Ground meat jerky using Jerky Cannon - jerky dryer needed?

[BBQ-Me-Up_Scotty]

I'm a new #2 analog owner and have had good success with four smokes already.

I used to make ground meat jerky in a Bradley P10 using a Jerky Cannon and jerky seasoning/cure kits from Nesco. I've ditched the Bradley now because of multiple component failures and fear of more failures, but it made pretty darn good ground meat jerky.

The Bradley was pretty airtight and insulated, and I ran it around 200 to 220 degrees F. when making jerky, taking about 2 1/2 hours. Has anyone tried doing it this way -- that is, running the smoker hotter than the norm for jerky -- using a Smokin-It analog smoker for ground meat jerky without a jerky dryer? If so, what results did you have?

Note: I started out using 93-7 ground beef for jerky. Then I switched to ground turkey because it was cheaper and the blander meat did not mask the seasoning like beef did. 93-7 ground turkey makes pretty good jerky, but 98-2 is even better because the reduced fat gives the finished product a more jerky-like chew.

 

[old sarge]

I think that you are going to have some trial and error experimentation to do.

 

[BBQ-Me-Up_Scotty]

OK, I finally got around to my first experiment today using 98-2 ground turkey seasoned with Nesco Maple & Bacon seasoning/cure and extruded into strips on silicone mats sitting on top of three smoker racks. Used 1 chunk hicory and 1 chunk cherry totaling about 3.5 oz. Started Auber-controlled Model 2 smoker at 200 F. and bumped it up to 225 F. after 1.5 hours. Total cook time was 3 hours. Turned out great -- good taste, nice and smokey, excellent jerky-like chew. I'm heartily enjoying it as I write this post.

Conclusion: It is possible to make good ground meat jerky in an SI smoker without using a jerky dryer.

If others want to try this, I highly recommend using 98-2 or 99-1 ground turkey instead of the common 93-7. The minimal fat content results in a very jerky-like chew. You'll get a much softer chew if you use 93-7.

Notes to self for next time:
- Run smoker at 220 F. the whole time and shorten cook time to 2.5 hours.
- A wee bit more smokewood wouldn't hurt, but no more than 4 oz.
- Maybe try grape vine + hickory for a somewhat sweeter smoke taste.
- Although every rack was pretty consistent in doneness, racks need to be rotated several times during the cook because there was a hot spot on the left side of the bottom rack that resulted in two overcooked (almost black) strips of jerky that had to be discarded. Maybe putting a water pan there would help?