 | John Yoder and his wife Joyce are owners of Yoder Meats, located in Yoder, KS. They are known for their custom butchering of hormone-free beef, pork and many other meats. They have been active in the meat processing business since 1965. You can contact them at (620) 465-3807, or toll free at (800) 952-MEAT(6328), or by e-mail at: yodermeatsinc@hotmail.com |
Food & Drink
2003-05-01 12:39:00
Just got a new smoker
: We just got a new smoker. We would like to make jerky. Is there anything we need to know before we begin?
ANSWER: One of the first things people want to do with a new smoker is make jerky. Jerky can be easy to make in a smoker, oven, food dehydrator or in the sun. Making jerky in a smoker adds a great smoky flavor that you won't get any other way. However, it is easy to over smoke jerky because it is cut so thin before being smoked. Do not use extra smoking chips in your smoker when making jerky. To make jerky, first start with a very lean cut of meat. You can use most anything but I recommend starting out with something like a top round because it's generally lean and easy to work with. Trim all the fat from the meat. Fat will become rancid fast and will increase the drying times. Cut the meat across the grain into 1/4 inch slices. There are many different spice mixtures and marinades that you can use. Pick something that appeals to your sense of taste. However, if you want to keep it simple sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper and start smoking. When smoking jerky you need a low temperature and little smoke. Ideally you need a temperature just under 150o. If you are using an electric smoker you can introduce a small amount of smoke, but if you are smoking over a charcoal or hardwood fire you will get plenty of smoke from this.
