Venison Jerky in the Mini Chief

[smokemx16]

Hey guys glad to be a part of this site. I am a amature smoker so amature that my first batch of jerky I smoked with smoke the entire time and it  ended up tasting like a fireplace. My next batch I over cooked. I have my jerky which is all muscle meat sliced into a little bit thinner than 1/4 thick to cut down on the cooking time. Can anyone please help me out on maybe approximate times I should leave it in the smoker. How long do I leave the smoke 30 minutes then just let it cook in the mini chief? My last batch I kept cooking because I was afraid it wasnt done and is hard to tell when its warm. I thought I cooked it just right and a few days later it came out like shoe leather. Any advice for an amature would be greatly appreciated. Right now im marinating in eather soy sauce or worcester sauce and then hi mountain jerky seasoning and cure. One last question can you get sick from eating undercooked jerky that has been cured even if its muscle meat. Please like I said im an amature any help would be greatly appreciated thanks!.

 

[adiochiro3]

  Please head over to Roll Call & introduce yourself to the gang!

Making jerky is more about dehydrating than cooking.  I lay on about 1.5-2 hours of smoke and then essentially dehydrate for another 20-22 hours either in a dehydrator or in a warm environment (oven with a pilot light, an oven with a small electric burner on low, etc.).  Lightly moving air is key no matter what method you use.  Dehydration is one of the parts of this process that prevents/severely retards rapid bacterial growth.

I use a 50/50 marinade of soy & Worcestershire with seasonings of choice.  And yes, you can get sick from improperly prepared/handled/stored jerky.  That is why a lot of folks cure their jerky.  If you do not cure, your jerky should be refrigerated for safety (or just consumed quickly -- which is what usually happens around here 

).

 

[driedstick]

welcome to SMF you will have a learning curve and this place has a ton of info just ask if you don't know what to do

 

[smokemx16]

Thank you. I do not have a dehyderator only a smoker. It says the meat can be left in there until ready to eat. I am using the hi mountain seasonings and the cure I am just so confused. I am working with the mini chief so anyone that has seen one or knows a simple recipe or can explain some basics would be great.

 

[smokinhusker]

First off Welcome to SMF-lots of great info and wonderfully helpful people. Works out great for us newbies! I can't help with the Mini Chief as I have an MES 30, but I do my venison, duck, goose, elk and antelope jerky on it. I got my temps etc after reading lots of jerky making posts on here and maybe someone with more experience and knowledge will come along.

To start out I recommend getting a notebook so you can keep lots of notes on what you are doing-I got the idea from the forum and it has been invaluable. I use Hi Country seasonings with some of my own additional touches but follow the amounts of cure in their instructions. I hang the jerky on skewers in the smoker at a starting temp of 110*-120*, with all vents, dampers open and "dry" it for an hour or two-this will help it take smoke. I then bump up the temp to 140*-150* and start adding smoke for 2-3 hours. After I have added all the smoke I want, I bump the temp to 160* and finish it off. I have to continue keeping the vents, dampers open or things get too hot. Depending on weather conditions (humidity mainly), mine is done (using the bend test) after approximately 7-8 hours. 

Hope this gives you some guidance, and like I said before, there are way more experienced and knowledgeable people here than I. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. I'm headed to cut up some venison for jerky in just a bit and I'll be smoking it tomorrow.

Alesia