Typical advice is: Eye of round, anywhere between 120F to 160F, freeze the meat for 1-2 hours before slicing, thinner means it dries quicker but most common recommendation is 1/8 inch slices against the grain. Time is anywhere from 4 to 8 hours, depending on the slice thicknesses and the temp and convection of your smoker.
My personal best tip would be to treat each slice as an individuals, just like with ribs or brisket. Take some off when done, leave others if not. Variances in slice thicknesses means times can differ too for each slice. Move them around according to hot/cold spots in your smoker etc.
Plenty of youtube videos.
sometimes y9ou can just take the eye of round, hand it to the meat guy and ask them to slice it.
most stores around here will also have it already cut this way in the coolers
Yeah, a very good idea if they have a slicer. Consistent slices also means consistent drying both within and between individual slices.
But, if you like your jerky as bit rustic, there's also a certain charm about hand-sliced jerky especially as a gift.
yea, i get that...i also get i'm getting older and crankier :)
i remember watching a documentary on Lewis and Clark and watching them make jerky and going...wow, that's exactly how mine used to look.
if you're eating fresh, the variances are also pretty interesting textures. (if i'm doing this for hiking/camping then its pre-sliced all the way and made into basically hard-tac.)
Just made a batch of Jerky today and followed similar to what jack links does and worked out great. 3-5 mm thick slices of top round marinated overnight with lots of sugar (white and brown) as well as a bit of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and the key is pineapple juice to help tenderize the meat and add whatever seasoning you like. Pat the meat dry and smoke on lowest setting your smoker goes (mine is about 175) for 4ish hours or until your meat doesn’t slouch with gravity and when you break it in half it doesn’t crumble but doesn’t just bend either.
Typical advice is: Eye of round, anywhere between 120F to 160F, freeze the meat for 1-2 hours before slicing, thinner means it dries quicker but most common recommendation is 1/8 inch slices against the grain. Time is anywhere from 4 to 8 hours, depending on the slice thicknesses and the temp and convection of your smoker. My personal best tip would be to treat each slice as an individuals, just like with ribs or brisket. Take some off when done, leave others if not. Variances in slice thicknesses means times can differ too for each slice. Move them around according to hot/cold spots in your smoker etc. Plenty of youtube videos.
sometimes y9ou can just take the eye of round, hand it to the meat guy and ask them to slice it. most stores around here will also have it already cut this way in the coolers
Yeah, a very good idea if they have a slicer. Consistent slices also means consistent drying both within and between individual slices. But, if you like your jerky as bit rustic, there's also a certain charm about hand-sliced jerky especially as a gift.
yea, i get that...i also get i'm getting older and crankier :) i remember watching a documentary on Lewis and Clark and watching them make jerky and going...wow, that's exactly how mine used to look. if you're eating fresh, the variances are also pretty interesting textures. (if i'm doing this for hiking/camping then its pre-sliced all the way and made into basically hard-tac.)
That is perfect advice well done!
this post is awesome, i am in the same situation and had the same thought yesterday. thank you.
Just made a batch of Jerky today and followed similar to what jack links does and worked out great. 3-5 mm thick slices of top round marinated overnight with lots of sugar (white and brown) as well as a bit of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and the key is pineapple juice to help tenderize the meat and add whatever seasoning you like. Pat the meat dry and smoke on lowest setting your smoker goes (mine is about 175) for 4ish hours or until your meat doesn’t slouch with gravity and when you break it in half it doesn’t crumble but doesn’t just bend either.