Jerky is such a pain in the butt on a charcoal grill

[cow]

I have a love/hate relationship with making jerky.

It always comes out amazing... but keeping low temps (160-180) is such a pain with charcoal.

Just the tiniest of micro adjustments to the vents can easily throw it way off. Overshoot it, and you have to quickly starve it of oxygen so you don't start cooking the meat... but starve it too much and the coals go out.

I've had the grill steady all afternoon at ~170. Snuck a very quick peek after 2 hours to check on it, lid open no longer than 3 seconds. Boom... it immediately shoots up 25 degrees and took almost an hour to recover.

But you HAVE to check on it...

:frusty:

Edit: I've now found if I immediately close off the vent after shutting the lid, with just a little sliver open, the temp tries to climb but can't manage to go too high. Then I can go back 15 minutes later and re-open vent where it needs to be. Only manages to climb about 5deg which is workable. Fight me, charcoal.

 

[Fooball]

Marinate meat in teriyaki and liquid smoke, throw it in an electric dehydrator and you can check it all you want! :mrgreen:

Charcoal grill however....

 

[cow]

Yeah yeah yeahhhhh


But I'm stubborn and cheap and like making it on the grill... even though I hate it :mrgreen:

 

[Fooball]

Yeah yeah yeahhhhh


But I'm stubborn and cheap and like making it on the grill... even though I hate it :mrgreen:

I totally understand. I have been known to cave-in to the same urges. More than once.

 

[SmokinAussie]

AC,

You are totally wasting your time with Jerky.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=297052

Cheers!

Bill

 

[LYU370]

AC,

You are totally wasting your time with Jerky.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=297052

Cheers!

Bill

I still have to build me a Biltong box. Bought a packaged variety to try out, it was pretty tasty.

 

[cow]

AC,

You are totally wasting your time with Jerky.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=297052

Cheers!

Bill

Delicious backyard mesquite smoked jerky ain't no waste of time brother :mrgreen:


I will definitely look into that though, thanks for the link!

 

[cow]

I still have to build me a Biltong box. Bought a packaged variety to try out, it was pretty tasty.

After further study....


I believe you could replace the incandescent bulb with a high-end graphics card as the heat source, and mine bitcoin while you biltong


:clap:

 

[snadamo]

I just tried to do a bacon slab on my Weber kettle at 150 and let’s just say it was challenging. The weird rainy/sunny weather probably didn’t help.

My jerky I usually do on the pellet smoker with a tube. I have the 4x wire racks. I’d like to maybe use sawdust deals or a different fuel than pellets.

 

[mike243]

Masterbuilt electric smoker is the best way I have found to hold low temps for sausages and jerky

 

[jham0077]

I've made it on my drum a couple of times, it was a challenge. I wish my Recteq would go down to 160, but it won't. If I made another drum I would probably look into an electric element and smoke generator.

 

[LYU370]

I usually throw a smoke tube in the smoker and cold smoke for a few hours, then into the dehydrator to finish up.

 

[SmokinAussie]

Delicious backyard mesquite smoked jerky ain't no waste of time brother :mrgreen:


I will definitely look into that though, thanks for the link!

You try it.

Then you tell me.

 

[Jbowie]

125 degree on a WSM

I cook jerky on my WSM 22. I have modified my smoker to hold 4 trays of jerky. I cold smoke for 2 hours using pellet tube. Afterwards I light 7 pieces of charcoal in a small pan that has several holes for air. My last cook the ambient temp stayed at 120to130 for 1 hour and required adding 2 or 3 briquettes per hour to maintain temp, for several hours. I use Cure 1 in my marinade to keep the meat healthy at low temps. I do not let ambient temp exceed 130.

 

[ModelMaker]

Find a used LP or electric smoker for jerky and charcutiery. Under a hundred bucks easy.
Ed

 

[Jbowie]

Smoker

I live in a 160 unit apartment. I am required to keep 10 feet from all buildings. That eliminates using any electric equipment outside.