Can You Make Smoked Beef Jerky
Normally in low and boring BBQ, dry poly peptide is not the about desired outcome – unless of course, you're making Jerky!
I'1000 going to show you how a couple of dissimilar methods to create flavorsome, delicious beef jerky that's non overly chewy or tough.
I'll also talk you through choosing your protein, the right way to slice to ensure your hasty isn't tough, and a perfect marinade that's but the right combo for classic beef jerky.
Once you've made information technology, y'all'll be getting requests from everyone (and you'll never want to eat Jack Links jerky again).
Beef Hasty 101
Drying and/or curing meat is an age-old method of preserving meat, going back centuries.
Hasty in particular comes from a South American tribe called Quechua, originally part of the ancient Inca empire.
The give-and-take derives from the word "ch'arki", which means 'to burn'. Fortunately, nosotros won't be burning any meat today, but we will exist using similar techniques to dry the meat.
I find that the smoker is the all-time mode to make beef jerky, but I have a modern twist that helps make the process a little easier.
This hasty makes for a neat snack, but tin also exist used for an awesome DIY gift.
What kind of meat do yous use to make hasty?
Traditionally, Jerky is made from beef, but I've experimented with all kinds of meat, including more exotic varieties like elk jerky, venison jerky and good old Aussie kangaroo jerky!
I've had success with all kinds of meats, and some that have been a bit hit and miss (crocodile jerky, anyone??), but feel free to experiment and let us know what wins you've had in the comments section below.
The main thing to remember is that your cut of meat needs to exist very lean – this is why kangaroo and venison are nifty unlike cuts to employ to make hasty.
If you lot are making beef hasty, I recommend using an economical topside (or Round cut).
Y'all could use filet, but yous could also take your butler's hand feed y'all caviar if you're spending that kind of coin on meat for hasty.
And then why is choosing a lean cut better, and not, say, a Wagyu MB9 brisket or New York Strip?
Fat = flavor, right? That'due south what I've e'er been told.
Fatty just doesn't dry out properly, meaning your finished product can turn rancid pretty quickly. Also, you don't want your hasty to have oily, chewy $.25 of fatty running through it.
The best temperature to smoke beef jerky at
The ideal temperature to fume beef jerky at is between 160-180°F. This allows the beef to dehydrate, without being cooked. You tin get upwardly to 200°F and you should exist OK but much hotter and you lot run the risk of drying out your hasty.
Making your own beef jerky
I'll run through my full process for smoking my own beef jerky. There'due south plenty of contend on if information technology's improve to smoke or dehydrate hasty.
I like to do both!
I offset the process in the smoker to go the actress flavor and then end my jerky off in a dehydrator. You lot can do it all in the smoker if you lot don't have one.
What you volition need
- A smoker or BBQ capable of low and dull BBQ
- A dehydrator (not essential, simply makes it a lot less easily on)
- A large plastic basin
- Smoking wood – cherry, pecan or oak are all good
- A sharp knife
- Ingredients for marinade
- Selected protein
Making your beef jerky marinade
You'll want to set up your marinade the dark before y'all program on making your beef hasty. Marinating overnight ensures the tastiest possible outcome.
For beef (or any lean red meat), mix the post-obit into a large plastic bowl – information technology's important non to utilize a metal bowl as the acids in the marinade tin react and spoil your meat – the amounts shown are for around 2.5lbs of beef round.
- 1/ii cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
- i/two cup brown saccharide
- one/two tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- one tsp salt
- 1 tsp blackness pepper
Preparing your beef
Now, really importantly, you'll desire to slice your protein against the grain. This will ensure that your final hasty has a overnice bite through, without being super tough.
That'southward the affair with jerky; when you do it properly, it should actually be a scrap soft and with some requite when you bite through it.
You don't want to be tugging it with your teeth like some super chewy toffee. If you piece with the grain, you'll stop up with stringy, tough, and super chewy hasty.
And whilst that volition still gustation keen, information technology'll exist a big jaw workout for you!
I similar to slice my jerky about i/3″ wide, and around half that thick. That is to say that the grain should run left to right (or right to left) across the widest part of your piece.
In one case you've sliced all your protein, mix it all together into the plastic bowl with your prepared marinade and cover with cling wrap, and place in the fridge overnight.
Smoking your beef jerky
You'll want to ready your smoker super low for this. You don't desire to cook the meat, the smoking process is really about dehydrating it and remove all the wet.
If you lot smoke at too high a temp, and you'll melt and burn the meat. Too low and you won't exist able to effectively remove the moisture. Unless you want to watch your smoker for iii 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 popular with home jerky makers.
In that location are a couple of methods that I apply to make jerky, both are fourth dimension heavy, merely one of them is fairly hands-off. Either method will result in admittedly incredible jerky.
Seriously, the first fourth dimension I made jerky years ago, I was amazed at how much better information technology was than store-bought. And I love store-bought…
Use a smoker and dehydrator
Dehydrators are adequately cheap to buy now, and they aren't just a one-trick pony.
That is to say that you won't just use it for hasty – although even if it IS all you use it for, information technology's still worth it!
I use my dehydrator for fruit for snacks for my kids, or on the rare occasion I'chiliad trying to prevarication to myself near eating healthy snacks I'll do kiwi or assistant in the dehydrator for a great energy-rich snack.
TOP PICK
Notwithstanding, let'due south get dorsum to what nosotros're here for – succulent hasty!
Set your smoker up 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 pitter-patter upward to 200°F or then, that's ok.
Try to keep it every bit depression as you tin – but don't stress over temp if you're a flake over, you're yet going to produce better jerky than you tin can buy in Walmart.
Take your marinated meat out of the fridge, and here's 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 means you can stack multiple racks on top of each other if you're doing bulk amounts – which you will desire to.
Lay out all your strips of marinated meat on your cooling rack – taking intendance not to allow pieces to touch – then smoke using your favorite smoking forest. I take had slap-up results with oak, hickory and pecan, besides as Ironbark, which is an Australian hardwood like to Oak.
I like to give the poly peptide a couple of hours to take on a nice smoke and then for my lazy method, I pull them out of the smoker and load them into the dehydrator at 160°F for around 5-6 hours.
Yous can leave information technology in longer if yous want to, but I prefer the texture at this time.
If you don't have a dehydrator then merely exit it in your smoker for the total time, simply try to utilize charcoal lump or briquettes for a cleaner burn rather than wood, equally I've found at that place is such a thing every bit TOO smokey. I know, crazy hey?
One time you're happy, leave to absurd and either proceed in a sealed container in the fridge or vacseal and keep in a cool place.
Enjoy as a delicious snack with a beer or two watching Football, or if you're stupid, accept to piece of work and spend the next weekend making for all your workmates who now want to place orders for hasty!! I think you lot can guess which military camp I'm in!
Cheers, mate.
- 2.5 lbs beef round
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup brownish sugar
- ½ tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- i tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
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Slice the meat against the grain into 1/3" strips.
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Mix the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl.
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Add together your meat to he marinade, cover and place in the fridge overnight.
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Next twenty-four hours fix your smoker to 160°F.
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Identify the meat on to wire racks and smoke for 2 hours, then remove and identify into the dehydrator at 160°F for a further 5-6 hours. If you are non using a dehydrator fume for seven-8 hours in the smoker.
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Cool, so identify in a sealed container in the fridge and enjoy!
Sodium: 1082 mg | Calcium: 49 mg | Vitamin C: 2 mg | Vitamin A: 27 IU | Sugar: 12 g | Fiber: 1 m | Potassium: 542 mg | Cholesterol: lxx mg | Calories: 220 kcal | Saturated Fat: 2 g | Fatty: 6 g | Poly peptide: 26 1000 | Carbohydrates: 14 g | Iron: iii mg
Tag @smokedbbqsource on Instagram and so nosotros can admire your work!
Source: https://www.smokedbbqsource.com/smoked-beef-jerky/
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