Talking Jerky!

I have never used your cooker but ice water pan may help

Use less charcoal 4-5 briquette cubes at a time and add more as needed.

If you are using all wood, start with a very small amount of coals, and only add a small chunk as needed.

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If you try again can you post what you did. I would like to try it later myself.

I have a Stumps and run a BBQ guru. I tried Jerky one time and could not keep the temps under 170. My setup is a bit different than yours but a water pan on the bottom rack will help some but like IAMMADMAN said use 4-5 briquettes.

I ended up buying a smoke vault for jerky and beef sticks.

Do you have a dehydrator? Jerky only needs about 1 hour of smoke. The best jerky i have made, and tasted, has been using my smoker for an hour of smoke and finishing off in the dehydrator.

If you dont have a dehydrator you could finish off in a home oven set at 150F

Don't forget to crack the oven door about 1/2" to 3/4" to let moisture escape.

ptysmoker said:

Thanks Guys for the tips! Im going to put less charcoal in and correct me if im wrong, but the whole point about making jerky is to take the moisture out of the meat, if i put a water pan in their wouldn't that evaporate and create a humid environment?

Tomorrow I will pass by my local butcher to grab some meat to make a new batch of jerky!

the batch I had made did not turn out to shabby, some pieces had dried out more than others - on top of that with the higher heat it dried out faster than it should have.


Greetings from Panama!

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Follow what IAMMADMAN says. I always build a small fire just to warm up the chamber. Then when temps start to drop to under 150 I add a couple of fist-sized chunks of wood. This barely keeps the fire going but provides smoke. I do this for a couple hours then "crank" the temps up to 170-200 until the jerky is pliable but doesn't break when you bend it. If it bends too easily you have to let it go longer.

This method is ONLY to be used if you are curing the jerky with curing salts.

Years ago I got a Bradley electric smoker for Christmas. It works really well. In more recent years it's been pretty much sidelined as I've been cooking and smoking in kettles and a WSM. I still use it for 2 things: Canned whole tomatoes (I usually put them in a loaf pan), which get pureed and then used as a base for BBQ sauce, go into chili, etc. I also use it for beef jerky. As mentioned up-thread - I only run the smoke for an hour or so (2-3 hours for the tomatoes) and just have the oven temp set at 170 and let it go as long as needed. It's also a good device for cold-smoking cheese.

Now, I know this doesn't help you with your desire to do jerky in your Vault, but, as it was said up-thread - just apply smoke for an hour or so and then finish in the oven if you are struggling to maintain low temps.