Dehydrator and home made jerky?

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ElenaDragon

New member
I have two questions. First, does anyone have a dehydrator they can recommend? Second, does anyone use it to make home made beef/turkey jerky? Store bought jerky is so expensive and has too much sodium and additives, but in theory it is a great protein snack. I'm thinking that it would be much healthier and cheaper to make it myself. I don't eat beef, so it would be turkey jerky.
 
I had a food dehydrator years and years ago that I bought from an infomercial - it was nothing more than plastic trays with a heating element...

Inever made jerky with it but used to make sundried tomatoes and fruit leathers every so often.

I came to the conclusion that it was easier to just use a really low temp on the oven and i had the same effect.
 
I have read that you can do that, but also that you have to leave the oven door open a crack. It seems like this would waste a lot of energy, and we already spend quite a lot of money in the summer cooling our house (in Texas)! At least I could stick a dehydrator in the garage or something.
 
I got 3 of them. all are different brands and quality. the cheap walmart one works best. $20 maybe. just order the extra shelves with the order form that come with it. i make deer jerky and beef jerky. use a low sodium soy sauce with it.
 
Oh, mama. Thanks for reminding me! A dehydrator is certainly a backpacker's best friend, but I didn't think about busting it out for everyday snacks. We've got a 10 year old Magic Chef one, still works fine. We used to dehydrate everything. :p Homemade jerky (you can make your own marinades to reduce salt and change the flavor), all kinds of fruit chips (apple, banana, mango, pineapple, etc.), raisins and dried apricots, and fruit leathers. Personally, I think it's a great idea for convenient snacks.
 
I had to give my dehydrator away. Too much temptation! I love beef jerky & every time I made it, I would eat it all in a few days.
 
I have a Nesco American Harvest. It makes jerky in 6-8 hours! The most important thing is to make sure the dehydrator you get has a fan or you'll be waiting 12-24 hours.

Just get a roast (or turkey breast), freeze a couple hours to firm it up a bit and slice it THIN (1/4 inch or thinner).

Place thin slices in a bowl. Add enough of a marinade/sauce to cover meat, you can use soy, low sodium soy, worcestershire, or teriyaki sauce (or any lowry's marinade or plain old Italian dressing!). If using marinade or dressing, you don't need to add anything else. If you use a sauce, add a sprinkle of garlic powder (or minced garlic), onion powder and meat tenderizer (Adolph's has no MSG, so I use that.). (Meat tenderizer is salty, so don't overdo it. Meat tenderizer may not be necessary for turkey, though.)

Marinate the meat for 2-8 hours, mixing up with your hands every once in a while to make sure it all gets flavor.

Place slices on dehydrator and let it go! Check after 4 hrs and every hour after, rotate trays and take off any pieces that are done.

Simple! I make 3 lbs a week for my darling husband, it is his favorite snack for working the overnight shift.
 
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