Can U Make Beef Jerky in a Smoker
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Fire up that smoker and get ready to have some smokey flavored beef in about 7 hours! This Tennessee Smoked Beef Jerky is a packed with great flavor which is even more enhanced by the natural smoke.
My wife and I had made a trip down to my parents a couple of weeks ago to do some fishing and relaxing. I decided to take along my smoker and make some tasty jerky while we enjoyed the warm March weather. Well the weekend was a success! We caught some reds and trout and the jerky turned out great as well! Here is a picture of my father and I holding a couple of Redfish we caught.
If I had enough time I would have smoked up a couple fillets of Redfish too!
Slicing The Jerky
Before heading to my parents, I sliced and made the marinades for the jerky I was going to make. I used a pound of Eye of Round Beef Roast and trimmed as much fat as possible.
Slice the meat either with the grain for a tougher chew or against the grain for a more tender jerky.
Drying The Jerky
We drove down to Corpus Christi from Austin with the beef marinating in our cooler so it would be ready to smoke the next day. I started the smoker at about 2pm and had the temperature up to 160°F. The beef was drained and dried off with paper towels.
Toothpicks were pierced through one end so I could hang the meat to achieve an even dry. The meat was placed in my Masterbuilt Smoker WITHOUT smoke for the first 1.5 hours. This allowed the meat to "sweat" out some marinade and water weight.
*The Tennessee Jerky is the dark jerky on the right. (plain white toothpicks) I made two batches of jerky while down at my parents. The other one is Tequila Beef Jerky which also turned out quite well. I will post the recipe on the website soon.
After that 1.5 hours, I filled the wood tray with soaked wood chips and bumped the temperature up to 200°F.
The raise in temperature was to help get the wood chips smoking. If the temperature is left too low on my smoker, the chips won't produce a good smoke. I let these burn out and did not add anymore smoke to the jerky. These chips smoked for about 45 minutes.
The temperature was lowered back down to 160°F and the jerky left to dry for another 4 hours, checking every so often. (I don't have many pictures because it got dark out. I'll start smoking a little earlier next time...) How did it turn out? Really Good! The smoke flavor went perfect with the salty soy sauce. I really liked this recipe and LOVE making jerky in my smoker!
FAQ
How long will the jerky last?
It depends on whether you used curing salt or not as well as how you packaged it once it was finished drying. Check out my Storing Jerky page for everything you need to know about storing jerky.
Can I use a pellet grill to smoke jerky?
Definitely! Pellet grills are great for smoking jerky. Set grill to 200F and smoke for about 3 hours. Check if it's finished and continue smoking until done.
How long does it take to smoke jerky?
I have found that in my electric smoker it takes 4-8 hours and only 3-5 hours when using a pellet grill.
Old Pro Tips:
- Marinate meat for at least 6 hours for the best flavor. 24 hours is recommended
- Applewood and Hickory wood works great for making jerky
- You want a clean blue smoke If a white smoke is coming from the smoker, increase the temperature of the smoker. This white smoke can create a bitter taste within the meat.
- Visit my Making Jerky with a Smoker page for more detailed instructions on how to make jerky in a smoker
- Start early and grab a couple beers to pass the time during the smoking stage!
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How to Make Beef Jerky in a Dehydrator
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Slicing Meat for Beef Jerky
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The Ultimate Beef Jerky Recipe
Servings: 5
Calories: 187 kcal
Marinade
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup cold water
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoon cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon Prague Powder #1 (curing salt)
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Trim all visible fat from the beef, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
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While the meat is in the freezer, combine the soy sauce, worcestershire, water, cane sugar, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and curing salt in a bowl or ziplock bag and mix well.
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Remove the meat from the freezer and slice ¼" strips against the grain. Slice with the grain for a chewier jerky. Or skip the freezing phase and use a Jerky Slicer for even sliced strips.
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Add sliced beef to the mixture and marinate for 6-24 hours in the refrigerator.
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After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and strain excess marinade.
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Pat dry the strips with paper towels.
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I used my Masterbuilt Smoker to make this batch of jerky, with the instructions in the body of this post. You can also use a Pellet Grill to smoke jerky.
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If using a Pellet Grill. Set the temperature to 200F and let smoke for 3 hours. Start checking if it's finished and continue until done.
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The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half. Allow the jerky to cool for 5 minutes before performing this bend test. If you bend when it's warm, it will seem like the jerky is not finished when it actually is resulting in over drying.
- Marinate meat for at least 6 hours for the best flavor. 24 hours is recommended
- Applewood and Hickory wood works great for making jerky
- You want a clean blue smoke If a white smoke is coming from the smoker, increase the temperature of the smoker. This white smoke can create a bitter taste within the meat.
- Visit my Making Jerky with a Smoker page for more detailed instructions on how to make jerky in a smoker
- Start early and grab a couple beers to pass the time during the smoking stage!
Calories: 187 kcal | Carbohydrates: 3 g | Protein: 26 g | Fat: 6 g | Saturated Fat: 2 g | Cholesterol: 70 mg | Sodium: 715 mg | Potassium: 269 mg | Sugar: 2 g | Vitamin A: 195 IU | Vitamin C: 0.4 mg | Calcium: 11 mg | Iron: 2.7 mg
Let us know how it was!
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Source: https://www.jerkyholic.com/tennessee-smoked-beef-jerky/
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