Electric Smoker Jerky Water Pan

You should line both the drip and water pans of your smoker with aluminum foil to make your cleanup easier.

Electric smoker jerky water pan. When smoking jerky you need a low temperature and little smoke. Leave some air space between strips of protein. If it s cold outside you can add hot or boiling water to the pan and that will help the smoker come up to temperature quicker. As usual you ll want to place the beef in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour before you slice it up for easier uniform between the strips.

Marinate or dry rub the protein first. This will eliminate direct heat and flames from potentially burning the food as well as eliminate potential flare ups caused by dripping fat falling onto your charcoal. A water pan goes above the heat source. If you use a smoker like a weber smokey mountain which you can learn more about in our review your water pan will be directly below the meat and directly above the charcoal.

Do not use extra smoking chips in your smoker when making jerky. If using a charcoal grill or charcoal wood smoker this pan would be placed above the coal area. Add meat and marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Fill the water pan with water and add your favorite wood chips to the smoker box.

I use the water pan during the smoke only usually about an hour and then i pull it. Water can be used to help in smoker temperature control. There are a few reason to add water to the smoker water pan. If you want to introduce a water pan on an lp gas grill this would be placed over the lit burners.

When making jerky in your masterbuilt electric smoker there a few basic rules of thumb that i like to follow. In a medium bowl or zip top bag thoroughly mix soy sauce worcestershire sauce honey red pepper flakes onion powder garlic powder and black pepper. Have an electric unit and you ll find the pan over the electric heating element. And if it s hot outside and the smoker is getting to warm adding cold water will help keep the smoker temperature where you want it.

Bring the temperature up to 180 f to 200 f and add a handful of wood chips to the smoker. Lay the protein directly on the smoker grates not a sheet pan. An electric smoker will introduce a small amount of smoke but a charcoal or hardwood fire will generate plenty of smoke. Smoke at this temperature until the wood chips have quit smoking about 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Ideally the temperature should be just under 150 f 65 c. The amount of time depends a lot on the size of the load the thickness of the meat etc. Set your smoker to 165 f. I try to keep the temp between 170 and 180.