# Making Beef Jerky on the WSM



## noboundaries

Last fall I decided to start making jerky.  I often need a quick infusion of protein and jerky is perfect.  Commercial jerky is just too expensive, so heck, I can make my own for less than a quarter of the price of store bought.  It is SOOOO easy to make.  If you own a WSM and are not making jerky, and you like jerky, start.  You'll never buy jerky again. 

The grocery store where I shop cuts Bottom Round into 1/4" slices and labels it Carne Asada.  It goes on sale quite often.  Regular price is $3.98/lb, but I stock the freezer when I see $2.48/lb, which is often 2 or 3 times a month.   

I do not own a dehydrator, nor do I want one.  I made several batches of jerky first in the oven.  See YouTube for guidance if making jerky in the oven appeals to you.  I wanted to perfect my technique there before I moved to the WSM.  Plus, it was always raining last Fall, Winter, and Spring so the oven was convenient.  Interesting difference is that the oven jerky came out a little tough.  The jerky on the WSM was tender. 

Here's the recipe I adapted from online sources that I like the best.  There's no soy sauce per se other than what is in the teriyaki sauce.  I call it Barbeque Jerky.  You could easily add red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper if you like a little heat.   

*Barbeque Beef Jerky Recipe on the 22.5" WSM*

Came out tender and delicious!  3.5 lbs of raw meat would fit in the WSM if split between the two grates. A little less than 2 lbs will lay flat on a grate.  For 3 1/2 lbs of beef, bump the 2/3 cup quantities up to a cup, the Worchester up to 1/3 cup, the spices to 2 tsp, and the cure to 3/4 tsp.  It is a little lite on the cure, but the salt in the teriyaki sauce makes up for it.  

*Ingredients*
2 1/2 lbs lean beef
2/3 cup teriyaki sauce
2/3 cup Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder (or 1 Tbs minced garlic)
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cure #1

*Smoker Directions*

1. If the beef is not pre-sliced, slice into 1/4" thick strips and put in a 1 gallon Ziplock bag.  Combine all curing ingredients and pour into the bag.  Squeeze out as much air as possible and marinate overnight in the refrigerator, or up to 2-3 days.

2. In the WSM put down a layer of used or new cold charcoal.  Pile 9 RO Ridge briquettes in chimney.  Will need probably 12 if using Kingsford.  Heat until they are ashed over.  On the bed of new/used charcoal, put 4 pieces of hickory or mesquite in a small square.  Pour hot coals into middle of square.  Immediately reassemble the smoker and set the vents or the Guru for 150F.

3. Bring grates in house and lay meat on grates.  Once the grates are put back in the smoker, work the vents or bump the Guru up to 165F.

4. Smoke at 165°F until ready, about 5 hours.

5. Let cool, then use meat scissors to cut into bite-sized pieces.  Cut off and discard any excess fat.  Store in Ziplock bags in the refrigerator.  Delicious when 1.5 to 2 oz is heated in the microwave for 15 seconds prior to eating, but not necessary.

Setting up fire ring:













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9 Royal Oak Ridge briquettes in the chimney on my gas grill burner.  Took forever to heat so I ordered the small chimney off Amazon for Father's Day.  That's my excuse anyway!













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Hot briquettes added to center of pile.













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Initial temp of 150F.  Ready to load meat.  This was also a first test run of a new lid thermometer.  The 2" River Country is adjustable, but I haven't touched it yet.  With a 9/16" drill bit it would install in probably 15 minutes.  I used a 1/2" drill bit and had to use a round file to increase the diameter of the hole in the housing and the lid.  Still, only took an hour to install.













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I had every intention of using skewers and feeding the meat through the grates so it would hang between the grates.  After messing with it for probably 15 minutes, I said ....... well, never mind what I said.  I decided to just lay the meat flat on the grates.  And I didn't get any pics of the meat on the grates.  Sorry. 













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Temp stabilized at 165F, or close enough. 













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Final product after 5 hours on the WSM before trimming fat and cutting into five pieces each.  Oh so good.  I actually did about 1.75 lbs yesterday afternoon and the remainder this morning.  The first batch I did last night was twice what you see below.  Again, no pics of that, sorry.













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Wait, here you go.  Here's the bag with last night's batch, minus five pieces that the smoker needed to test. 













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## lancep

That looks excellent Ray! I'm going to have to try that in the Open Range. How is it determined done? And, would other meats work with this recipe? My wife loves jerky for quick snacks but the price of it is usually prohibitive for regular use. So being able to do my own would be swell. Thank you for the recipe. 

Lance


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## 88rxna

Following!!
Yummy!
Thanks!


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## 88rxna

Sorry but what is cure #1? Have a brand preference?


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## noboundaries

Other meats or cuts?  Absolutely.  Lean works best to prevent spoilage.  To quote a survival instructor long ago, "You can make jerky out of any meat."

When is it done?  That's subjective. I like it when I pick up a piece from the thick end and it bends about 30-45 degrees.  I have had unevenly cut roasts that finished at different times in the oven.


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## noboundaries

88rxna said:


> Sorry but what is cure #1? Have a brand preference?



Prague Powder #1.  I picked up a pound from Amazon like 3 years ago and still have about 25% remaining. You can make jerky without cure, but not with this recipe.  Cure #1 adds an additional safety factor.












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## smokeymose

88rxna said:


> Sorry but what is cure #1? Have a brand preferetnce?



Primarily Sodium Nitrite. It goes by names of Prague Powder or Instacure. It inhibits Botulism in slow heated meat. If you're interested in sausage or jerky, you need to know about it. Cure #2 is Sodium Nitrate, used for long dry curing times.
Personally, I would recommend Prague Powder simply because it is made here in Indiana :-)


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## pc farmer

Thanks for this recipe.

I need some jerky and this sounds great.


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## noboundaries

c farmer said:


> Thanks for this recipe.
> 
> I need some jerky and this sounds great.


You're welcome, Adam.  Thanks for the points.  I hope you like it, or that it gives you some ideas.


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## SmokinAl

Excellent job Ray!

I never thought of using the WSM for jerky.

I always use my MES with an AMNPS.

Gonna give this a try, I have a Guru, so it should be easy!

Point!

Al


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## dirtsailor2003

Looks tasty! I'm going to need to make some soon. Starting to run low!


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## noboundaries

SmokinAl said:


> Excellent job Ray!
> 
> I never thought of using the WSM for jerky.
> 
> I always use my MES with an AMNPS.
> 
> Gonna give this a try, I have a Guru, so it should be easy!
> 
> Point!
> 
> Al


Al, thanks for the points!  Jerky is a good reason to dust off the WSM.


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## noboundaries

dirtsailor2003 said:


> Looks tasty! I'm going to need to make some soon. Starting to run low!


Thanks Case!  I ran out the same day I made the first batch this week.  Perfect timing!


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## b-one

Looks tasty!


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## noboundaries

b-one said:


> Looks tasty!


It is!  And thanks for the points!


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## noboundaries

Lesson to self: don't tell your wife how good your jerky tastes.  Kidding ......... maybe.  She's never shown any interest in my jerky, and now its in her lunch bag every day.  I've got another 2.5 lb batch smoking only a week after finishing the last batch.  Here are pics on the WSM, one with the flash, one without.  That little grill thingie on the top grate is something I made years ago out of an expandable grate.  I just bent the ends of the expansion part 90 degrees to make two legs, and voila!  More room.  I used to use it on my gas grill for extra rib space.  Works great on the WSM too, or any grill actually. 













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## tropics

Ray That looks great I have some mess racks that fit my WSM saving your recipe also thaks Points

Richie


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## noboundaries

Thanks for the points Richie! 

I tried dropping the chamber temp down yesterday to 150F.  It hovered between 150 and 165F most of the day.  All it really did was add time to the smoke, about an hour and a half.


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## noboundaries

I'm always thinking about ways I can increase the space in a WSM.  When making jerky, I'm not crazy about removing the top rack, repositioning all my probes, loading the jerky a piece at a time on the bottom rack, then putting the top rack back on and reconnecting all my probes.  I got an idea. 

I can move the top rack just a little and pull out the bottom rack easily.  Used a couple cement fire bricks, put the slightly smaller lower rack on top of the top rack, and the LID STILL FIT!  Sure made loading and unloading easier. 

Pic #1: lid on with the arrangement described above.













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Pic #2: Just unload the finished jerky and put the bottom rack in my 22.5" Weber Kettle.  Sits easily on the Kettle grate.  Can move it back to the WSM when the smoker cools down.













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## lancep

Nice!


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## PA Smokin

I'm making this jerky this weekend! Stupid question: does it matter what kind of teriyaki sauce you use? The stuff I have is pretty thick (Americanized).


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## noboundaries

Wouldn't stop me. You can always thin it with water if it is too thick.


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## PA Smokin

Awesome thanks! This is the 1st recipe I saw that uses instant cure. I'm pretty pumped, just got it in the fridge and I'll smoke it early Saturday. Thanks for sharing your recipe!


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## TomKnollRFV

I haven't done slabs of meat yet; just been doing snack sticks. Might have to take my shot at  real jerky. I love tender jerky...

Should be able to do this on my MES pretty easy! Time to watch out for good beef prices!


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## PA Smokin

Made 3 lbs from a London broil on my 18 in wsm. Came out AMAZING! Thanks for posting this recipe and setup. It's not easy to keep it that low, but I hardly had trouble keeping between 165 and 180 was the highest temp.


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## noboundaries

Glad it worked for you!


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## Troy1436

I've been doing jerky on the Weber for a long time. I make a long thin snake of charcoal to keep the temperatures down. It's best to do it in the winter or fall summer times too hot. I use long bamboo and cut it the size when I'm putting it on through the grading quarter inch thick it falls right through pretty much takes like 2 minutes. I use every other spacing and then the next one I switch and then back again you get on twice as much in  the smoker. I don't even use wood just charcoal for the flavor 2 hours in a smoker and then I throw it an  Xcalibur for 4 hours. I always try to stay under 140 or under  in the smoker but in the dehydrator 125. I do use  cure I'm a big fan of Uncle Abe's. I see a lot of people cooking their jerky not drying their jerky.


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