I love this thing!

Freak

The BGE never ceases to amaze me. I am making beef jerky again and I have been able to stabilize the BGE at 150. (Help from Mickey T's #1 ring and the daisey wheel). A little tweaking here and there, I can keep it in the 150-160 range.[p]I love this thing![p]-Tom

WooDoggies

Freak,[p]Some specifics please....
How did you build your fire, how much lump did you use, did you build up to temp, what are your vent settings, are you using the #1 ring under the daisy wheel, how long have you been maintaining that temp, how long between tweaks to keep the temp and how long do you plan the cook to be?
While you're at it........what recipe are you using and your preferred wood for smoke?[p]Just curious.... thanks. :~)[p]John

Freak

WooDoggies,[p]Ok - lot's of questions but here we go:[p]Build: lump up to the top of the side holes, slightly mounded. Top lit fire with dry mesquite chunks on top.[p]Setup: Fire, Plate setter, drip pan[p]Fire: totally open until temp hits 150. Then placed #1 ring with daisey wheel on top. Wheel covers the hole in the ring, but all vents are open. Bottom vent still 100% open. That changes to about half during the cook. Just depends on where the temp is.[p]Right now, the temp has been solid at 150 for 3 hours. I check about every 20-30 minutes during the first hour and a half. Then about every two or so. I have been thinking about buying the BBQGuru so I don't have to fuss with the tweaking. I think the lowest temp it will maintain is 175. Which is almost perfect temp for jerky IMHO)[p]BTW: I use pizza screens to lay-out the beef. the setup for that is drip pan, spacers, screen, jerky, spacers, screen, jerky, etc.[p]The cook should take about 10-12 hours. But that depends how dry you like your jerky.[p]I can't remember where I got the basic recipe (someone on the form) but everybody loves it. I like mine spicey.[p]Here is is:[p]Soy Sauce -1 cup
Light Brown Sugar - 3/4 cup
Dark Molasses - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1 tablespoon
Onion Powder - 1 teaspoon
Ground Black Pepper (butcher type) - 2 teaspoons
White Pepper - 2 teaspoons
Chipolte powder - 2 teaspoons
Garlic Powder - 2 teaspoons
Habenero Pepper - 1/2 teaspoon
Crushed Red Pepper 2 tablespoons[p]I marinated the meat over night.[p]-Tom[p]

Freak

WooDoggies,[p]Still 150 degrees - rock solid - no tweaks -[p]:-)[p]-Tom

WooDoggies

Freak,[p]Thank you for the details on maintaining those low temps........ I remember Mop posting that he was only able to use a handful of lump at a time for the same temps you seem to be easily keeping with your full firebox.
I'd be curious to hear how long that amount will last you at the 160 range and if you have to refill before the cook is done.[p]Thanks for the recipe and cheers![p]John

jwitheld

Freak, by using the meat set point the guru will maintain lower by ramping down the pit temp.

Freak

WooDoggies,[p]The cook ended at 10:30 last night. The egg was rock solid at 150 still. The last time I checked the temp was at 6:00pm. I did not add lump during the cook. I will be cooking ribs today, so i will take a lot at was was left of the lump.[p]-Tom

Freak

jwitheld,[p]What would be an example of the temp stteings? With the jerky meat so thin, were to you place the probe? I am getting ready to buy, so the info might probably push me over the edge! Besides, my 40th is next Saturday, so there's a good excuse, too![p]Thx,[p]Tom