Looking for a good Jerky Smoker

[dougmays]

hey guys,

i have a WSM 22" that i love and is my primary smoker.  but i also make jerky and i'm looking to get a smoker that is more made for that type of cooking...low heat. the wsm take alot of prep to get low heats of 100-140 degrees.

i've bee looking at the low end MES 30" model...does anyone have this and have done prolonged temps of 100-140 before? can it easily maintain this?

any help would be great

 

[daveomak]

Doug, morning.... The MES will control the lower temps, but you will need a smoke generator to make reliable smoke at that temp... probably the AMNPS is the most reliable... used with chips or dust it will do a great job for you... At higher temps, pellets or chips/dust will work very well..... The reason I say that is the pellets generate a fair amount of heat.... I have cold smoked with pellets and turned the element off in the smoker as long as the outside temps are below 50*F.....  The MES is a very good unit for reliable temp control at an affordable price....  If you need to smoke a bunch of jerky, you might consider the MES 40 for the extra capacity....  All smokers take time and practice to become accustomed to... Good luck and good smoking...

Dave 

 

[adiochiro3]

Your WSM will work just fine for jerky with one of a couple of methods.  I've used a small electric plate with a pan of chips for smoke and low heat; I've also used a soldering iron tip poked into the side of a coffee can (near the bottom of the can) filled with wood dust to generate smoke which produces very minimal additional heat.  Both methods work great, but require you to keep an eye on things to keep the smoke consistent -- no big deal for me... I like to maintain a fire (read: "pyro" 

).

The easiest and best and probably most reasonably priced solution is one of Todd Johnson's A-Maz-n products for smoke generation.  I have not used one, but I think it will just be a matter of time...

 

[dougmays]

the wsm does work but i was looking for something i could easily set up on a table slide in the jerky put some wood chips in and set to 120 and leave.....but from what your saying the heat produced by this wont get that hot to burn chips...hmmm

maybe a propane smoker is the way to go

 

[scarbelly]

I got this for my motorhome and while it does not get hot enough without the blanket it might be just right for you - you can open it up some to keep heat down 

HUNTER'S SPECIAL - GET A CARRY BAG WITH PURCHASE OF THE SMOKE 'N FOLD  - AND FOR A LIMITED TIME BECOME A FAN ON FACEBOOK AND RECEIVE A SPECIAL 15% ADDITIONAL DISCOUNT  2 minutes to build and 8 hours to smoke, then pack it away That's all it takes to smoke your meat or fish with this new electric Outdoor Smoker "It is so quick and easy to assemble - and no fuss to smoke all the meat from my husband's hunting and fishing - the salmon season is here so this makes it simple - and then it packs away" Debbie Price -  Montana Item #:  SFA   $99.50