Just did first smoke!

Rich, did a search of all forums for jerky and came up with 180 hits. Here is a place to start:

http://forum.cookshackamerica.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cg...;f=3;t=002136#000000

i did hi mtn. jerky last week turned out great my frist try i did refridgerate it at frist but did not tast good so i took it out and it was gone in 2 days did not get sick also i opened the door to let more air in cus its was putting out alot of steam. jeff

Rick sorry for the quick reply, was getting late.

I have done the Hi Mtn jerky and several from Stogie's web site (Kevi's Jerky). Both came out good. The Hi Mtn is easier and Stogie's gives a feeling of doing it from scratch and has more opportunity to adjust to taste.

The cookshack retains moisture very weel so after getting the cookeer to temp I usually leave the door cracked to let the moisture out. ALso I have found that hanging the jerky gives me better results and I do not have to turn the meat during the cook. Yo ucan hang the meat between the racks with a skewwer or tooth picks or use jerky rods.

If eager to get started, try the "Venison Jerky" recipe in the booklet that comes with the smoker, using beef if you like. It's not bad, tho I use at least twice as much pepper.

Thanks again all! Can I just hang the jerky over the "spokes" in the grills that came with my Smokette?

Rick201m:
[You can hang the jerky between the "spokes" in the grills. Just use a skewer or toothpicks to hold them in place. If hanging over the spokes, the jerky may fall through.

No need to open the door. The unit has to give off some steam through the smoke hole as part of the drying process in making jerky. If you open the door, it just delays the process. 200* for 4 hours.

A good compromise might be to open the door a couple times to let the clouds of steam out during the 4-5 hours @ 175F that I usually use. Also, if your jerky seems a bit moist but well-colored at the end, you can just pile it up and let it cool and dry for a few hours before packaging. I use my regular oven (not heated) to let it cool off - keeps the cat from stealing too much jerky.

I guess I don't understand the skewer or toothpick necessity. If I hang the meat over the spokes then how can it fall through?? They'll be hanging over the spoke right? Or am I not thinking about this right? Sorry for the "denseness" here.

Rick, I have found that jerky does better when there is air flow between the pieces. If you are hanging the meat over the spoke, the sides would more than likely touch and get stuck together as the meat dries. Also if there is I have had the meat with no air flow not dry out the same as the rest.

Can anyone tell me how long it would take to cook a 4lb. fryer in my cookshack if I cut it into 8 peices? Your assistance would be appreciated.

2 hours @ 250F maybe, depending on how done you like it. Not a whole lot less than if you didn't cut it into 8 pieces. But always remember, it's done when it's done!

Rick,

You can't go wrong with QDogg's Post..

http://forum.cookshackamerica.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cg..._topic&f=16&t=000142

I have now used Qdoggs method for beef, elk and Buffalo. They have all been great. Bob