# Uncle Frog wants to get Smokin'



## uncle frog (Jan 4, 2007)

Howdy hi. I'm a total newbie interested in reading more about the art of smoking meat. Meat lovers enjoy a variety of delicious meats; smoked being one of them. Delicious smokey meats. Ready to fire one up!


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## smoked (Jan 4, 2007)

welcome to the forums, a weatlh of info is found here!!!  I highly suggest signing up for jeff's 5 day ecourse on smoking.....it's a great place to start!!!


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## ultramag (Jan 4, 2007)

Welcome to SMF Uncle Frog!!! I second smoked's recommendation of the 5-day eCourse. Loads of great information sent right to your email box, and it's free to boot. ;)


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## msmith (Jan 4, 2007)

Welcome aboard Uncle Frog


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## uncle frog (Jan 4, 2007)

Thanks, you three!  There really IS a TON of information here.  I was reading through the jerky forum quite a bit last night.  I'm one to read a lot, ask an occassional question and then dip my toe slowing into a new hobby.  I first thought that smoking meats would be very straight forward ... but there's a lot more to it.  I suppose we all start out with the basics, make a couple mistakes and advance from there.  Anyway, good morning, and thank you for the kind welcome messages!


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## illini (Jan 4, 2007)

One more question Uncle Frog

Where is "Jesus Bacon"...or the meaning is?...just curious!

Welcome to SMF


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## gunslinger (Jan 4, 2007)

Welcome to SMF.  It's not as hard or complicated as it sounds. Patience is the key. Try it, it'll hook ya.
I was looking at your website. Looks like you really do like meat.


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## uncle frog (Jan 4, 2007)

Thanks!

Illini, Jesus Bacon isn't so much a geographical place but rather a state of mind.  It is a little inside joke so I'm not terribly surprised to get that question.  We live in Michigan, so you and I are kind of neighbors, eh?

Gunslinger, thanks for the vote of confidence.  I'll be trying out a few things at the novice level in the not too distant future.  And yes, we do enjoy our meat around here.  All the best!


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## uncle frog (Jan 7, 2007)

Think you can make jerky from deli cut roast beef?


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## ultramag (Jan 7, 2007)

I wouldn't think it would be what you would want to use Frog, not to mention it would be an expensive habit.


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## pigcicles (Jan 7, 2007)

Uncle Frog - I have to agree with Chad on this one. If you're serious about jerky, not just once a year thing, go to the meat counter and get a good lean piece of beef that isn't too pricey. On sale is best. 

Take it home and slightly freeze it to make cutting it easier. Prepare with a rub or marinade and get to smokin some jerky. Some people smoke the meat then finish it in a dehydrator - your choice.

Smoked meat is good - dehydrated is good for longer, well at some houses, it won't last here. Be sure to store properly and keep the meat lean.

Keep Smokin


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## uncle frog (Jan 7, 2007)

Thanks ultramag & PigCicles. I was half joking with the deli cut roast beef question. But only half joking. The serious half is that I'm already itching to try something, and we happened to have that in the fridge. From what I've been reading, a good round roast (on sale) works best. The top is supposedly leaner than the bottom cut, but harder to find. 

Thanks for the tip on leaness, PigCicles. I guess the dried smoked meat preserves and the fat can go rancid? And the freezing first. Yes, we've made braciolone before, and slightly freezing prior to cutting makes all the difference in the world.

We've got a really nice set of Cutco knives. No electric slicer, but I believe this knife set to be of good quality. I'm still reading in the jerky section, but is it really possible for novice to cut the meat thin enough for making good jerky? Is there a good thread on cutting tips and techniques here?


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## gunslinger (Jan 7, 2007)

Deli meat is already cooked. I Don't think it would be a good candidate. It's probably been sliced too thin anyway and would end up nothing.
As for slicing, while a slicer works best, jerky is cut pretty thick. 1/4 to 3/8 inch, depending on your preference. If you like it chewy and somewhat moist, you can cut it even thicker and not smoke till dry. But you should eat it asap, vacuum pack and freeze what you don't eat.


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## cheech (Jan 9, 2007)

Welcome from a fellow Michigander


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## uncle frog (Jan 9, 2007)

Howdy, Cheech!  BTW ... "Dave's not here, man."

Are a majory of this forum's members from the mid-west?


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## pyre (Jan 9, 2007)

There's quite a few midwesterners around here.

The first time I did jerky I sliced it by hand without freezing.  I had a few peices that ended up a little thicker than I would have liked.  They took a little while longer to really dry well in the smoker.


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## cheech (Jan 11, 2007)

You know it does seem that way


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## uncle frog (Jan 11, 2007)

BTW, I really am enjoying the 5 day e-course.  Nice work on that!  There is a lot of the same information in other areas of this forum, but the e-course presents it in digestable amounts and in an orderly fashion.  I've got two more to go. But I do like what I see so far.


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## uncle frog (Jan 12, 2007)

I'm still too much of a newbie to try the smoking just yet.  But I got myself a dehydrator and $20 of bottom round at $2.99 on sale and I'll be doing my first jerky experiment.  I boiled the meat for 10 minutes to get rid of any nasties, and have the steaks firming up in the freezer.  Soon I'll slice it and marinate it in a 50/50 mix of worcestershire and soy sauce over night.  Then get to the dehydrating in the morning so it will be ready by lunch.  If that all goes well, maybe I'll dip my toe into the smoking someday soon.

Anyway, please wish me luck on my first experiment.  I hope to be reporting on great results in less than 24 hours.


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## msmith (Jan 12, 2007)

Uncle Frog just jump right in and try smoking you wont know until you try. Hey you have to crawl before you walk.


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## pigcicles (Jan 12, 2007)

Uncle Frog - c'mon buddy, if you're gonna swim - you gotta get everything wet. We're all here to help you get through it with as little suffering as possible. We won't even splash ya the first time.

Really the jerky is a good deal. Although I've never boiled my meat before dehydrating it. I'm sure you've read everything you can find about making jerky.. so jump in, get r done, and bring us some samples if you can (pics)

Keep Smokin


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## uncle frog (Jan 12, 2007)

You guys are the best!  All in due time.  But I do appreciate the encouragement.  Here's what I'm looking at so far ...


Nearly 7 lbs of bottom round boiled for 10 minutes to help take out any nasties.  When I actually try the smoking, I may skip this step.  But being my first jerky experience I'd rather be safe than sorry.


I hand sliced the meat about 1/2" thick.  The bottom round was about 1.25" thick.  I suppose I envisioned wider pieces.  We'll see how this turns out.


I've got the strips marinating in 1.75 cups of soy sauce and 1.75 cups of worcestershire.  I put a little bit of water in as well to make sure the liquid surrounded all of the meat.  I've got this in the fridge to marinate overnight.  

I'm planning on dehydrating at 155 degrees as recommended by the instructions with the equipment.  I know this is the smokingmeat forum and not the driedoutbeef forum.  I'm a self proclaimed newbie, and I know I'm in good hands, and this is just the first step in my meat cooking evolution.

If my wife doesn't take our digital camera on her weekend trip, I'll post a couple more pics of the finishing/finished product.

Thanks again all y'all !!


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## cajunsmoker (Jan 12, 2007)

Well Uncle Frog,  there is something about boiled and beef being in the same sentence that makes me think Military :evil: .

Actually, your marinating strips look pretty good.  Next time get a roast instead of a steak and you can control your slice size.  And by the way, I sure would like to know more about the Jesus Bacon thing :?:


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## cheech (Jan 13, 2007)

Boiled meat just did not sound good but then you marinated it so there should be some great flavor added in. I like the idea to make sure the yucky stuff is out of there.


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## uncle frog (Jan 13, 2007)

Good morning! I've had the strips going for 3.5 hours now.  There were some small pieces I had in there and my wife and I have been able to sample the batch.  So far so good!  

Half of the batch I finished off with cracked pepper and left the other half plain.  I can already see the value of a slicer.  And I can tell now that I hadn't trimmed off all of the fat like I had presumed; some of the strips from the exterior of the steak still have some.  I've been checking it about every 30-60 minutes and blotting the strips off, especially those with the unwanted fat.

Yeah, I was quite hesitant to boil the meat.  You are both right, it doesn't sound good.  Safety first, however.  I believe that were I to not boil it, and rather finish it off in a smoker or even the oven, it would probably be fine.  I guess you just want to be sure the meat gets to a sufficient temperature for a long enough period (I read at least 140 degrees for a minimum of 10 minutes).

cajunsmoker, the Jesus Bacon thing is essentially two things that I love.  I think it is humorous because Jesus was Jewish, and Jewish people don't really eat bacon.  I'm not Jewish, so I can eat all the bacon I want (well, actually I can eat all the bacon my wife will allow me ... lol).

I'm also using this experiment to get my wife excited about smoked meats so I can get a decent smoker in the near future.  I figure if I can get her to ask me to make more jerky, I've then laid the ground work for the next phase of my meat cooking evolution.  Any pointers on this topic would be greatly appreciated as well ... lol.


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## vulcan75001 (Jan 14, 2007)

Uncle Frog

A lot of interesting items you have there...

Richard


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## uncle frog (Jan 14, 2007)

Thanks, vulcan.  I've got a couple photos of the finishing/finished product.  My jaw is already sore from all the delicious chewing.  It turned out great!  I'll have to call my first experiment a great success.


Nearly seven pounds of beef strips laid out on six drying racks.  The very smallest of pieces were able to be removed after three hours.  The majority of the strips were ready after five to six hours.  And the strips that had more marbling or were thicker remained on the dehydrator for nearly ten hours.


The finished product!  Delicious!  No, this isn't all of the jerky made from nearly seven pounds of beef.  This is what's left over after our first day of jerky feasting.  Looks good, eh?


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## msmith (Jan 14, 2007)

Great job uncle frog.


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## soflaquer (Jan 14, 2007)

Well Froggie...........it looks like you'll fit right in here!

I have the same Dehydrator (I believe), they work very well.  Just don't let the Wife put the racks on the bottom shelf of the dishwasher.......Oops!  Now I'm minus one rack!

No need to Par-Boil the meat if it's well washed 1st.  Also, I recommend marinating your Jerky for at least 24 Hours.

Welcome to SMF!

Jeff


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## uncle frog (Jan 15, 2007)

I think in my next batch I'll skip the par boiling as suggested.  After all, it is dehydrating at 155 degrees for many hours.  

I'll also take more care in trimming off the fat.  Thought I did a good job, but ended up with more fat on some of the strips than I wanted.

I'll marinate for a minimum of 24 hours as suggested SoFlaQuer.  My batch marinated for approximately 14 hours, and had good flavor.  But it could have stayed in longer (weren't I so impatient to get started!).

The slicing by hand worked out OK, and I wasn't as displeased with the thickness of the steak as I expected to be.  A roast would be better than the steaks I used to be able to get a slightly thicker cut, but the steaks worked well and weren't as thin as I thought they were going to be.

Another sign of impatience, I'll wait until the meat is more frozen before making the slices by hand.  I do believe I'll get more uniform cuts this way.  On this batch, that was my intention, but I sliced when the meat was cool and slighlty firm.  It could have been firmer for the slicing.


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## dgross (Jan 15, 2007)

Hello and welcome Uncle Frog! I'm a relative newbie myself and this forum is the best!! Just a thought about slicing the meat, Could you use a mandoline or a V-slicer once the meat is semi-frozen? Haven't tried it but it might work. Picked up a mandolin at a rest. supply store for under 30$ and I think it could handle the job. Good luck and thanks for the pics-they got me drooooling  :) ! Daun


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## deejaydebi (Jan 15, 2007)

Great looking Jerky Uncle Frog! 

Just a side note - I have a few dehydrators that look very similar to what I see in the pics and have never had a problem putting the meat in raw. Just trim it all off really good and if there is any oil from bits of fat after it dries just wipe it off. If you have any concerns keep it in the fridge.

What's next Unk?

Debi


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## Dutch (Jan 15, 2007)

Uncle Frog, here is a tip that will get rid of the nasties without having to resort to par-boiling the meat. The salts in the marinade should take care of the nasties but you never know.

In a new spray bottle mix 4 parts water to 1 part apple cider vinegar (make sure that the label says apple cider vinegar and not white vinegar flavored with apple cider-there is a big difference!). Shake the bottle to mix the contents. Spray on the meat and let sit for at 5 minutes and no more than 10. Rinse off the vinegar solution and add the meat to your marinade. Most times Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll just blot the meat with a paper towel and then add the meat to the marinade

Apple cider vinegar is a natural disinfectant. It also helps to break down the meat proteins. This is just one of the tips I learned from my dutch oven competition days that Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve carried over to smoking meats.


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## deejaydebi (Jan 16, 2007)

I always wondered why Mama put vinegar on cuts and burns.  I guess she knew what she wa doin'

Debi


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## uncle frog (Jan 17, 2007)

Thanks all y'all.  I like the apple cider vinegar tip, Dutch.  I can't say I know what a V-slicer is, dgross, but if you give it a shot and it works, let me know.  

As far as what's next, DeejayDebi ... the overwhelming concensus is MORE.  As we approach our final jerky strips now, I suggested to my wife that we make some more this weekend and I got an enthusiastic nod.  So far so good in that department.  

I sent a link to this thread to a friend of mine who is an enthusiastic elk hunter ... turns out he has a smoker that he'll let me use, and may even break out some of his elk meat for me to try out.  Another friend of mine who got to taste the jerky is now trying to wrestle us up some venison.

It's likely that I'll do a couple more batches of beef before I continue my meat cooking evolution ... but in one or two short weeks I may have managed to line up some elk, venison and even a smoker.  That's progress ... albeit in my methodical frog hopping way.


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## uncle frog (Jan 20, 2007)

Well I picked up 6 pounds of USDA Choice sirloin steak for $2.50/lb on special.  I've carved up about half so far, and need to get the other half prepped and starting to marinate.  The sirloin is a little fattier (marbled) than the bottom round I used last week.  But the freezing of the meat is definitely helping in the slicing.  And at $2.50/lb I could hardly pass that up.

My elk hunter friend suggested we break out some of his elk and smoke that up.  Having never eaten elk, you could say "I'm game."  LOL!


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## uncle frog (Jan 23, 2007)

This batch came out really well.  The fattier meat of the sirloin does give it flavor, but we certainly need to store it in the fridge.  The strips were cut a little thicker, like meat sticks instead of waffer shape.  It made the jerky a little chewier.  This coupled with a little fattier cut of beef gave the jerky a meatier flavor.  

I did marinate the meat strips for 24 hours as suggested.  And I do believe this was a noticable improvement.  I did NOT par boil the meat this time, and wonder if this added to the flavor.  

The thicker strips took 12 hours to finish in the dehydrator at 155 degrees.  I may had kept them in just a little longer if I wasn't already exhausted and ready to turn in for the night.

The meat cooking evolution continue's at Uncle Frog's!  Thanks everybody for your inspiration, inforamation, guidance and friendship.


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## bud's bbq (Jan 23, 2007)

Hi there Ucle Frog, another michigander here. Sounds like you have defintley caught the smoking bug.The jerky you did looks awesome!!!, Iv'e smoked all kind of meat and poultry but haven't tried my hand at making jerky yet, after reading this thread I think I'll give it a shot. Hoping to do a big smoke for superbowl, hope the weather corporates. :roll:     

Bud


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## uncle frog (Feb 4, 2007)

Howdy, Bud.  I said "hi" to Theresa in your Roll Call thread.  But just in case you weren't there, I'll say hi here, too.  Hey!  My elk-hunter friend said we should break out some of his elk and smoke it.  

He's not keen on trying it just now (it's 3 degrees ... and that's Farenheit for our international friends ... while I post this from Michigan). He's braging about getting his smoke house in shape, and I'm a total newbie so I'd rather start out a LOT smaller to tell you the truth.  

Anyway, if he decides to put his money where his elk is (or is it vice versa? hmmm), I'll be happy to share some pics.  He's got a little elk hunting video he's got on the net.  Maybe I'll even be able to post video of the experience.  Is there any way to have a video link or embedded video here?

And that reminds me ... I've heard people say that when smoking, to tend the smoke to produce a blue thin line.  Does this capture on pics? Does anyone have a pic of what I should look for? I've got a good mental picture (I think), but a picture does say a thousand words.


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## uncle frog (Mar 17, 2007)

Looks like we might be out of the cold season.  I'd imagine that smoking is better when it's not so frigid outside, eh?


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## uncle frog (Jan 4, 2007)

Howdy hi. I'm a total newbie interested in reading more about the art of smoking meat. Meat lovers enjoy a variety of delicious meats; smoked being one of them. Delicious smokey meats. Ready to fire one up!


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## smoked (Jan 4, 2007)

welcome to the forums, a weatlh of info is found here!!!  I highly suggest signing up for jeff's 5 day ecourse on smoking.....it's a great place to start!!!


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## ultramag (Jan 4, 2007)

Welcome to SMF Uncle Frog!!! I second smoked's recommendation of the 5-day eCourse. Loads of great information sent right to your email box, and it's free to boot. ;)


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## msmith (Jan 4, 2007)

Welcome aboard Uncle Frog


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## uncle frog (Jan 4, 2007)

Thanks, you three!  There really IS a TON of information here.  I was reading through the jerky forum quite a bit last night.  I'm one to read a lot, ask an occassional question and then dip my toe slowing into a new hobby.  I first thought that smoking meats would be very straight forward ... but there's a lot more to it.  I suppose we all start out with the basics, make a couple mistakes and advance from there.  Anyway, good morning, and thank you for the kind welcome messages!


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## illini (Jan 4, 2007)

One more question Uncle Frog

Where is "Jesus Bacon"...or the meaning is?...just curious!

Welcome to SMF


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## gunslinger (Jan 4, 2007)

Welcome to SMF.  It's not as hard or complicated as it sounds. Patience is the key. Try it, it'll hook ya.
I was looking at your website. Looks like you really do like meat.


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## uncle frog (Jan 4, 2007)

Thanks!

Illini, Jesus Bacon isn't so much a geographical place but rather a state of mind.  It is a little inside joke so I'm not terribly surprised to get that question.  We live in Michigan, so you and I are kind of neighbors, eh?

Gunslinger, thanks for the vote of confidence.  I'll be trying out a few things at the novice level in the not too distant future.  And yes, we do enjoy our meat around here.  All the best!


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## uncle frog (Jan 7, 2007)

Think you can make jerky from deli cut roast beef?


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## ultramag (Jan 7, 2007)

I wouldn't think it would be what you would want to use Frog, not to mention it would be an expensive habit.


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## pigcicles (Jan 7, 2007)

Uncle Frog - I have to agree with Chad on this one. If you're serious about jerky, not just once a year thing, go to the meat counter and get a good lean piece of beef that isn't too pricey. On sale is best. 

Take it home and slightly freeze it to make cutting it easier. Prepare with a rub or marinade and get to smokin some jerky. Some people smoke the meat then finish it in a dehydrator - your choice.

Smoked meat is good - dehydrated is good for longer, well at some houses, it won't last here. Be sure to store properly and keep the meat lean.

Keep Smokin


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## uncle frog (Jan 7, 2007)

Thanks ultramag & PigCicles. I was half joking with the deli cut roast beef question. But only half joking. The serious half is that I'm already itching to try something, and we happened to have that in the fridge. From what I've been reading, a good round roast (on sale) works best. The top is supposedly leaner than the bottom cut, but harder to find. 

Thanks for the tip on leaness, PigCicles. I guess the dried smoked meat preserves and the fat can go rancid? And the freezing first. Yes, we've made braciolone before, and slightly freezing prior to cutting makes all the difference in the world.

We've got a really nice set of Cutco knives. No electric slicer, but I believe this knife set to be of good quality. I'm still reading in the jerky section, but is it really possible for novice to cut the meat thin enough for making good jerky? Is there a good thread on cutting tips and techniques here?


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## gunslinger (Jan 7, 2007)

Deli meat is already cooked. I Don't think it would be a good candidate. It's probably been sliced too thin anyway and would end up nothing.
As for slicing, while a slicer works best, jerky is cut pretty thick. 1/4 to 3/8 inch, depending on your preference. If you like it chewy and somewhat moist, you can cut it even thicker and not smoke till dry. But you should eat it asap, vacuum pack and freeze what you don't eat.


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## cheech (Jan 9, 2007)

Welcome from a fellow Michigander


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## uncle frog (Jan 9, 2007)

Howdy, Cheech!  BTW ... "Dave's not here, man."

Are a majory of this forum's members from the mid-west?


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## pyre (Jan 9, 2007)

There's quite a few midwesterners around here.

The first time I did jerky I sliced it by hand without freezing.  I had a few peices that ended up a little thicker than I would have liked.  They took a little while longer to really dry well in the smoker.


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## cheech (Jan 11, 2007)

You know it does seem that way


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## uncle frog (Jan 11, 2007)

BTW, I really am enjoying the 5 day e-course.  Nice work on that!  There is a lot of the same information in other areas of this forum, but the e-course presents it in digestable amounts and in an orderly fashion.  I've got two more to go. But I do like what I see so far.


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## uncle frog (Jan 12, 2007)

I'm still too much of a newbie to try the smoking just yet.  But I got myself a dehydrator and $20 of bottom round at $2.99 on sale and I'll be doing my first jerky experiment.  I boiled the meat for 10 minutes to get rid of any nasties, and have the steaks firming up in the freezer.  Soon I'll slice it and marinate it in a 50/50 mix of worcestershire and soy sauce over night.  Then get to the dehydrating in the morning so it will be ready by lunch.  If that all goes well, maybe I'll dip my toe into the smoking someday soon.

Anyway, please wish me luck on my first experiment.  I hope to be reporting on great results in less than 24 hours.


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## msmith (Jan 12, 2007)

Uncle Frog just jump right in and try smoking you wont know until you try. Hey you have to crawl before you walk.


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