From Derrick Riches,
Your Guide to Barbecues & Grilling.
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One of the first things people want to do with a new smoker is make jerky. Jerky can be easy to make in a smoker, oven, food dehydrator or in the sun. Making jerky in a smoker adds a great smoky flavor that you won't get any other way. However it is easy to over smoke jerky because it is cut so thin before being smoked. Do not use extra smoking chips in your smoker when making jerky.

Jerky, or Jerked Meat is long thin strips of meat that have been dried. Typically this meat is beef and the traditional method of drying is in the sun. Jerky has been popular for hundreds of years with people who need to carry their own food like trappers in the olden days and hikers today. Jerky is tough and salty, but light weight and lasts for a very long time without refrigeration or very much care.

To make jerky first start with a very lean cut of meat. You can use most anything but I recommend starting out with something like a sirloin tip roast because it's generally lean and easy to work with. Trim all the fat from the meat. Fat will become rancid fast and will increase the drying times. Cut the meat across the grain into 1/4 inch slices. Now if you look at some of the recipes I have listed, you will see some different spice mixtures and marinades. Pick something that appeals to you sense of taste. However if you want to keep it simple sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper and start smoking.

When smoking jerky you need a low temperature and little smoke. Ideally you need a temperature just under 150 degrees F. If you are using an electric smoker you can introduce a small amount of smoke, but if you are smoking over a charcoal or hardwood fire you will get plenty of smoke from this. You need to smoker or dry your jerky until it is completely dry. Depending on how you do it and your climate this can take 12 to 72 hours.

Trying to run a smoker for more than about 12 hours can be a challenge for many people. When it comes to jerky you are going to get the smoke flavor into the meat in about 3 hours. After this you can take the jerky out of the smoker and finish it off in a food dehydrator or the oven, or even out in the sun. If you are sun drying jerky you need to live in a relatively dry climate and have someplace where insects and animals can't get to it.

One warning about pork. Frequently pork contains a parasite called trichinella. Getting this is very bad, so don't. Food bacteria and parasites are killed at temperatures about 165o. Since Jerky can be made at much lower temperatures you need to take extra steps to kill this parasite. One trick is to freeze small pieces (no more than 6 inches thick) of pork below 5 degrees F for 20 days. Generally freezing meats for long period of times will cut the risk of food poisoning. If you use game meat freeze the meat for 60 days.