The new Nano Q temperature control from Guru
TRAVELING DOWN ROCKY’S BARBECUE ROAD
By Rocky Danner
World Barbecue Organizer
rocbbq@vallnet.com
After the hunt is over and the lucky hunters have sent their trophies to the taxidermist, it is time to deal with the best eating snack in the world, venison jerky. When properly butchered and smoked, it will stand up to almost any other snack meat out there. Considering it’s two to four dollars an ounce for store bought jerky, you not only save money, but also the flavor of choice cuts cannot be — in my humble opinion — matched.
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Photo by Rocky Danner
Chris loads up the Caldera De Fuego. |
We chose to save a few steaks and loins, but the rest went into making jerk. This product has stood the test of time. Without it, the pioneers might not have made the long journey west. Riders went ahead of the wagon train loaded down with bags of jerky to the nearest river or water hole to reconstitute it, making it palatable for the folks to cook with vegetables. They could eat it as most of the salt would have rinsed off during the soaking but enough would be left to season the meat, too. The riders always carried a bag on their saddle for nourishment on the long rides because fresh meat was hard to come by.
I learned the value of “Biltong” (a South African jerky) while on a two week safari in South Africa. We carried Biltong to eat on long day hunts. They use different spices, such as coriander, vinegar, brown sugar, and cuts up to 1 to 2 inches thick cuts. The Biltong is either smoked or the thinner cuts spread out on the desert bushes to air dry in the hot sun.
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Photo by Rocky Danner
Good eats! The finished jerky. |
I was asked to give a demo on making jerky at the Cache Core Hunting Camp, owned and operated by Dean Doctorman, Ullin, IL. After a call to Bob Trudnak, “a.k.a. BBQ Bob” who is the manager of the BBQ Guru, he informed me about a new Guru temperature gauge called the NanoQ that would work great on my two Guru cookers. Later that week I received two complete sets of the new Pit Minder “NanoQ” which replaced the old dial pit minder and did a trial run on the smokers.
I loaded up my Guru Tall Boy, which has 12 shelves that are full pan size, and my old trusty Caldera Del Fuego, which a few years ago I named the jerky machine — thanks to Chris Doctorman who replaced the original shelving with eight 1/8 inch stressed plate grates, 22’x 24”, which gave me more than ample room of cooking space.
Several of the hunters brought in deer, elk, and duck to feed the jerky machine. The duck breast was a first for me, but we were pleasantly surprised as several of the hunters preferred duck jerky over the venison. The Tall Boy was also loaded up with thinly sliced jalapeños for making dried chipotle peppers, and did they ever turn out great.
Chris rounded up a large Hobart Slicer, and with the meat in an almost frozen state, the slicing was a breeze. Thanks to Charles Haines the meat was trimmed of all fat and gristle. The meat marinated overnight and was then smoked with an assortment of seasoned wild cherry and apple which gave the jerky a nice smokey — but not overpowering — flavor.
Early the next morning after a power breakfast of bacon, biscuits, gravy, and eggs, we fired up the smokers and gave the new NanoQ its first test run.
We smoked the jerky for nine hours, rotating the trays every two hours. The jalapeño peppers took 12 hours to dry due to the moisture content, but the jerky came out great, I do not like for jerky to be so dry that it cracks, so we monitored it closely in the last few hours.What amazed me was the duck breast jerky, after cleaning off the film from the breast, took the marinade quite well and the flavor and texture was great.
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Photo by Rocky Danner
Chris Doctorman and Charles Haines bag up
the finished product. |
I was pleasantly surprised at the way the NanoQ held a constant temperature after the fire settled in. It is great not having to babysit your cooker. It was checked every few hours, but we did not have the temperature spikes that come with using the draft vents for fire control. The NanoQ did the job, holding the set temperature and allowing me to head out for a hunt for pheasant and grouse.
A special thanks to Larry Spurlock, a local hunter and guide, and his dog “Cache.” Larry, if you’re reading this, I will take that pup ( ache) off your hands!
We are looking forward to using the NanoQ next weekend at the Hammond, LA, contest.
I made a couple mistakes when hooking up the NanoQ, but when all else fails, read the instructions. My mistake was not fully plugging the wires into the unit.
Some of the features of the NanoQ are listed below.
Nano Features
 The new NanoQ is the simplest, yet state-of-the-art, pit temperature controller. The extremely accurate device combines simplicity and ease of use, giving you control over your pit’s temperature to ensure great BBQ. The simple sophistication and reliable design of the NanoQ makes use of temperature indicator already built into your pit.
User friendly simple pit temperature control comes preset at 225°F and one click of either the up or down button will raise or lower the temperature 5°F.
Set point Capture Feature sets your set point to the read temperature.
Adaptive Control Algorithm learns your pit for optimal control
Open lid detect reduces temperature fluctuation and overshoot.
Exclusive magnetic mount
Real time blower status indication
50 to 475°F range +/- 5°F repeatability
Runs on 100-240 VAC or 12 VDC for automotive supply use
Rugged, armored high temperature pit probes
Be sure to fully insert your probe into the control. Push the plug into the connection securely until you feel and hear it snap into place. If you do not plug the probes in securely, you may experience sporadic operation or a blinking yellow LED and the NanoQ will not control your cooker accurately. The temperature may also read low causing your cooker to get excessively hot. It took me awhile to figure it out, but it does work properly when hooked up.
Blower size
The standard 4 CFM blower is good for small or medium size grills or smokers. The 10 CFM and 25 CFM blowers are good for medium and large grills or smokers.
To learn more about the NanoQ, go to the BBQ Guru website at www.thebbqguru.com or call 800-288-4878.
To schedule hunts, call Dean Doctorman at 618-845-3367. The club is located at Route 1, Box 69, Ullin, IL. Dean has guided hunts or you may bring your own dog.
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