How Long to Cook Beef Jerky in Electric Smoker
Normally in low and ho-hum BBQ, dry protein is not the near desired outcome – unless of course, you're making Jerky!
I'm going to show you how a couple of dissimilar methods to create flavorsome, succulent beefiness jerky that'south not overly chewy or tough.
I'll too talk you through choosing your protein, the correct manner to slice to ensure your jerky isn't tough, and a perfect marinade that's only the right combo for classic beef jerky.
Once you've made it, y'all'll exist getting requests from everyone (and y'all'll never want to swallow Jack Links hasty again).
Beef Hasty 101
Drying and/or curing meat is an age-old method of preserving meat, going back centuries.
Jerky in item comes from a South American tribe called Quechua, originally office of the ancient Inca empire.
The word derives from the word "ch'arki", which means 'to burn'. Fortunately, nosotros won't be burning any meat today, only nosotros will be using similar techniques to dry the meat.
I find that the smoker is the best way to make beefiness jerky, merely I have a modern twist that helps brand the process a trivial easier.
This jerky makes for a keen snack, just can also be used for an crawly DIY gift.
What kind of meat do y'all use to brand hasty?
Traditionally, Jerky is fabricated from beefiness, but I've experimented with all kinds of meat, including more exotic varieties like elk hasty, venison jerky and good erstwhile Aussie kangaroo jerky!
I've had success with all kinds of meats, and some that have been a flake hit and miss (crocodile jerky, anyone??), just feel free to experiment and let us know what wins you've had in the comments section beneath.
The main affair to recollect is that your cut of meat needs to be very lean – this is why kangaroo and venison are great dissimilar cuts to employ to brand hasty.
If you lot are making beef jerky, I recommend using an economical topside (or Round cutting).
You could use filet, simply you could also have your butler's mitt feed you caviar if yous're spending that kind of money on meat for hasty.
So why is choosing a lean cutting better, and not, say, a Wagyu MB9 brisket or New York Strip?
Fatty = season, right? That's what I've always been told.
Fat simply doesn't dry out properly, meaning your finished production can plow rancid pretty quickly. Also, y'all don't want your jerky to take oily, chewy bits of fatty running through it.
The best temperature to smoke beef jerky at
The platonic temperature to smoke beef jerky at is between 160-180°F. This allows the beefiness to dehydrate, without being cooked. You lot can go up to 200°F and you should be OK but much hotter and you run the chance of drying out your jerky.
Making your own beef jerky
I'll run through my full process for smoking my own beef jerky. At that place's plenty of debate on if it's better to fume or dehydrate hasty.
I like to practise both!
I start the process in the smoker to get the extra flavor and and so finish my jerky off in a dehydrator. Yous can do information technology all in the smoker if you lot don't take one.
What you will demand
- A smoker or BBQ capable of low and slow BBQ
- A dehydrator (non essential, but makes it a lot less easily on)
- A large plastic bowl
- Smoking wood – blood-red, pecan or oak are all good
- A sharp pocketknife
- Ingredients for marinade
- Selected protein
Making your beefiness hasty marinade
You lot'll want to prepare your marinade the night before you programme on making your beefiness jerky. Marinating overnight ensures the tastiest possible outcome.
For beefiness (or any lean blood-red meat), mix the following into a large plastic bowl – it's important not to employ a metal basin equally the acids in the marinade can react and spoil your meat – the amounts shown are for around ii.5lbs of beef round.
- one/2 loving cup soy sauce
- 1/two cup Worcestershire sauce
- ane/2 cup brown sugar
- ane/2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- one tsp salt
- one tsp black pepper
Preparing your beef
Now, really importantly, you'll want to slice your protein against the grain. This volition ensure that your last jerky has a nice bite through, without existence super tough.
That's the thing with jerky; when you practice information technology properly, it should really be a flake soft and with some give when you seize with teeth through information technology.
You don't want to be tugging it with your teeth similar some super chewy toffee. If you slice with the grain, y'all'll end up with stringy, tough, and super chewy jerky.
And whilst that will still sense of taste great, information technology'll be a big jaw workout for yous!
I similar to slice my jerky about 1/3″ wide, and effectually half that thick. That is to say that the grain should run left to correct (or right to left) across the widest office of your piece.
Once you've sliced all your protein, mix it all together into the plastic bowl with your prepared marinade and embrace with cling wrap, and identify in the fridge overnight.
Smoking your beefiness jerky
You'll want to prepare your smoker super low for this. Y'all don't want to cook the meat, the smoking process is really about dehydrating it and remove all the moisture.
If you smoke at too high a temp, and you'll cook and burn the meat. Besides low and you won't be able to effectively remove the moisture. Unless you want to spotter your smoker for 3 days. I like to aim for effectually 140-160°F.
Some smokers tin struggle to hit these low temperatures, which is why electrical smokers are pop with home hasty makers.
At that place are a couple of methods that I use to brand jerky, both are time heavy, only one of them is adequately easily-off. Either method volition consequence in admittedly incredible jerky.
Seriously, the first time I fabricated jerky years ago, I was amazed at how much better it was than store-bought. And I honey shop-bought…
Apply a smoker and dehydrator
Dehydrators are fairly cheap to purchase now, and they aren't only a one-trick pony.
That is to say that you lot won't simply employ it for hasty – although even if information technology IS all you utilise it for, it's still worth information technology!
I use my dehydrator for fruit for snacks for my kids, or on the rare occasion I'g trying to lie to myself about eating healthy snacks I'll exercise kiwi or banana in the dehydrator for a great energy-rich snack.
TOP Choice
Even so, let's become dorsum to what nosotros're here for – delicious jerky!
Set your smoker upward at a super low temp – 160°F is what I like to aim for. This low temp can be difficult to control on some smokers, especially offsets, so if you creep upward to 200°F or so, that's ok.
Try to go on information technology as low as you can – but don't stress over temp if you lot're a bit over, you're still going to produce amend jerky than you tin can buy in Walmart.
Have your marinated meat out of the fridge, and hither'south a tip – use wire cooling racks to lay out your strips of meat. This makes it easier to get into and out of your smoker in quantity and also ways you tin stack multiple racks on peak of each other if yous're doing majority amounts – which you will want to.
Lay out all your strips of marinated meat on your cooling rack – taking care not to allow pieces to touch – then smoke using your favorite smoking wood. I have had great results with oak, hickory and pecan, as well as Ironbark, which is an Australian hardwood similar to Oak.
I like to give the protein a couple of hours to take on a overnice smoke and so for my lazy method, I pull them out of the smoker and load them into the dehydrator at 160°F for around 5-vi hours.
You can leave it in longer if yous want to, but I adopt the texture at this time.
If you don't have a dehydrator then just go out it in your smoker for the total time, but try to use charcoal lump or briquettes for a cleaner fire rather than woods, every bit I've establish there is such a matter every bit TOO smokey. I know, crazy hey?
Once you're happy, leave to cool and either keep in a sealed container in the fridge or vacseal and keep in a cool place.
Enjoy equally a delicious snack with a beer or two watching Football, or if you're stupid, take to work and spend the side by side weekend making for all your workmates who now want to place orders for jerky!! I call back y'all tin can guess which camp I'g in!
Thanks, mate.
- 2.5 lbs beefiness round
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 1 tsp common salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
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Slice the meat against the grain into i/iii" strips.
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Mix the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl.
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Add your meat to he marinade, encompass and place in the fridge overnight.
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Next day fix your smoker to 160°F.
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Place the meat on to wire racks and smoke for 2 hours, then remove and place into the dehydrator at 160°F for a further 5-half dozen hours. If y'all are non using a dehydrator smoke for seven-8 hours in the smoker.
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Cool, then place in a sealed container in the refrigerator and savour!
Sodium: 1082 mg | Calcium: 49 mg | Vitamin C: 2 mg | Vitamin A: 27 IU | Sugar: 12 grand | Fiber: one g | Potassium: 542 mg | Cholesterol: 70 mg | Calories: 220 kcal | Saturated Fatty: ii g | Fat: half-dozen k | Protein: 26 yard | Carbohydrates: xiv g | Iron: 3 mg
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Source: https://www.smokedbbqsource.com/smoked-beef-jerky/
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