New batch of jerky for a new year -- Q-view included

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mtngeek

Newbie
Original poster
Dec 27, 2011
4
10
Western Oregon
Got 10 pounds of beef flank steak from Costco today and put it into the cure this evening. I'll give it 36 hours in the cure and seasonings, then put it on the smoker New Year's morning for 2-3 hours of smoke and 4-6 hours of plain dry heat.

Each bowl has five pounds of meat, partially frozen and sliced by hand. Man, I need to invest in a slicer!

I used 1/3rd of a pack (about 76g) of "Smokehouse" brand Jerky Dry Rub & Mix in Black Pepper flavor in each bowl. I also added 1/4 cup of Jack Daniels to each bowl to give it that "little extra something". Should turn out yummy.

More pics to come as the process continues.

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Sounds like some good marinades now let's see the finished products
 
So, here it is. I would say it was about a 90% success. Most of it turned out good, some if it had to be tossed in the bin because it turned into charcoal, not nicely dried meat. I learned a few things about my new Masterbuilt 7-in-1 Smoker/Grill.

First, because the unit only has two racks, it's really not intended to be used to smoke even small batches of jerky, unless you're into swapping one rack at a time in and out every two hours. Anything that doesn't allow at least four racks of meat in it at the same time, just really isn't intended for making jerky.

Second, the lower rack, which sits just above the "water bowl" (as they call it) can easily get WAY too hot for smoking, and should probably only be counted on for use as a grilling surface with the top-half of the unit removed. My attempt to use it for smoking resulted in the one rack of charred mess that had to be tossed.

Third, this is my first attempt at using chunk wood. All my previous experience has been with the wood chips/dust that comes in bags from the Luhr-Jensen Smokehouse brand. When using chunk wood it's very easy to go from a decent smoke to a roaring fire if you're not CAREFULLY watching your heat source (again, I refer to the charred mess).

I ended up dragging out the Big Chief to help out, but the element in the bottom of it died on me after one hour. So, I was using ONE rack in the Masterbuilt, swapping out batches every hour, up until the ball dropped last night. Then I moved each batch into my food dryer for a few hours to finish them up.

All in all, it was OK. I got 3 pounds of jerky from 10 pounds of meat, and it tastes good.

Now I need to start shopping the Goodwill and second-hand stores for a cheap hot-plate that I can MacGyver into my old Big Chief.

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