food dehydrator

[moncton golden flames]

i'm looking at buying a food dehydrator, but know nothing about them. does anybody use one? if so, what can you say about it? pros vs cons, price points, sizes etc...

[Slava]

Originally Posted by moncton golden flames

i'm looking at buying a food dehydrator, but know nothing about them. does anybody use one? if so, what can you say about it? pros vs cons, price points, sizes etc...

I have a really old one that I bought for hiking/backpacking years ago. I can't really comment on features and that sort of thing. Basically you put food in and leave it and it comes out dry! I guess it depends on what the intended uses are and that sort of thing?

[moncton golden flames]

Originally Posted by Slava

I have a really old one that I bought for hiking/backpacking years ago. I can't really comment on features and that sort of thing. Basically you put food in and leave it and it comes out dry! I guess it depends on what the intended uses are and that sort of thing?

looking to use it for backcountry camping foods, beef jerky, storage for extra foods from the garden etc...

[afc wimbledon]

Thrift store special out here, food dehydrators are like bread machines and electric skillets, there are always one or two down at the Sally Ann for 5 or 10 bucks.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by moncton golden flames

looking to use it for backcountry camping foods, beef jerky, storage for extra foods from the garden etc...

Well I just dehydrate things and reconstitue them for food when I go backpacking. That was the primary goal and I bought mine from a guy who likely never used it (which is pretty common!). I think that mine has 5 trays and the base. You arrange the foods, plug it in and thats that. It has no real features per se, so I couldn't really advise you on what to look for.

I would look at second hand stores/garage sales though. There isn't much to these things that I know of and not much that can go wrong.

[AvsJerk]

I've wondered how they work for beef jerky. Do you brine the beef or something to preserve it? Wouldn't you essentially end up with a piece of dehydrated raw beef? Seems like that could be dangerous for food born illnesses.

[Komskies]

Originally Posted by AvsJerk

I've wondered how they work for beef jerky. Do you brine the beef or something to preserve it? Wouldn't you essentially end up with a piece of dehydrated raw beef? Seems like that could be dangerous for food born illnesses.

Most food dehydrators use a combination of air and heat to dehydrate the food, so the food is partially cooked, partially dried.

Alton Brown has a pretty delicious beef jerky recipe from Good Eats, although his method involved a home-made dehydrator made out of air filters and an industrial fan (no heat, just air):

Beef Jerky

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005
Prep Time:20 minInactive Prep Time:8 hr 0 minCook Time:12 hr 0 min Levelifficult Serves:10 to 12 ounces

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds flank steak
• 2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Special Equipment: 1 box fan, 4 paper air-conditioning filters, and 2 bungee cords

Directions

Trim the flank steak of any excess fat, place in a zip-top bag, and place it in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours in order to firm up.
Remove the steak from the freezer and thinly slice the meat with the grain, into long strips.
Place the strips of meat along with all of the remaining ingredients into a large, 1-gallon plastic zip-top bag and move around to evenly distribute all of the ingredients. Place the bag into the refrigerator for 3 to 6 hours.
Remove the meat from the brine and pat dry. Evenly distribute the strips of meat onto 3 of the air filters, laying them in the grooves and then stacking the filters on top of one another. Top these with 1 empty filter. Next, lay the box fan on its side and lay the filters on top of it. Strap the filters to the fan with 2 bungee cords. Stand the fan upright, plug in and set to medium. Allow the meat dry for 8 to 12 hours. If using a commercial dehydrator, follow the manufacturer's directions.
Once dry, store in a cool dry place, in an airtight container for 2 to 3 months.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by AvsJerk

I've wondered how they work for beef jerky. Do you brine the beef or something to preserve it? Wouldn't you essentially end up with a piece of dehydrated raw beef? Seems like that could be dangerous for food born illnesses.

Meat gets marinated for a time in an acidic sauce, soy, worcestshire etc. The acidity keeps any bacteria out while the drying process takes place.

[drewboy12]

Oh I want one so bad.. had one as a kid, always had banana chips and beef jerky!

[Komskies]

Originally Posted by drewboy12

Oh I want one so bad.. had one as a kid, always had banana chips and beef jerky!

Banana chips and apple chips ftw!

[AvsJerk]

Originally Posted by drewboy12

Oh I want one so bad.. had one as a kid, always had banana chips and beef jerky!

I buy dehydrated whole bananas occasionally from the hippie grocery store and those things are great. It's a whole banana dehydrated, not cut into chips, so it is still somewhat moist.

[burnin_vernon]

I liked mine but I moved and don't have room for the thing anymore. Jerky was great and I also liked putting apple sauce in it to make fruit roll ups. $10 and it's yours. Should be worth the drive to Vancouver.

[DownInFlames]

I recommend this one: http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/p...33,44734,66386

I've seen them at other places, like London Drugs, but they're at least twice the price. Get a couple of extra trays too. Six seems perfect when making jerky. I rotate them every hour or so to make sure it dries evenly.

Alton Brown's recipe is pretty much standard, so I would give it a try.

[Sr. Mints]

I tried Alton Brown's recipe a few years ago. My house smelled amazing, but frankly the no-heat thing turned me off. Some of the smaller pieces were dry, quite delicious and edible, but any of the pieces of meat I cut too big (say, over 1 cm in thickness) tasted like I was eating raw meat, still a bit wet and raw.

Also--and it's been a while, so I might be misremembering--but I seem to remember havig difficulty finding all cotton furnace filters. So I just went with the ones that felt the most natural and were the cheapest.

[Berger]

Most ovens you buy nowadays have dehydrators build right into them. I've been making jerky for a few years now out of one and have had great reviews. Never used an actual dehydrator so can't really compare the built in oven one and the actual one, but check your oven manuel and see if you have one. Even my old oven had one as well, and it was 13 years old.

[Hack&Lube]

I just use my toaster oven.

It has a convection fan and a 150° C dehydration mode. I do beef jerky for about 5-10 hours depending on thickness.