Beef Jerky (with a side of citrus)

[Winz]

Wanted to make some snacking treats and decided to do a beef jerky cook.  While a well-marbled piece of beef is great for steaks, quite the opposite is true for jerky.  The key is to buy the leanest cuts possible.  For this cook, I started with a small eye of round roast and cut it cross-grain at 1/8 inch.  I then marinated the pieces overnight in the following:

   
• 1 ¼ cups Soy Sauce
• 3 teaspoons salt
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons finely ground black pepper
• 3 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon onion powder

Here are the pieces laid out and ready for the smoker:

   
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  Wapiti gets the call.  I used Pecan chunks for smoke, and loaded the charcoal basket for a long, low, slow cook:
  
  
  
  
  
  After 3 hours at 130, I dialed up the automatic temperature controller (ATC) to 170.  The ATC was a lifesaver for this cook as I had to run an unplanned 3 hour "errand" in the middle of the cook.  The ATC kept everything as it needed to be without me tending the fire:
  
  
  
  
  
  My "errand" involved buying some citrus, but more on that story later....
  
  
  
  
  
  The payoff.  The cook took almost 7 hours.  The marinate and pecan provided a nice, basic jerky that was slightly salty (soy sauce) and had good smokyness.  The technique works well and I look forward to making some more exotic flavors:
  
  
  
  
  
  Winz

[Troy]

nice job!

can't wait to see more of your citrus!

[MrHoss]

The jerky looks good....I like smoked jerky for the beauty smoke ring. Your side trip for a little citrus looks very fruitful.....and worthy.

[1buckie]

The technique works well and I look forward to making some more exotic flavors:

Bord-O-Lay  (hint-hint!!!)

Nice fixup on the jerky !!!![/list]

[SixZeroFour]

The Jerky came out great Winz. Is there any tricks to getting a softer Jerky? I haven't made my own yet but find most store bought stuff too hard to chew.

... And yes, more details on the citrus please!

[BBcue-Z]

Nice looking jerky!!
Wow, what a setup!!

[Nate]

I think you need to drop off some of that jerky at my house just for quality control

[argentflame]

Great looking jerky. Nice snag on the yellow.