My best jerky set-up so far

Unknown

Made jerky today and it went smooooth. I have been using the "elevated stand to support skewers of dangling meat method" with good success, but keeping a low fire without it going out has been a challenge. Today, I decided to go indirect, but with all that dangling meat the plate setter was too high. So, I used what I believe would be considered a set of poor man's grill mates. (Ok, at least a man not prepared and in a hurry.) I bent up a few pieces of scrap aluminum I had laying a round the garage and used them between the fire box and the fire ring. These supported a small pampered chef pizza stone. I only had about 2 inches of used, small charcoal, so the fire wasn't hot enough to damage the stone, but it was large enough to stay lit for eight hours.[p]I had a nice marinade based around soy sauce and molassas spiced with DP cowlich and chipotle powder. mmmmm.[p]Ed

HolySmokes

Ed in TX,[p]What temp were you running at for the 8 hours?
Did you make your own chipotle powder, or what kind did you use...
and do you think it was your best because of the texture, flavor, or ???[p]it sounds great...
tnx, HS[p]

Unknown

HolySmokes,[p]It was best set-up because the temp was stable the whole time. I've had trouble keeping fires going when running low temps (140-180 range.) As far as the best jerky, this was a little over-done. I was stringing wires for the patio lighting and got a bit carried away. The dang egg just kept chugging along at 140 and the beef got a little too dry for my taste.[p]The chipotle powder was just your basic spice island off the shelf.

eggor

<p />Ed in TX,[p]haven't made jerky in almost six months, but it is one of the best things I've made, way better than the dehydrator. sounds like your improvised setup was almost identical to what I used.[p]here's a pic of a little rack I bent up, it works as a jerky rack, grid extender, and if flipped works as an indirect setup with stone.[p]may go get a buffalo roast this afternoon, jerky sounds like a good lazy day cook while I wrench on my old beater jeep i picked up.[p]Scott

Unknown

eggor,[p]That thing is sweet! Mine is a crappy imitation with a bit of home debit steel and a couple of pop rivets. I agree that the hanging meat set-up works great.[p]Ed

jake42

eggor,
Looks good. Just got some jerky seasoning from Cabela's.
Any hints, tips, or recipes?
Thanks

Unknown

jake42,[p]Go to the Naked Whiz site and download the Big Green Egg recipe book compiled by Bill Wise. On page 40 (I have the 2003 version) you will find GFW's River city jerky. To this recipe I added 1/8 cup per pound of tenderquick. I also ommitted the onion powder and added 1 TBSP (or 2) of DP Cowlick. In place of the dried chili arbol's I used a TBSP of Chipotle powder and it's pretty spicy.[p]I read on a website somewhere to cut/trim the meat and leave it in the fridge uncovered for two days to dry before marinating it. I did this and I think it dried a bit quicker (on smoking day) than I anticipated. It may have also absorbed more marinate, but since I jack with the recipe every time, this is only a guess. I used 2 chunks of cherry and 1 chunk of pecan.[p]The elevated rack and the skewers is the key. You can pack a ton of meat on there and get consistent results. I could have fit 5 or 6 pounds of meat on the egg without trouble. The other tip is to have your butcher cut the meat into 1/4 inch thick "steaks" so you can simply cut strips and trim fat.[p]Ed[p][p]

eggor

jake42,[p]I really like the thicker sliced stuff, somewhere between 3/8 and 1/2 inch strips. If you hang the jerky your cook time will be much shorter than putting it in a pile, i guess if you have enough grids or screens you can add spacers and build up.
Season with two different types of seasonings if you have them, there have been a couple that I don't care for, but tastes vary.
Try to keep the temp between 160 and 200 and taste test for doneness after 4 hrs. It should still be pliable after it cools and you'll know if its done. If you bag it and moisture condensates later, it wasn't quite finished, but you can dry it additionally.
Make sure you use the leanest meat you can find and trim ALL the fat, nothing will ruin jerky faster and it isn't very pleasant to eat.[p]One other thing, its not REAL jerky, I think its refered to Kippered. Tastes just like jerky, about the same texture, but you go with higher temps. Somewhere between 200 and 240. [p]Make sure that the meat is sliced as consistant as possible, a meat slicer is on my wishlist.[p]Scott