Originally Posted by super_hunt54

BP, I don't know how far you are from Elizabethtown PA but there is a butchershop called Groffs. They make some of the BEST sweet sticks I have ever tasted. I tried bribing old man Groff out of that recipe years ago. Close as I could get was him making them for me from my deer meat

You make your jerky like I do mine, from slices. Never could get into ground jerky. Just didn't have the right texture for me. I have a small smokehouse out back I built when I moved here. Best thing in the world for my sausages and my jerky's. I'll even smoke a couple roasts occasionally just for giggles. I make several flavors such as white pepper, garlic, italian (really good one there), and vary the smoke for each one. With the italian I use cherry wood. With the white pepper I use hickory, with the garlic I use a combo of hickory, apple and cherry. Gives it a smoky yet a little sweet background. I have an outside box for cold smoking as well as a box inside the house for low heat smoking/shamming. Cost me around 140 bucks for materials and built it in a day with my son's help. Shoot me a pm with your email and I'll send you the plans. The one I built can hold around 200 pounds of meat spaced well. Materials would probably be around 250 nowadays figuring in 10 years.