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Deer jerky on a pellet smoker

soil

Active Member
Has anyone ever tried it? I came up with a marinade that I really like. I have a cheap slicer so my pieces are all the same. Usually about 1/4 in. I have a small round stackable dehydrator that I usually use. I bought a pellet smoker last year and I'm thinking about trying that instead of the dehydrator. The lowest temp my smoker will maintain is 150. I think I usually ran my dehydrator at 160 for 6ish hours. I like mine just a bit chewy still, not so dry that it's hard.
 
Just did elk jerky on the green mountain a couple weeks ago. Turned out great. I sliced the meat 1/4" thick and let it marinade over night. Set the smoker on 170 and it was done in 2 1/2 hours.
 
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Yep...I make jerky on my Traeger all the time. usually smoke it for roughly 5-6 hrs and then finish it on my dehydrator for 2-3 hours. I don't have a specific time I leave it on, I just go by how done it is. Just don't over do the smoke. I would say 6 hours is max on the smoker.
 
I'm probably asking for trouble but I do mine at 105 for 24-30 hours....6-8 lbs of meat at a time. Texture is so much better and the flavor is full outside and in.
 
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I ended up running it at 165 degrees for just under 4 hours. My pieces were a little thinner than I had thought. My wife and girls say they are good. I had my wisdom teeth pulled Friday so I don't really feel like chewing on a piece just yet. Haha
 
I made some in my electric but like the oven version better, don't have a dehydrator. I thought the jerky I made in the smoker had more smoke flavor versus the jerky in the oven which you could taste the jerky mix better and I didn't use a lot of chips for smoke. Both were good but I'll stick with the oven version from now on.
 
I had a couple pieces today and it definitely has more smoke flavor than it does when I use the dehydrator. I use liquid smoke in my marinade. I would have left it out if I had known I was going to use the smoker but it was kind of an afterthought. Here's the marinade recipe I came up with that we like.

2/3 c Worcestershire sauce
2/3 c soy sauce
1/3 c balsamic vinegar
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp liquid smoke
2 tsp beef base
1/4 c white sugar
 
Looks like a good marinade there.
I've used the smoker before but I didn't add any chips. Smoker is seasoned enough to add just a little smoke flavor
 
I'll echo what the other guys said.. I have made jerky on my pellet grill before and I just set it to 150 and let it go. I don't remember exactly how long it took, but I just checked it every once in a while and pulled it off when it was as done as I wanted it to be.
I was really happy with how it turned out.
 
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