Brinkman charcoal smoker here. Have done a little jerkey, but mainly fish. As said above wait till coals are grey and add soaked chips. Alot of this is trial and error so the more you use it the better it gets. Out side weather temps play a roll to. But if you have a water smoker the chances of over cooking and drying your meat out is tuff. It can be done tho. good luck!!!