jerkey in a smoker

[hunterjames]

i was just wondering if there was some good recipees to make some deer jerkey in a smoker. any help would be greatley appreaciated.

[Kidd]

You have a ton of options when it comes to making Jerky, and it’s easy; here’s a suggestion:

If you’ve made jerky before, skip to step 2.

Step 1:

First a few basic steps, soak you’re meat in brine (easy fellow’s), I typically just put enough water into a bowl to cover the meat, add 1 cup salt, one cup of sugar, hand stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Cover bowl and put in refrigerator overnight (or 4 – 6 hours). Remove meat from brine and put back into refrigerator. Let stand for an hour or so, until you see a shiny film on the meat, remove from refrigerator and get the meat to room temperature. One item of note; remember that the meat shrinks (OK, go ahead and insert Rosy O’Donnell joke here) while smoking so cut your pieces accordingly.

Step 2:

You can buy some good rub at Rainbow, Cub, Menards etc, read the ingredients, find a couple that sound good, and apply as directed. If you want, you can make jerky out of hamburger or any cheap meat, without going through all the trouble in step one, and get an idea of which rub you like best. Just put the rub on the meat and smoke. You might find that combining a few of these rubs will produce a flavor that you like best. For example, my favorite is combining a Cajun rub with the teriyaki rub. Once you have your rub, the rest is easy.

Step 3:

I use a charcoal smoker and Oak for jerky as I think a heaver smoke keeps it’s flavor longer and jerky is something that might be in my freezer for a few months. Smoke on low heat and, depending on the size of your pieces, keep a close eye on it. My first batch ever was a disaster because I cut the meat to thin and it ended up burning.

I know this is a bit long winded but hang in there, were almost done. The last thing I do is; once the meat is about done I will brush a teriyaki and honey sauce on the meat and let it finish cooking, say about another 20 – 30 minutes. It just seems to add a little more flavor.

Good luck.