Looking for advice on brisket jerky

[Dr ROK]

Strat, do you just slice your peppers & stuff up and throw them in the dehydrator or do you do some other type of prep to them?

[Strat50]

Picture perfect! Excellent. Did you bring enough for the rest of the class? Hmmmm...lol

[eugenek]

I used the snake/fuse method to keep the WSM's temp around 170-180 for the first couple hours, then propped the lid open for the dehydration process which brought the temp down around 10 degrees. Instead of the 6-12 hours meathead's recipe recommended, I took the meat off after only 4 hours of drying because the texture seemed to be done. It turned out chewy and not stringy, although a couple of the pieces on the edges of the smoker were a little crispier. You can definitely taste the ginger, which I'm a fan of, but I think it overwhelmed the sweetness and spice. I thought it was a good first effort and super easy to make.

[Strat50]

Looks very good!

[eugenek]

Thanks for your thoughts on the DIY method. I'll stick with dehydrating it via the smoker for now. It's actually a little windy today so maybe I've picked the perfect day to get a little help from Mother Nature. Airflow and heat!

[Strat50]

We dehydrate a ton of stuff every year, Tomatoes, peppers, carrots, onions,etc from our gardens. We also dehydrate a fair amount of proteins: salmon, chicken and such for jerky and quick meals. Its penny smart and pound foolish to try to "rig" something if you have any real amount of stuff to do. Trust me on this. A heat element is necessary for proper dehydrating. We have an Excaliber 2900, but there are other brands with similar capabilities that are cheaper. I saved the 200 bucks I spent on the dehydrator in the first year I had it. I never have to buy any powdered garlic, onions, citrus, etc. I make different chili powders that are unique, and make my food equally unique. Smoked tabasco? Easy. Citrus powder(s) for rubs? Really easy. Porcini mushroom powder for crusting and sauces? Easy(I have to pick 'em from the property..lol).

[Strat50]

Airflow is most important, but not by much. For meat, you need heat.

[Dewesq55]

In the linked episode, he specifically was making beef jerky, but I agree with you.

[Huskee]

Have you seen Alton Brown's homemade dehydrator? It's a couple air filters tied to a regular box fan. But I'm curious how well it works without heat. Is heat or airflow the most important factor? Or both equally?

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/a...ky-recipe.html

I think that would be good for bananas and apricots, that kind of thing. I wouldn't do meat on it.

[Dewesq55]

Mine has a heating element as well. But Eugene asked this question:

"Have you seen Alton Brown's homemade dehydrator? It's a couple air filters tied to a regular box fan. But I'm curious how well it works without heat. Is heat or airflow the most important factor? Or both equally?

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/a...ky-recipe.html"

So I was commenting on that. It doesn't seem safe to me, especially for meat.

DEW

[Strat50]

Waste of time, unless you are dehydrating herbs or other veggies. Even then, heat will help.Not for any meat!

[Strat50]

A proper dehydrator uses heat. Mine has a temp control from 90-160 degrees

[Dewesq55]

Just to make sure we're on the same page, I was responding to the question about Alton Brown's homemade dehydrator which is a box fan blowing through furnace filters used as drying trays at room temperature with no heat at all.

DEW

[Dr ROK]

I believe most dehydrators that you purchase at a store have some type of heating system. The lengthy time spent in the dehydrator is not an issue due to the thin cut of meat, dry environment eventually created, and high salt concentrations in most brine/marinade recipes. Most commercial jerky kits also contain cure.

[Dewesq55]

Won't 10-12 hours at room temperature be very dangerous for food-born illness? Don't you need the heat to keep it safe?

DEW