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| Jerky Tips |
EQUIPMENT
| Gloves |
A good pair of loose fitting, heavy-duty rubber gloves are indispensable
when cooking BBQ or Jerky. You can use them for handling hot meat or
hot drying racks. You can also use them for “hand mixing” of your Ground
meat and spice mixtures. The most effective way to use your “gloved hand mixer”
is to place your mix in a big stainless steel bowl and grab a big open hand full
and squeeze your hand into a fist. Repeat, repeat, repeat, till you are satisfied
that everything in the bowl has passed everything else in the bowl several times.
Through mixing will prevent “ hot spots” in your jerky. Use only one hand so
that you always have a clean hand to add more seasoning, etc. You can
wash your gloved hands easily with very hot water, something you can’t
do with bare hands. Loose fitting gloves also give you the option of slipping
your hand out when you need a clean dry bare hand. You will also find
them to be your best friend when it comes time to slice and de-seed, or
chop hot peppers, and your hands will thank you.
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| Drying Racks |
You can use cookie or cake cooling racks or expanded metal cut to size. They must of course fit in the space you have under the lid of your cooker, both width and height. Don’t get racks with fold up legs, as you will be using spacer blocks between racks and they would just get in the way. Spacing between wires is also important, from about ¼- ½ “ max. in both directions is ideal. I use non-stick coated cookie racks, the cheep ones from Target’s house wares department. I still coat them with cooking oil before each use, to make them a breeze to clean up. To clean them up, soak them in hot soapy water. The detergent will cut the cooking oil and everything will turn loose. If you have a Dicks or similar sports store you could check for Eastman Outdoors Jerky Chef Drying Racks. They measure 13.5” X 13.5”, and will just fit inside a large Grill Dome. I don’t know about others. They also make Jerky cure and seasoning, not a bad way to start. Check them on the web @ www.eastmanoutdoors.com
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| Spacer Blocks |
Hardwood spacer blocks are a must. At these temperatures, they will last forever, and they smell so good after you use them a time or two. Coat these blocks with cooking oil also. To clean them up just throw them in the hot soapy water with the racks, and brush them down also. These square spacers can be ripped on a table saw, or purchased at Home Depot in the form of a (square dowel). You will usually find them next to the round dowels, but somewhere in the lumber department. You can use 1”X 1” or ¾”X ¾”, depending on what you are drying i.e. Peppers versus thin strips of meat. Remember, for every 4 racks you will be + or – one inch in height. I have a set of both sizes. You should cut your sticks in equal lengths so you have no waste. Your blocks don’t need to go from edge to edge of your rack but they should be long enough to make them stable. You will be picking up the whole stack at once to move them on and off the pit, with gloved hands.
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| Cooking Spray or Canola Oil |
Cooking spray regardless of brand is just cooking oil in aerosol can. I like to use Canola. Bottled oil is much cheaper than aerosol but aerosol is faster and more convenient. With bottled oil and a paper towel there is no waste or over spray. To coat my grills and racks, I stack everything in a pile and spray everything at once, then flip the pile and do the other side. Smoke or food won’t stick so bad on things you use on the pit, and speeds clean up. You can also use it on your pit minder.
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| Heavy Duty Scissors/Game Shears |
To cut strips to snack size length after drying.
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| Propane Torch |
A propane torch is the best and cleanest way to light your charcoal from the top. You are only going to light 4-5 pieces, so you don’t over shoot your set point. (See Procedure: below) A propane torch is also great for roasting individual peppers to remove the skin, if you choose. It can also be used to create browning highlights on hams, roasts, or turkeys for artsy cooking.
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| The BBQ Guru Pitminder or Electronic |
The Pitminder and Electronic BBQ Guru are the only way to reliably make jerky or dry peppers on your pit. You will need a low temperature, 185F and a Pizza stone or several layers of foil between your fire and your rack to reduce the effect of direct radiant heat on the lower racks Indirect heat always works better for drying.
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| *Note 1 |
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Place peppers, onions, etc. on upper racks when possible. If you are doing meat and peppers, the meat drippings will drip on the peppers if placed below the meat. Peppers take longer to dry than meats, as much as 20 hours. Always allow peppers to cool and air dry for several days before bagging. Meat should be cool and should not be bagged until all of the oil has been blotted off or has been reabsorbed by the meat. Important: It is not necessary for good Jerky to be bone dry when it comes off the pit. A better measure is its chewability. The average time for jerky is 4-7 hrs. remember you can “twice smoke”, or smoke a second time after the first cooling to achieve the desired effect. Don’t over dry.
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| * Note 2 |
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If your jerky was not subjected to a salt and sugar cure or brine, it will not keep for extended periods. It should be kept refrigerated, frozen or should be consumed soon after it was made to prevent mold or a musty taste.
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PROCEDURE
| Meat or Pepper drying at low temperatures with the Pitminder |
- The Pit should be filled with enough charcoal and wood to last through the entire cooking cycle.
- Always light the charge from the top at one side or one end using a propane torch.
- Only light a small amount of charcoal, then set the bottom damper to ¼- ½.
- Install the grill grate and close the lid
- Place the Pitminder in position in the open stack, this will allow the Pitmimder to regulate the temp.
As the heat comes up. (Lighting too much charcoal at start up will cause a high temperature spike and it will take a long time for the temp. to come back to drying temperature. Don’t open the lid, as this will cause the fire to rage. But, if you must, close the bottom damper, and be quick. This rule also applies to taking your meat drying racks on and off the pit. (Don’t forget to reopen the damper when done)
The pit will spike from 25- 50F, over your set point, at start up. During this time you should be making your precooking preparations while the pit is stabilizing. Don’t worry about time, you have plenty. With a full charge of fuel, and a 185 actuator, a Grill Dome will run for about 33 hours before the temp. Begins to fall off. This is enough time to do about 5-6 sets of meat racks. * If your fire should go out it’s not the Pitminder: check your charcoal it could be damp or just a poor quality brand.
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| Preparation of the meat |
- In the best-case scenario, you will have marinated the meat in a cure at least 1day before if you are using sliced meat like skirt steak, brisket etc. If you are doing ground meat it should have been course ground or chopped with spices at least the day before.
- Never add liquid ingredients to ground meats to be dried, as this tends to make the meat particles not want stick to each other as they cook. A tiny amount of such things as liquid smoke or vinegar can be tolerated, if you must.
- You can use liquids such as a vinegar and salt rich hot sauce or paste rub about half way through the cooking cycle, once the meat has firmed up and is stiff (so you can pick it up with out it falling apart). You will need to pull your racks off the pit and return to the kitchen to dip or rub them. Don’t worry about the meat cooling off these thin extruded strips will heat up again quickly. You don’t need to wipe off liquid marinate as the liquid evaporates from the meat pieces. The solids from your marinate will coat the jerky with flavor.
- I often pull the meat off let it cool to do “whatever”. I call this Twice Smoked Jerky. When you go back on with your racks its always a good time to add fresh smoke wood, but be quick.
- A good way to get started at Ground Meat Jerky or “ Squirt Jerky” is to just buy some “store bought” pork sausage, Bob Evans, Jimmy Dean etc. Spike it up with some ground dried Chipotle or Habanero, mixed in well by hand, then squirt it directly on your racks with a caulk gun (Jerky Monster) with a flare tip. (They also make a round tip for beef stick etc.) It will make strips about an inch add a quarter wide by about 3/16 inch thick. Shake on some dry seasoning (topside only). I use my own, but Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning or equal will do just fine. *You can get one of these Jerky Monster guns from a sports store or Cabello’s on line. I made mine from a couple of pieces of PVC electrical and plumbing conduit, and an industrial strength-caulking gun.
- The strips can be placed close together but not touching, as they will shrink during smoke drying. Remember to allow space at the ends of your racks for your spacer blocks. Three quarter square spacer blocks are OK for these thin strips.
- During the smoking and drying cycle it is a good idea to pull your racks off and reshuffle them perodidocly. The great thing about Jerky is that you can sample a piece at any time, and make a decision about dryness, taste, smokiness or chewability. You can pull some off leave some on, or rearrange them as to doneness. You may even want to quickly raise the lid and rob a piece for a quick snack.
- As you gain experience you may want to mix in some venison, lamb, beef, veil, chicken, or turkey. Pork sausage is a great base for any squirt jerky. Of course you will want to grind your own sausage as the addiction takes hold.
- A great hint: If you “stump your toe” on the seasoning in a batch, and you can’t find any one who handle the heat, you can just grind it up in your meat grinder and add it back to your next batch, as seasoning.
- To prevent stumping your toe, and over seasoning your meat mix, simply make a small patty from your meat mix and fry it in a skillet. You can then make the necessary adjustments from your taste test.
- To determine the best meat ratio you can use a similar technique. Set a small batch aside and use it to ratio your meats. Fry a small patty and do the taste test, if it taste good to you it will likely taste good to every one who is lucky enough to be on your guest or gift list. I believe in “season to taste” mine. Don’t forget to document your recipes for future reference. There is an old quote,“the wine remembers you forget,” but I can’t remember who said it.
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| Whole Meat Strip Jerky |
You could easily write a book on whole meat jerky, but I will attempt to hit a few high points. Whether wild or domestic, the meat should either be lean or trimmed lean. The fat will not render out completely during drying and will become rancid or mold quickly. Fat is tasty if you plan to eat your jerky right away or freeze it in small quantities. To cut the meat in strips, it is helpful to firm it up first. This can be accomplished in two ways. It can be partially frozen or partially cooked. I prefer to partially freeze it. Scraps can also be trimmed into lean strips as long as possible. The direction of the cuts will depend on the meat and chew ability you desire. Generally cutting with the grain or along the muscle will make for tougher and chewier “Cowboy Jerky”. Cutting across or against the grain will make for easy to chew “City Boy Jerky”. I prefer “City Boy Jerky” loaded with flavor, spice and pepper.
Marinating or curing comes next. Marinating is acceptable for short-term shelf life, but a salt and sugar multiple day cure at below 40°F is necessary to make jerky with a longer shelf life.
Note: Use all proper precautions when using wild game.
There are a number of recipes for curing that can be found on the web. One such recipe can be found at
www.astray.com.”
I like to make short tem jerky by marinating strips in my own home made hot sauce (Shotgun Fred’s 382 Hot Sauce). I marinate for several days in the refrigerator. I then dry the jerky on racks at 185°F – 200°F with the Pit Minder using the same procedure as ground meat strips. I often dry ground and whole meat at the same time. I hope these small tips will get you started on what often becomes a life long addiction.
Good Luck,
Shotgun Fred
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TheBBQGuru.com •
357 Ivyland Road •
Warminster, PA 18974 •
800-288-GURU (4878)
(Revised 06/02/2006)
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