Smoking Meat or Meat Jerky by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.

Slice the meat into strips in the same direction as the muscle. Each strip should be about 1 inch wide and 1/4 inch thick. The length isn't important. Trim off all the fat because the fat won't cure properly and it will spoil the meat.
Support the meat while drying by hanging it over a clean straight pole. Or push a thin wire through one end of each piece of meat and then hang the string of meat between two trees. The most important thing is that each piece of meat should not touch itself or another strip of meat.
There are two ways to dry the raw meat. First, dry the raw meat in direct sunlight. Protect the meat strips with cheesecloth or screen wire so the birds can't eat them and the flies can't lay eggs on them. This is the method that was used by some Native American Indians.
The best method is to dry the raw meat strips over a fire. Dig a hole in the ground and start a fire in the hole. Don't use soft wood such as pine because the pine pitch will taint the meat. When the fire has burned down to hot coals, hang the meat between two stakes about two feet above the hot coals. The air should feel hot to your hand but it should not burn your hand. You don't want to cook the meat. You only want to dry it. Add a few damp hardwood chips (or some decayed wood) to the coals to make smoke. The smoke will put a protective coating on the meat. The heat and the smoke will keep the birds and flies away. The heat will also destroy any harmful microorganisms in the meat.
Periodically bend the meat jerky strips to test for dryness. Properly dried meat jerky will crack or snap when bent. If it bends without cracking, it still contains too much moisture. If it crumbles, it is too dry. It will still be edible but it will have lost some of its nutritional value.
Store the dried meat jerky in a container to protect it from insects. Properly dried meat jerky is safe to eat for up to one year. It may be eaten dry but it tastes better if dipped in water for a short time just before eating. Or use the meat jerky in a stew.

Revised January 7, 2008 - Added the use of decayed wood to make smoke.

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How to Make Meat Jerky