Ground Venison Jerky - Smoker

[pikestabber]

Just looking for smoke time and temp info. Whatever tips you have are appreciated.

My plan...

Keep it at 155-160 with heavy smoke for an hour, then just maintain this heat until it is dry. Maybe crank up the heat the last half hour. I plan to rotate racks hourly and flip the strips at least once during the process. Thoughts on that process? Thanks!

[DonBo]

I haven't done a lot of jerky in the smoker yet, but your plan sounds good. I like a heavier smoke flavor so I'll keep the smoke going longer. I think the only other thing is to keep the vent open to get rid of as much moisture as possible.

Last time I did it, I tried to keep the temp at 200, and it was done in just about 3 hours. I used whole muscle meat cut pretty thin instead of the ground, but can't imagine times would be much different.

[pikestabber]

Thanks, DonBo. I imagine this might be a little trial and error, but we'll see how it goes.

[pikestabber]

Well, it turned out pretty darn awesome, actually. I smoked it with heavy smoke (mesquite) throughout and it had just a perfect amount of smoke flavor. I did it at 165-170 for about 4.5 hours and the texture was really good. I ended up using my vertical stuffer to push out jerky "logs" that I pressed between wax paper into 2" x 6"-7" by 3/8" thick pieces and they really made for a hearty strip of jerky. I will do it this way again for sure.

[eyeguy 54]

sounds like fun. just straight ground V and then the smoker or some spices in the meat? I might try a pound with cherry wood for fun.

[pikestabber]

I definitely added plenty of seasonings, etc. I used a homemade recipe for a sweet and hot style jerky (posted below). It was strange...I tried the mixture before it went into the meat and it was sweet, then heat crept in (which is what I wanted). I mixed it into the meat and fried a sample and it was WAY too sweet with minimal heat. I went ahead with it hoping the smoke would temper the sweet and perhaps cook out some of the sugars, and the final product was sweet at first, but not too sweet, followed by a nice creeping heat. I am reluctant to change the recipe, but I would consider cutting back the brown sugar to 3/4 of a cup and adding a tablespoon more of red pepper flakes. I used 4.5 pounds as it will all fit in my 5lb stuffer at one time.

SMOKED VENISON JERKY

• 4.5 lbs Venison, coarse ground

• 1 level teaspoon Instacure

• 1 T. black pepper

• 2 T. sea salt

• 1 T. Cajun powder

• 1 T. Louisiana Cajun seasoning (or Tony Chachere's)

• 1 T. crushed red pepper

• 1 T. onion powder

• 1 T. garlic powder

• 1 cup light brown sugar

• 1/2 c. water

Mix all seasonings and sugar (everything listed but the venison) into the water until well incorporated. Mix this slurry into the coarse ground venison for 10 minutes. Regrind with a fine plate. Press into a plastic bowl or meat lug and cover tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. Shoot out of a stuffing tube and roll between wax paper to flatten (or use a jerky cannon, etc). Load greased racks and smoke at 165-170 until dry or the desired texture is reached (for my thicker strips it took 4.5 hours, thinner strips would be done much sooner...I would think 2.5 to 3 hours). I did rotate racks each hour (top to bottom, etc.), and I flipped all strips about the halfway point. It is cured because of the Instacure, but I chose to store in the fridge. The final texture was a pliable, hearty strip that is the closest to muscle jerky I have ever had using ground meat.

I smoked with the vents wide open and used Mesquite wood pellets. I am absolutely convinced that pellets are 10x better than chips after using them the past several times. No soaking, they smoke at a lower temp, and they last a long time before you have to add more. Check them out if you haven't (all regular flavors are available).

[nofishfisherman]

Sounds pretty good. I'm thinking about doing some venison jerky this year and might need to try this. I was planning on doing thin strips but maybe i'll go with the ground idea if possible.

[eyeguy 54]

Thx, I'll give it a shot but will use Hi Mountain and chips. :>) I'll have to get some kind of screen for my smoker. I have a Big Chief in the garage. Gonna get it out and set t by the masterbuilt. It goes to 165 so should work great... I hope lol

[eyeguy 54]

how about screening? what you guys use? 28 bucks to order 5 for my big chief... not gonna do that.

[pikestabber]

I have a Camp Chef smoke vault that came with three screen racks and two wire racks. I bought a two pack of screen racks for it for $15 I think... I don't know about the thinner ground jerky strips, but I am confident the thicker strips I made would have held up to the wire racks, too. Of course, it's too late to go back if you try it and they do slide through or contort. Hmmm... Not sure. I hope others can help you out.

[nofishfisherman]

I've got a batch of ground venison jerky in the charcoal smoker right now. I did the first batch in the oven while the game was on and that turned out really well so I have even higher hopes for the smoked batch. I've got it in at about 175 but since its charcoal and a little temperamental to maintain the heat in the cold I think I'll smoke it for an hour or so and then finish it off in the oven.

I ended up just going with the backwoods premade seasoning mix for my first attempt and I thought it was pretty good. Even my wife who is not a venison fan thought it was good.