Using a dehydrator

[winger7mm]

Well as the title says using a dehydrator. Im interested in trying out some jerky and doing some fruit type things for hunting this year. The jerky of course is a snack thing for now though lol. Having never used one before im wondering if anyone on here uses them?? If so care to offer up any tips and tricks

[leeaspell]

When you text a piece of jerky, let it cool first, that will give a better idea of dryness. Ruined my first few batches by over drying it.

[CamoHunter]

Dehydrators are awesome for jerky and for dried fruit. Super easy to use, just throw it on and let it go (make sure to time it and check it in intervals though) My Dad makes jerky every year and even me and my brothers are able to help out now. Just make sure that the meat is cut thin enough to dry properly and yes make sure to let it cool to test the dryness. You'll get addicted to making your own jerky like this

[HunterDave]

I use my dehydrator all the time for jerky. I just eyeball the thickness of the slices but it'd be about 1/8" to 1/4" thick, about the same if you're using a press with burger. Dehydrating time is about 4 to 6 hours depending on the thickness of the meat and how you like it. To be safe, they recommend putting it in the oven after dehydrating to kill any bacteria.

I have a couple of American Harvester dehydrators and the first time I just followed the instructions for making jerky in the manual that comes with them. It's always turned out good and I pretty much just try a piece after 4 hours to decide how much longer to let it dry. I've never finished it in the oven but that's just me.

It's pretty easy IMO if you follow the instructions that they give.

[backpacker]

I use one all the time for dehydrating bison, elk and beef burger for my backpacking trips.
I never heard of putting the jerky in the oven after but be sure to remove all fat from the meat before dehydrating it, it will go rancid if left out on the shelf for too long. I always store my dehydrated goods in the freezer until I need it but it should keep in the cupboard for up to 3 weeks.
I've also dehydrated chili, beef stew, even pre made casaroles and sea food chowders.

[rottie]

You can also puree your fruit and make your own fruit leather

[CNP]

My wife has had a dehydrator for 20 years. Rectangular 1 ft X 2 ft X 2 ft (12 trays). She is the jerky fashioner in our house and she does a great job. Marinating the meat before hand, to a taste you really like, is key to great jerky. I usually eat it guicky.........ate a 5 lb moose roast cut into jerky one Christmas day.....wasn't feeling so well afterwards.. Then again I've forgotten that I stashed a portion somewhere and found it six months later. Still good to the last chew. She just puts it into zip lock bags after it is cooled. Still alive to tell.

Oh yeah.............she dries all kinds of veggies and fruit too.

[bobalong]

I have only made goose and deer jerky with mine. It works well, I tried the mix and jerky gun, and although it tasted good, it was a big mess to clean.

The last few batches I just use the Hi Mountain jerky mix, tried a few different kinds, they all taste good. I have an Excalibur unit, with the fan so you don't have to move the trays. I can do about 15 lbs at a time, but it doesn't last long. I cut all my jerky 1/4" and ended up buying a meat slicer, much easier especially for geese.

[winger7mm]

I usually do my jerky in the oven, but seeing how its gonna be around the 30 degree mark for a few weeks, well itll be to darn hot in the house to run the oven for a few hours at "my" temp lol. Which is why I want to try out the dehydrator. It was given to me by a good friend who got it for a gift awhile ago but never used it, no instructions or manuals lol.

Iv seen someone post about using times from 4-8hrs, Heres a pretty dumb question but how do dehydrators work? is it a heat thing or air movement or am I way off lol.

FWIW I love using the Himountain spices, they have a great mixture and for $8 to do 15lbs cant go wrong
Well I have 6lbs for a first batch that I will prepare in the morning and should be ready to go in wednesday

[HunterDave]

The dehydrator forces hot air through it with a fan to dry it out.

It's a good point about making sure that there's no fat on the meat or it'll go rancid really fast. I make my jerky with deer/moose so it's not something that immediately comes to mind for me. Wild game makes the best jerky because of the lack of fat IMO but I know a fella that makes it from beef and it tastes great. Trim all of the fat!

[iliketrout]

I have used a dehydrator to make both ground and whole muscle meat jerky. Our favorite is the Hi Mountain Mesquite flavor, comes out nice on the Dehydrator. I recently got a smoker and while the smoker does a better job than a dehydrator (for my own taste), you can't beat the simple process by using a dehydrator.

I typically do 4 lb batches and it would take 4-5 hours. Usually end up with about 2lb of finished product.

[winger7mm]

Originally Posted by HunterDave

The dehydrator forces hot air through it with a fan to dry it out.

It's a good point about making sure that there's no fat on the meat or it'll go rancid really fast. I make my jerky with deer/moose so it's not something that immediately comes to mind for me. Wild game makes the best jerky because of the lack of fat IMO but I know a fella that makes it from beef and it tastes great. Trim all of the fat!

Make sure the fats off lol mostly I use goose meat, its darn near the perfect bird to jerky. The breasts are just the perfect size to slice with nice sized pieces, with out the pieces being to big. I have in these next batches though mostly goose but I do have some duck, deer and a couple pounds of elk for myself lol

[fishtank]

i found this on the net seem to be bigger and can handle more goodies
http://www.traditionaltx.us/images/J...structions.pdf

the only think iam not sure about the temp for jerky, don' want to risk it might do it with this @ first and finish it in the oven @ 160F.