# Analog MES 30 and AMNPS ... Jerky making disaster



## kmk357 (Feb 14, 2013)

I hope this is in the right section because I need help!

Before I get started let me say this: This may get a little long winded; and  I have smoked some briskets (only meat I have smoked, I am an amateur at best) they have always come out good in the stock analog masterbuilt smoker.

so after reading this site about my smoker and talking to Todd at amazing products llc; I decided to go ahead and drill one hole on the side that my analog dial plugs into and one hole on the opposite side both 1/2 inch in size using a step bit, and then I drilled another hole on the opposite side of the stock vent hole in the back of the smoker, and then drilled six holes in the wood chip pan. and put in some hickory chips with no water and gave it a test run and was very happy with the way it smoked. But did not have any food in it on the test run.

MY PROBLEM

I have made jerky a lot mostly deer and beef, but I will make jerky out of just about anything (all in a dehydrator). I love the smoked flavor and have a friend whose dad makes awesome smoked goose jerky (out of a cookshack) so I did a little searching on here and thought heck I will give it a try; ordered me an AMNPS package and got it the other day (super fast!) so I pulled out some venison and got it marinated overnight and this morning I loaded up the smoker. I did put foil on the bottom of my smoker (never have done this) and did NOT poke a hole for the drip pan, just left it solid foil on the bottom.













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__ kmk357
__ Feb 14, 2013






and as you can see from the picture I have the AMNPS going good and no foil tent on it, i figured I didnt need one because im drying the meat and figured it would not drip much. Boy was I wrong...

So it is smoking good about a half hour into it and I am happy as a clam and thinking this is going to be great, well about an hour later I was watching it pretty close) I noticed it was just billowing out white smoke, so I thought well thats not normal and opened the smoker and found this:













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__ kmk357
__ Feb 14, 2013






So I took the AMNPS out of the smoker and cleaned it out and put new pellets in there in two rows and then started it back up and took some tin foil and covered it this time and stuck it back in the smoker.

well I still had a couple hours smoke time and I had been using a laser thermometer to check the temps by opening the door and shooting the laser in there and I kept getting fluctuations and figured this is probably the worst way possible to check temps, so my dad told me he had gotten an email from cabelas saying his internet order was in and asked if I wanted to go up there and so I did to get me a thermometer and I picked up a maverick ET-73 (which by the way I think is awesome, it has a remote!!!) so I opened the door to place the thermometer in there and noticed the AMNPS had jumped rows and both rows where burning but I figured I only had about an hour max left so I just let it go.

I pulled my jerky out and let it sit for about 30 minutes and tried a piece and it was the absolute worst jerky I have ever had..

Could this be because I did not cover the AMNPS and the white smoke was creosote and was going on for longer than I thought it had been which once I saw the white smoke billowing out I opened the door?

or did I just have too many new things going on lack of experience on a smoker to begin with and that was the end result?

I wish I could better describe what it taste like but it is bad and I mean really bad.....

once I got my maverick I figured out I was smoking at around 190-200 degrees F  which is way too hot for jerky in a dehydrator so I would assume this would hold true for a smoker too. In my dehydrator I dry it at 165 for an hour and then nock it down to 155 or 160 depending how thick it is and how i want it or around that temp.

any suggestions or tips on what you guys think I did wrong or what to do or not to do next time for better results?

any help, advice or comments would be appreciated and I thank you ahead of time.


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## daveomak (Feb 15, 2013)

KMK, morning and welcome to the forum.....   Well, a few things I noticed and possible solutions.....   Moisture in the smoker... I can tell that from the pellets....  

Run the smoker at 160 ish, no smoke, to dry the jerky first....  wet meat and smoke is not a good combination.... have all the vents open for good air flow to get rid of the moisture...  once the meat is dry, add the smoke....   Depending where and how you put the foil in the smoker, it could have blocked air flow and good heat distribution...  about the AMNPS jumping rows.... it could have got too hot being above the element..  If you have room, set the AMNPS at or below the element...   Some folks have even mounted a mailbox outside the smoker and ducted the smoke into it....   Here is proof that many folks will go to any extreme to get great Q....    Maybe a pic of the foil placement and intake and exhaust holes will help our members figure out what is next to help you make great Q.....     Dave













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__ chrisblunck
__ Sep 18, 2012


















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__ jrod62
__ Sep 16, 2012


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## kmk357 (Feb 15, 2013)

Hey Dave,

I actually did my modifications based of how you told another forum member to do theirs with the exact model I have. Except instead of using 3/4 inch holes because I thought that may be a bit big, and if the 1/2 inch holes didnt work out I could always enlarge them.

Here are a few pics of the locations of my newly drilled holes in the smoker.













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__ kmk357
__ Feb 15, 2013


















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__ kmk357
__ Feb 15, 2013


















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__ kmk357
__ Feb 15, 2013






now after taking these pictures I noticed something and you can see it in the picture on the hole in the back of the smoker on the left side it looks as though there is a lot of ? water ? coming out of it. That has never happened before either.

As far as the foil on the bottom, I just lined the bottom and the only hole I blocked off was the drain hole in the bottom of the smoker, which I will not do this again. But unfortunately for me I did not take pictures of it.

I also thought about drying it before adding the smoke like you would (or like I have read to do when making sausages). But I do have a question about this, why is this necessary when doing jerky or sausage, but when doing a brisket, ribs, turkey etc... you want water in there to prevent over drying?

Thanks for the advice/help.


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## daveomak (Feb 15, 2013)

KMK, Afternoon...   I don't recommend moisture on any meat when smoking....  Moisture and smoke make acid rain.. and at times the mix makes the food taste acrid....  Meats usually need a dry skin, pellicle, to absorb smoke properly....  I know, some folks swear by a water pan and also say the meat needs to be moist to absorb a lot of smoke....   well, I'm not of that opinion....  Everyone smokes meats in a different style....

+++++

_I have made jerky a lot mostly deer and beef, but I will make jerky out of just about anything (all in a dehydrator)._

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Do you put water in the dehydrator when trying to dry jerky ??

Sounds to me, you are trying to dry the jerky and add natural smoke to it....  

Dave

PM to follow....


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