Heads up cheap dehydrator

[spandit]

Well the apples were OK and the grapes were almost completely unaffected but buying raisins is a lot cheaper than all the electricity from the dehydrator. I cut some beef steak and marinated half of it in a LOT of garlic and the rest in teriyaki. Marinated for about 5 hours and then dried them overnight. House stinks of garlic (which is good) - even though I have a cold and can barely smell. Have eaten most of it but there are a few strips left.

I think next time I'll pat stuff dry beforehand and try not to use oil in the marinade as the garlic stuff is a bit greasy. Next I'll be marinating some venison mince and rolling out onto baking parchment (I'll score it so it's easy to break into strips). Wish I'd bought one with a timer, though, although I could plug it into a timer socket, I suppose...

 

[Robson Valley]

Beef is fatty enough, I wouldn't add any oil. Here, we're told that 100g cooked lean beef contains 9g fat.
I don't use any oil, cooking or drying Bison which is supposed to be 2g/100g meat. It really is dry so cooking style changes.
Venison, moose and elk are similar to bison in fat content. Wish I was close enough to trade bison for venison.
I'll bet that garlic beef won't last a week!

BTW, spandit, what temperature are you running at? I set mine to 71C for the bison and 12 hrs seems quite dry.

Noble thought to make raisins but I agree, sun-dried is cheaper! I can do 4-5kg Roma tomato halves
overnight at 58C. Some thick ones are still leathery. Pack 500ml jars and top up with seasoned olive oil.

 

[Nice65]

Well the apples were OK and the grapes were almost completely unaffected but buying raisins is a lot cheaper than all the electricity from the dehydrator. I cut some beef steak and marinated half of it in a LOT of garlic and the rest in teriyaki. Marinated for about 5 hours and then dried them overnight. House stinks of garlic (which is good) - even though I have a cold and can barely smell. Have eaten most of it but there are a few strips left.

I think next time I'll pat stuff dry beforehand and try not to use oil in the marinade as the garlic stuff is a bit greasy. Next I'll be marinating some venison mince and rolling out onto baking parchment (I'll score it so it's easy to break into strips). Wish I'd bought one with a timer, though, although I could plug it into a timer socket, I suppose...

Use the biltong method, don't put wet beef in a drier.

60g/40g salt/spice.

Remove any muscle sheath from some silverside. Cut down the grain in whatever thickness you want to create strips. It seems to me the dehydrator is a quicker process. I've cut mine at about 1-1.5cm for a 3-5 day spell in a biltong cupboard.

The strips have been left in vinegar for about an hour, wiped, then rubbed with the spice and salt. The vinegar is important for killing bugs, as is the salt in the spice mix. Also, use a decent long blade to cut so as not to lacerate the meat, the lacerations can be a nice place for mould to grow.

 

[Robson Valley]

nice65: what temperatures are you running? Just my chronic self doubt = "am I doing this right?"

 

[Zingmo]

Well the BCUK power of suggestion got to me again and I've ordered one.

I find I'm a bit concerned about the idea of using minced meat. Isn't there a risk of E-coli 0157 if you don't cure it enough?

I used to do biltong in a cardboard box with a 60W incandescent bulb in the bottom. I found the trick was to layer the meat with lots of rock salt in the fridge for a while with a good thick layer of salt at the bottom. The salt drew a lot of water out of the meat but, as it was rock salt, it didn't dissolve so much: The juices could drain away to the bottom of the container without leaving the meat in a puddle of brine. Then, before going in the box, it was easy to brush off the remaining salt without having to rinse it and get it wet again. The other trick was getting it just spicy enough so the kids wouldn't eat it...!

They are already asking when it will be damson season as they have a great liking for fruit leather.

Z

 

[Nice65]

nice65: what temperatures are you running? Just my chronic self doubt = "am I doing this right?"

The air is warmed only very slightly by a 60w light bulb. A computer fan pulls air past it and out of the top of the box. It's slow, air drying. I can take some pics if you want to see it.

 

[spandit]

I was cooking mine at 70ºC. Can't tell you whether or not it's likely to go mouldy because I've just finished the last bit...

 

[Toddy]

It does disappear fast, doesn't it ?

I cored and sliced up some strawberries that I got for 20p in the supermarket reduced stuff, and those are absolute flavour bombs when dried

M

 

[Robson Valley]

The book that came with my NESCO American Harvest dryer says:
- after drying, heat in a low oven (75C) for 30+ minutes to reduce the risk of salmonella.
- freeze game 60 days before drying to kill potential parasites.

burger/mince: I expect what I get from the butcher here is pretty clean.
Store bought stuff might need a hot smoke (oats) also.
Not difficult to rig an old gas BBQ to do any smoking needed.

 

[Robson Valley]

nice65: that's OK, I understand what you're doing.
spandit: just can't stop at one piece can you? Neither can I.

I confess to using a store bought cure and the companion seasoning mix.

jerky: I know that I can get 17' of strip from a pound 454g meat. That squirts out to cover a double-size (25x45cm) mesh cake rack.
I load 2 of those racks and into a slow 250F oven with the door cracked open 1". I just keep poking at it to test for dryness.
Then I break it up and bag it and freeze it. Aftr a week or two, lots of moisture condenses out as piles of ice crystals in the bags.
That just means more drying = OK by me. I rebag and toss the ice.