Beef Jerky Using A Jerky Cannon

[NDKoze]

I have done this before, and if you do not already have one or have it on your list, a Jerky Dryer like the James Jerky Dryer is an absolute must. Without it your jerky will just steam and the texture won't be right.

Regarding extruding the night before, you would only want to do this if your seasoning includes sure cure (aka Cure #1) as would be the case with the Hi Mountain Seasonings. You definitely want the meat to cure at least overnight. But, I am not sure if there would be any advantages or drawbacks to extruding the night before as I have never done it. It would start to air dry on its own I guess. Extruding with the Jerky Canon is soooo fast that I have never bothered. I have the double nozzle that shoots two strips out at a time and is well worth the money. The more I think of it, I don't think I would do this as it would just draw out the process even further than necessary as you would have to mix and let the mix sit overnight already. Adding another night to let the extruded jerky sit would be a waste of time IMO.

I would bump your temp to 140 and tray rotation every 2-4 hours is probably enough depending on how much your are doing at one time. Make sure you rotate top to bottom as well as front to back. I know on my smoker it is definitely hotter toward the back, so the front to back rotation is pretty important.

 

[gregbooras]

Excellent job on the jerky!

Greg

 

[mizzoufan]

Excellent, thank you.  I am planning on going the duct fan route rather than the James Jerky Dryer, but I did read through and realize that some sort of fan was necessary to draw the moisture out.  Not sure I have a front to back temp difference (at least not a major one), but I'll rotate them that way too.

What's the best test to decide when it's done (other than biting into one when I think it's there which I'll be doing regardless  ;D)?  Bend it in a circle with resistance but no breakage?

 

[NDKoze]

The duct fan route should work fine. You just need some way of pulling that moisture out of there. I would smoke for 2-3 hours without the fan first as the fan may cause combustion by moving that much air through there.

When it is done is a pretty subjective thing, but I usually just bend them in half and make sure it doesn't break until it is bent pretty far. You don't want it brittle, but you do want it dried/cooked through.

 

[Eds smoking]

I' been using the jerky cannon over 8 years now with LEM backwoods seasonings. Had a masterbuilt smoker,set at 200F for 2 hrs  about 1 lb hickory chips,rotated at one hour. Perfect jerky. I make deer jerky but we make a lot of rabbit jerky,it takes 4 rabbits to make one lb. My sons crew loves the rabbit over the deer jerky.

I got my SI #2  Dec 23rd and had good luck with everything i've tried. The jerk was a let down, too much time in SI2. It took 9.5 hrs and a lot of time tending  shelves and rotating without the jerky dryer. I ended up to putting jerk in dehydrator for 3 hrs per load to finish. Loaded all 9 racks in SI2 and total of 6 hrs in dehydrator,with a total time of 15 hrs. Jerky came out great with 2.2 oz of hickory wood chunk. but the time!!  Going to order the jerky dryer today.

 

[NDKoze]

Yeah, the jerky dryer is a must. Otherwise you just end up steaming the jerky.

I still contend that 200 is too high for jerky. But, if you like the results you are getting it works for me.

 

[DivotMaker]

Yeah, the jerky dryer is a must. Otherwise you just end up steaming the jerky.

I still contend that 200 is too high for jerky. But, if you like the results you are getting it works for me.

+1!  200 is way to high for jerky.  The idea is to dry, not to cook.  No way you're not cooking at 200!

 

[Pork Belly]

we make a lot of rabbit jerky,it takes 4 rabbits to make one lb.

200 makes sense for rabbits to me.

 

[mizzoufan]

Forgot to get pics, but my first attempt at extruded jerky was a partial success.  It's pretty tasty, but could have gone a bit longer with a little less wood.  I'm going to try again this weekend (just made a 2lb test batch last weekend) with those things in mind.
The idea was to have snacks (especially at work) and that idea has been working out pretty well.  I pack some jerky, some fruit/veggies and some of the prepackaged cheese & crackers and eat half in the morning and half in the afternoon.  Healthy (at least more so than many snacks), easy and tasty.

 

[DivotMaker]

I'm sure you'll give us pics next time, Steven... ;D ;D

 

[Smokster]

Hi Everyone,

My SI3 has been in storage and I haven't had a chance to smoke for some time now. I finally had a chance to make some jerky with the Jerky Cannon.

I seasoned the extra lean ground beef using 'Hi Mountain' seasoning as follows:
1 lb beef with Cajun seasoning
1 lb beef with Mandarin Teriyaki seasoning
2 lbs beef with Hickory seasoning

I used 1 and a half oz of Apple wood chips pre-soaked in water.  I then started the smoker at 180 to start the smoke and added my four shelves of jerky strips to the smoker for 30 mins, then dropped the temperature to 125 and added the jerky fan.

It took approximately 14 hours to complete, but well worth the wait.  Below are a few picks of the results for your enjoyment. Some of the pieces obviously didn't make it onto the tray or the pics. The jerky turned out great, however next time I will turn the temperature up to 140 when I add the jerky fan to cut down on the time.

 

[DivotMaker]

Toronto T!  Good to see you again, buddy!  The jerky looks fantastic!  I use 140 all the way through, on jerky.  2 hours of smoke, then the rest with the fan (for cured jerky, of course).  The High Mountain seasoning is a cure, so you're OK there!

Hope you have the ol' SI3 tuned-up and ready for some more of your great Q!  Don't be a stranger!

 

[Smokster]

Hey Tony,

Thanks for the warm welcome back. It's been awhile, but I'm glad to be back and smoking again. I have check the forum every now and then, but it really is trying when your smoker is in storage.

Nice to see the forum has grown with lots of new members. It really was just a matter of time that people took notice of the SI brand and quality of smoker these tanks really are.

By the way, I did get the idea of raising the temp to 140 from one of your posts.  You can always count on the good ol' SI forum for your information and go to needs when in doubt...

 

[DivotMaker]

Lots of new folks, and growing, Tony!  Keep that smoker out of storage, will ya'?  Not much time before old man winter returns to the great white north!

 

[Smokster]

Hey Tony

I'm putting the smoker in overdrive.  I have 7 racks of ribs in the fridge that are going in the SI3. I also plan on making quite a bit of jerky as the kids can't get enough of it.

Before winter, I typically smoke a few butts for the freezer to hold me over for the winter season.

Next project, installing the PID controller I bought last year.

 

[snakyjake]

I started with 9lbs of meat and my yield of finished jerky was 5lbs.

Below is a picture of the finished product.

Just so I'm clear....the photo taken is the 5 lbs of jerky, from one batch/cook on the SI3 model of 4 shelves?

 

[Smokster]

I had 4 available shelves in my SI3 which allows me to smoke about 5 lbs at a time. However you can try stacking the LEM shelves on top of each other rather than placing them directly on each of the SI shelves which will allow you to get more in there at one time.

 

[snakyjake]

Was this photo the product of 5 pounds?
Or did you have multiple cooks to produce the amount in the photo?
Do you wish for more shelves (the shelf assembly)?

 

[Smokster]

Hey Jake.

The amount in the picture is the total result of two cooks.  Prep time takes very little effort when using ground meat with the cannon. It's a fairly easy process.

For jerky it would be nice to have more shelves and it's worth the investment if you are planning on making lots of jerky. For my other smoking needs, four shelves are more than enough.

One point that I didn't realize is that you can stop at any time by taking them off and storing in the fridge, then put them back in the next day. Also if you use the cannon with the tube attachment you can get more yield per shelf.