd had them for 2-3 years before I even had the application for them.

I might have 2-3 spares if someone makes me an offer for them, shoot me a PM.

 

[dan dan the meat man]

If you live near a rock / gravel quarry you may want to stop by and see when the next time they are replacing their screening material on the grading machine. Usually expanded or perforated SS and they wear out for the correct size gravel. Depending on the quarry they may give them to you. Doesn't take much to clean them up. Can make really cheap racks out of them.

 

[richtee]

As has been debated recently, you MUST cure low temp smoked/processed meats. The "Danger Zone" has a time constraint as well... usually considered to be 4 hours within the 40 to 140 range, and most jerky making processes will exceed that, especially dehydrator methods.

I'm sure that some methods reduce the bacteria growth to minimal levels... yes - likely ALL fresh meat/veggies have some amount on them. Garlic is actually a notorious botulism carrier. But we have the methods for preventing dangerous levels/rapid growth of pathogens easily available to us- why not use them?

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botulism
While commercially canned goods are required to undergo a "botulinum cook" at 121 °C (250 °F) for 3 minutes, and so rarely cause botulism, there have been notable exceptions such as the 1978 Alaskan salmon outbreak and the 2007 Castleberry's Food Co. outbreak. Foodborne botulism has more frequently been from home-canned foods with low acid content, such as carrot juice, asparagus, green beans, beets, and corn. However, outbreaks of botulism have resulted from more unusual sources. In July, 2002, fourteen Alaskans ate muktuk (whale meat) from a beached whale, and eight of them developed symptoms of botulism, two of them requiring mechanical ventilation [1]. Other sources of infection include garlic or herbs[7] stored covered in oil,[2] chile peppers, improperly handled baked potatoes wrapped in aluminium foil [8], and home-canned or fermented fish. Persons who do home canning should follow strict hygienic procedures to reduce contamination of foods. Oils infused with garlic or herbs should be refrigerated. Potatoes which have been baked while wrapped in aluminum foil should be kept hot until served or refrigerated [8].

From http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/botulism_g.htm#What%20kind%20of%20germ%20is%20Clos tridium%20botulinum
Clostridium botulinum is the name of a group of bacteria commonly found in soil. These rod-shaped organisms grow best in low oxygen conditions. The bacteria form spores which allow them to survive in a dormant state until exposed to conditions that can support their growth. There are seven types of botulism toxin designated by the letters A through G; only types A, B, E and F cause illness in humans.