Questions about jerky

I would use about 1 chunk of Hickory for 2 pound batch. That is a small amount to do. But good practice.....

I would think the amount of time it takes and wood needed depends on the size of the load you have smoking.

I'd say 1 ounce of hickory would do you just fine. I've made venison & beef sticks before, but I wasn't real happy with the results. Maybe somebody else will post a good recipe. I just used a summer sausage recipe. Good Luck!

Dr. Mac.....

Here is a link to my jerky page. The recipe you see has been refined over the last 25 years. I know, I know...I am a very slow learner! LOL

Anyway, more recipes at the link on the bottom of the page.

Stogie's Jerky Page

I've made beef sticks from my Summer Sausage Recipe without the whole mustard seed and been pretty happy. I also used ground turkey instead of beef with fair success. Be careful to smoke-cook only until they are done - 30-45 minutes should be plenty.

Keep in mind, though, that I was looking for a sort of sausagey result, not dry like jerky. These probably would not keep well outside the fridge.

tjr

Are you saying these beef stick should only take about 30 - 45 minutes to smoke ?

And i dont know what you mean when you said to "smoke-cook" only

I ground up the meat last night and seasoned it .. making about 3 lbs ..

I was going to put them in with the jerky however now i am thinking with the time to do the beef sticks first ..then the jerky ..

I guess that was sort of confusing - what I meant was as a modification to the recipe procedure. Here's a better explanation:

Empty woodbox of any remaining wood and ash. Hang sticks in smoker. Set smoker to 100F. Leave smoker door about 1" ajar. Cook until casings seem "tacky" - no moisture on outside.

Chop 2 oz wood into little sticks - pencil to matchstick size. Put in woodbox. Set smoker to 125F. Close door. Smoke 3 hours.

Set smoker to 175F. Continue smoking until sausage is fully cooked (at least 150F (for beef anyway)).

It's tough to measure internal temperature of the little beef sticks, but they seem plenty done after 30-45 minutes for 18mm sticks. Smoking longer makes them too chewy for my taste. They're pretty warm from the 3 hours at 125F to begin with.

2.5" diameter summer sausage takes 2-3 hours at 175F to get to 150F internal. It's possible to smoke longer and get a drier sausage that still slices well - just sort of depends on what you like.

I do the first step to dry the casings because I've read that applying smoke to wet casings is bad - causes streaks and inconsistent flavor. Maybe someone with more sausage experience will chime in on this.

For jerky, you'll probably just smoke at 175F or 200F for at least 4 hours if not more.

One more thought - some books say to mix sausage and stuff immediately, because the salt makes the mixture quite a bit stiffer. It'll be interesting to see if you have trouble stuffing the little guys.

Thanks .. for your feedback

What would happen if i just used a jerky gun and put those rolls if you will on the screen for smoking that might help not having to stuff them no ?

I guess i was surprised at the time difference between the beef sticks and the jerky not understanding why the beef sticks would be done so fast in comparison to the jerky i have done ..

I made some jerky. It about killed me. Became decayed; caused me all manner of gastrointestinal distress.

Is jerky ever done? It looked like shoeleather, but it was still brewing up salmonella.

Dang, but that was bad. You don't want to hear the details.

i2!!

No cure???? When doing jerky I always use a cure..some say enough salt will work, but I feel safer with a cure.

I cook mine at around 150-170� which is above the danger zone....HOWEVER.....I know the beef sits in that danger zone for much more than 4 hours.

I use 1/3 cup of TQ per 5 lbs. of meat OR 1 Tablespoon per pound of meat.

Sorry to hear about your illness! I went thru that many years ago....got the whole family(Mom and Dad too) sick on Chinese food. Honest to God, it took me a full 3 years to eat Chinese again!

S.B.: Maybe my idea of beef sticks isn't the same as your idea. Mine are like little summer sausages - thoroughly cooked, but not dried out. So the cooking time is different because jerky has to dry out - it's probably cooked through within the first hour or less, but still very moist.

Maybe what you're going for is more like what I'd call ground meat jerky or if in casings, landjaegers. Perhaps one of the other folks'll chime in with a recipe.