Smoked Beef Jerky

This Smoked Beef Jerky Recipe adds another dimension to homemade jerky. If you have a smoker, that is.

I use my water smoker that I've named "Big Red". I just don't put any liquid in the pan.

Smoked Beef Jerky Recipe

1/4 cup Sugar
2 tsp. Paprika
1/4 cup Non-iodized salt
2 tsp. Garlic powder
2 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp. Ginger

When you get your sliced roast home trim any visible fat. Fat will not dry and will cause your smoked beef jerky to go rancid.

Cut the slices into strips about 1 1/2 inches wide and about 4 to 6 inches long. In a small mixing bowl blend together the sugar, salt, paprika, garlic powder, pepper and ginger. Pat your beef jerky slices completely dry and then rub this mixture into the meat.

Fire up your smoker and place the beef jerky slices on the rack as close together as possible without overlapping.

My smoker, Big Red, will operate at optimum temperature for about 3 hours when I load it up with 10 pounds of charcoal.

When the coals form a light gray ash I add soaked hickory wood chunks wrapped in heavy-duty aluminum foil with holes punched in it. This provides the smoke. I could add more fuel to Big Red when he begins to cool down after 3 hours but I don't. The beef jerky has absorbed about as much smoke flavoring as it's going to in this amount of time.

Give your beef jerky a doneness test.

Perfect beef jerky is firm and dry and not at all spongy. You should be able to bend it slightly before it cracks.

If it's not yet at this stage at the end of 3 hours then finish it off on your oven racks with the oven temperature set at 150 degrees and the door ajar. When the strips are chewy-crisp remove them from the heat. Allow them to cool and store in Ziploc plastic bags. Refrigerate to store longer than a few days.

There you have another beef jerky dimension. Smoked Beef Jerky!