Jerky Help Please

Steve-B

I have my jerky on the egg right. It was a almost a 4 lb top round piece. The egg is sitting at 180 all afternoon. The meat is hanging on toothpicks on an elevated grid with a heat shield in place. How long should this take? Also, how will I know when it is done?[p]Steve-B

Borders

Steve-B, How long depends on how thick the jerky is. If it's been on all afternoon, take one piece off, let it cool and eat it.[p]1/4 inch Jerky in an 150 degree dehydrator takes 10-12 hours. If your grid temps are about 160, which they should be at 180 dome temp, figure 6-10 hours.[p]When jerky is done, it's dark and hard. You don't want it soft and pliable and you dont want it crispy and brittle.[p]There is a large margin of error, and it all tastes good.
Let us know the final results and what the final stats were.

eggor

Steve-B,
i think 180 is a pretty low temp for the jerky. nothing wrong with that it will just take longer to finish. consider puling off the grill before you think it has dried enough, test after it has cooled a bit. it can always go back on but you can't rehydrate that meat. it will continue to dry out if you pull it a little early. but if you bag the jerky and see a lot of moistire condensate the meat will spoil quickly. it is a learning curve.