Gfw's Beef Jerky

This is take off on the River City Beef Jerky Recipe and some comments from Old Dave on his methods of doing beef jerky. Note, only the marinate has changed - the cooking method and time remain unchanged from the River City Beef Jerky page.

River City Beef Jerky

The Marinade: Make enough to cover the meat

• Soy Sauce: About 3/4 cup  

• Maple Syrup: 1/2 Cup

• Worchester: 1/4 cup  

• Dark Molasses: 1/8 cup 

• Lemon Juice: 1/8 cup 

• Garlic Powder: 2 tsp

• Onion Powder: 2 tsp 

• Black Pepper: 1.5 tsp

• Cayenne Pepper: 1-2 tsp

• Jalapenos: About 3 tbsp finely chopped with the juice

• Tabasco Sauce - 1 tsp   <- Added on 09/17/2000

• White Pepper: 1-2 tsp  <- Removed on 09/17/2000

I used 3.5lbs of beef brisket sliced with the grain - Great for Jerky! After slicing, I marinated for about 12 hours. Smoke over low heat (dome temperature 160 to 200 degrees until desired texture. It may take 12 or more hours. Generally I turn it about ever hour.

The strips of beef are placed on the grill to create the mound - the grill is preheated to 160-180 using firebricks and drip pan - I let the mound cook for about 1 hour and flip the whole thing using a 2nd grid - then it cooks for another hour - after 2 hours I'll take it off the grill and start to separate all the pieces from the mound - as the day progresses, I'll use a pair of tongs to turn the jerky about every hour and make sure that all the pieces get rotated.

A lot of work for something that doesn't last very long -- not because it won't keep, but it tastes so good! The picture is from

08/06/2000

08/17/2000

Hi Gordon - Your latest batch of jerky looks so scrumptious that I have to try it this weekend. I'm sure you've answered this before, so apologies for my Swiss-cheese brain: Do you have a special technique for keeping the dome temp below 200? 

Thanks - Cathy

No special technique - I guess I just get lucky. Generally I use smaller pieces of lump - start the fire from under the drain grate and cover the top of the lump with "Jack Daniels" oak chips. 

I cook indirect on the |__| firebrick setup and use HD foil to make a drip pan which the last times contained no moisture. 

I control the temp from top and bottom - generally start closing the vents when the dome hits about 140 degrees - after the 1st turn the dome went to 190 degrees and stayed there for the entire cook - even with opening and closing the top. This time as it was approaching the finish I let the dome rise to about 300 degrees with all the jerky stacked in the center. 

I've found another key is to take it off just before you think it's done - just so it doesn't get over cooked. This was probably the best I've ever done. Please let me know if you have any additional questions and just remember, the fun is in the quest! 

Gfw

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