The end results to a muzzleloader hunt
 

Just bought my smoker, Yesterday morning and have already seasoned and made my first smoke jerky, with it. Bought some Teriyaki jerky mix and cure and some hickory bisquettes. Mixed and with 2lbs. of ground venison carefully trimmed before ground and set if fridge overnight to merinate. Woke this morning and it was time to get the show on the road. I got the smoker preheated and the smoke generator going. Why that was warming I took the venison from the fridge, I do not have a jerky shooter or sausage maker to make it perfect. But, I took a small amount of meat at a time and rolled it between the counter and my hand untill it was the desired size. Then placed on the rack, by this time the smoker is ready to go so, I put the meat in. Set the temp to 170 for 6 hours and the smoke for 2.25 hours.

First my smoker


Jerky as it is going in


And the delicious finished product


I have to say this stuff is just amazing!!! Just a wonderfull flavor of smoke hickory and teriyaki....

yummmmmmmmmmmmmm

Now that looks good. That is a nice smoker. How much meat will that one hold?

I never thought of just rolling it between my hands the the table. But then, I have a Jerky shooter (I seldom use) and a smoker. I like to cut the stuff into thin strips of meat, marinate for up to but no more then two days in the refrigerator and then smoke it. But I seldom make it anymore. I have to watch what I eat very closely, and that kind of stuff in the house is just too much temptation to go off the diet.

The last time I made a few bags of it, my nephews visited and you'd of swore there was a feeding frenzies going on. I watched three young boys devour an entire three pound bag of jerky in one day. And a 12 pack of Diet Pepsi to wash it all down.

We are all coming over!

Dave, It doesn't say anywhere in the owners manual about how much it will hold. I have seen guys talking about having 4 pork butt's on at once, that would have to be close to 25-35lbs. I know it has alot of room.

It is my first smoker and I think I will be having alot of fun with it. But, like you I am having to watch what I eat. The temptation on the deer jerky is killing me but, i have done well, I have only had 1pc. in the 5hours it has been done. I gave alot to my nephew and dad and only kept 4 sticks for myself.

Man that thing looks awesome! Custom sticks, I like it! :D

Atta boy Boone! I just got a Bradley 6 rack too! The very first thing I smoked was a venison roast - marinated a bit in teryaki - a few added spices, wrapped in bacon and with Hickory smoke. It was so-so and I was kinda disapointed - but the next day - once it had chilled in the fridge, and sliced thin, with just a hint of Mayo/horseradish sauce, - man - it was to die for!

So far I have tired mesquite and that is okay smoke and am partial more to Applewood......and I like the Mountain series cracked pepper n garlic jerky kit with a tad cayane added.......man its good jerky......

Good luck with your smoker! Sure like mine and am looking to add a 4 rack at my camp as I can see it used a ton!

Dave.........JW

JW

You get a chance try the pecan wood with venison, it is something special..... My buddy turned me onto it and is the reason, I bought the Bradley.

I am going to do a Brisket and pork butt this weekend with alternating hickory and apple bisquettes. It sounds good, anyway :biggrin:

That looks super. Last year we made some sliced jerky out of a couple roasts and that was really good too.

Hey thanks and right now Gander Mnt has a 15% sale on Bradley assessories......so a trip to GM is in order.......I know they had Cherry and will look for Pecan....

And I bought most of my wood chips online as I Googled for discounts........

I also cold smoked some Sharp Cheddar cheese - why I bought it as we can cold smoke.....Yum!

thanks
Dave....JW

You guys are making me hungry..........:biggrin:

Yep that stuff looks fantastic. I had vension spaghetti made with home grown tomotoes the other day. Wow was that good. Now I've got to try the smoker.

Looks mighty good Boonie. I checked out that smoker on line. They look pretty nice. Are you limited to the use of Bradley "pucks" with it, or can you use wood chips or chunks also?

Semi, you are limited to the bisquettes but they are good for 20min ea. And cost roughly .30 a piece. Not the cheapest but, they claim it cuts down on the bad taste and tar that wood burnt to ashes can put into your food.

I found a place on line to get them for 34.00 for a 120 of them with 4.99 shipping, that's enough for 40 hours of smoking.


JW

Yeah I am going to get some cheddar, ghouda, some kind of pepper cheese to smoke while it is cold enough out, to not get the cheese too hot. I have heard the ambient temp and the heat from the smoke generator can cause issues with cold smoking. Think I am going to do some salmon as well. The endless possibilities just have my mind on overdrive....

Thanks much. That's pretty much what I figured from the web site, but wanted to be sure.

I have a Smoker but dont use it as much as I should. I do My Jerkey in the oven, it's Faster.
I use the Jerkey Shooter to make the Slim Jims and also make Jerkey Patties with the Ground for both of them.
Just make sure you have a FOOD SAVER or similar to Vaccume Seal them because they will MOLD in a short time if you dont eat em all fast enough.
(BP)

BP, I have always done mine in the oven as well. But,I love that smokey flavor that the smoker gives. Mine is digital and I can pretty much set and forget, took about 6 hours total. Well worth the reward.... I am making what I call real jerky tomorrow. ran the venison thru the slicer earlier and have it marineting in the fridge.

Food saver??? The stuff will never last at my house, between friends and family.

Sounds good Boone, I like the somkey flavor too, I know what your saying. I mostly use the smoker now for the Rainbow Trout and Steelhead, they make a good DIP.
(BP)

I do it pretty much like you Dave, cut it 3/16" or so thick and marinate it (usually 24 hrs.) and then dehydrate it. I do put it in the smoker once in awhile for about an hour with a heavy smoke, and then move it to the dehydrator, but a TBSP. or two of liquid smoke in the marinate gives you the same taste. My smoker does not have a temp. control and it gets up to about 240 deg. when it's warmed up which I think is a little too high for good jerky. I have a jerky shooter as well that I rarely use because I just don't like the texture of the "ground meat" jerky compared to sliced meat.

But anyway... Boonechaser you have a good un'. I have a friend that has a Bradley and he loves it. Make yourself some Venison Bologna in it sometime...It's like "Manna from Heaven" :biggrin:...BPS

The jerky shooters work great and they are fairly inexpensive. I use the flat nozzle with ground meat and dry in the oven. Always turns out delicious.

Boone, I don't have a Bradley and have always used just chips/chunks in mine so I have been able to try a lot of "native woods" we have around my place like Apple, Cherry, Pear, Hickory, Oak, Maple etc. and pretty much like em' all. I always went by the old rule of thumb..."Hardwoods or Nutwoods for game meat and Fruitwoods for pork, fish or poultry" (I tried Mesquite once and I just don't like it). My Sister in law lives in Alabama and the last time she came home for a visit, she brought me an armload of Pecan wood. She has Pecan trees on her property and had a small one come down in a storm so she had it cut up. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm definitely gonna this year! Good luck to you and enjoy your future smoking endeavors!....BPS