# First time for beef jerky



## daveverdo (May 18, 2021)

HI All,

I just took a batch of jerky out of the smoker.  It looks and tastes good but I have a few questions.  

I used eye of round sliced to about 1/4 inch.  I sliced it myself so it wasn't the most consistent thickness.
I also used the Hi-Country seasoning and cure kit and followed the directions for the most part.  I say for the most part because I did not crank the smoker up at the beginning.  I had it set at 200°F and had a water tray in the smoker as per the instructions.  I let it cook for about 2 hours and then lowered the temp to 170°F and let it cook for another 3 hours until it looked and felt right (bend, crack but not break).  I never checked the internal temperature of the beef.   I did rotate the racks several times.

I assume that a 1/4 thick slice in a 200° smoker for 2 hours would have reached 160° IT.  Should I have concerns?  Anything I can do different besides actually checking the internal temperature?

I plan to do some chicken breasts, any comments on those?

Thanks,
David


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## zippy12 (May 18, 2021)

Looks like you hit the finish line


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## disco (May 18, 2021)

Your jerky looks great! You are correct that 1/4 inch over 2 hours at 200 F should be over 160 F internal temperature. However, I find a good secondary test is to break the thickest slice and make sure there is not spongy parts. The best test remains to put an instant read probe into the thickest slice though.


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## Winterrider (May 18, 2021)

Looks very good. Not really sure the water pan would be a necessity, as you are actually trying to dry it out some.
I have had good results using high country.
I see a meat slicer in your future or the High Mountain Jerky slicing kit.








						Ultimate Jerky Board & Knife
					

Wrangle up Big Western Flavor with Hi Mountain Seasonings, bold western flavors, make your own jerky, sausage, smoked meats




					himtnjerky.com
				





 Steve H
  had a review on this in the past


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## olaf (May 18, 2021)

That looks real good my first batch was also good then I overdried the next two. Send some this way and I'll give you an honest opinion.  A girl I work with uses this for chicken jerky its pretty good gets it at Walmart


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## daveverdo (May 18, 2021)

Thank for all the comments.  

I used the water pan ecause that was in the instructions from Hi-Country.  Going to try chicken tomorrow.  I will update.

Dave


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## sandyut (May 18, 2021)

Looked good to me.  I run the temp profile in the opposite.  Start at 180 for a couple hours then up to 225 or so till mostly dry.  I let the drying finish as it cools


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## Steve H (May 19, 2021)

The jerky looks pretty darn good to me! Here is the write up I did on the jerky board. It's a pretty handy gadget for thing slicing meats for a lot of purposes.
Hi Mountain Jerky King | Smoking Meat Forums - The Best Barbecue Discussion Forum On Earth!


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