More dehydrating, the making of a meal for camp! Pic heavy!

[Hammock Hamster]

Hi all,

I've have a bit of free time recently and decided to give the dehydrator a bit of an airing.
I had a load of surplus veg that was about to turn so got a load of carrots, leeks and garlic in there this weekend.

The carrots and leeks were chopped and blanched for about 60 seconds then laid out in the dehydrator, I've recently discovered that blanching produces softer veg when rehydrated.

These were dehydrated for 6-7 hours and turned out like this

Next I decided to treat myself to a big silverside joint which was popped into the freezer to get slightly hard which makes slicing it easier then cut into nice thick steaks with the fat removed ready for cutting into jerky sized strips. The excess meat was wrapped in manageable parcels and popped into the freezer for use on another day.

I have put my jerky recipe up here before so please feel free to skip this bit if you have seen it before - I thought I'd try more of a step by step guide is time round.

Firstly the marinade. The dry ingredients are salt, pepper, powdered garlic and onion (from my dehydrated stock of course ) and molasses though standard brown sugar works fine.
Level tablespoon of each except the molasses which is about 2 heaped ones.

Next the wet ingredients which are light soy, Worcester sauce and liquid smoke - 2 table spoons each of the first to and about a teaspoon of the liquid smoke.

Add a dash of boiling water so everything mixes well and dissolves.

Next cut the beef into strips, I have tried to give an indication of size by holding it next to my thumb.

Then chuck it in to the marinade, coat well and leave in fridge overnight or longer if you can.

Once ready blot off the meat with some kitchen paper to remove excess marinade and lay out in dehydrator.

Dehydrate for around 6-8 hours (making sure to rotate the trays periodically)depending if you want the meat still slightly moist/pink (I do this if I'm planning to eat it within a few days) or completely dry if you want to store it as this batch has been.

That's it for the dehydrating but I also wanted to point out the benefit, for me, in doing this other than preserving food that would usually go off.
Now i don't mind boil in the bag meals and they have a place when I'm out and about but I do like "proper" food and when I have the time to site back and wait for something to cook this is what I usually do.

Meat, leeks, carrots, onion, garlic, sweet corn (all dehydrated at home) into a pan with some salt and a dash of oxo.

Water in and simmer for 30 mins up to as long as you want.

Everything will rehydrate and is almost the same as if you had used the fresh equivalent, the meat benefits from being put in first and given 15 mins or so before the veg.
The other option is if you are in a static camp just cover everything in cold water in advance and allow it to rehydrate well in advance of cooking.

Anyway I hope you like it, the biggest benefit for me is that the dehydrated food looses both weight and bulk and I can carry enough food for 3 people to have 1 meal in the same space and weighing less than one boil in the bag meal.

All the best, Hamster

 

[bilmo-p5]

Good stuff. Hope to be doing a similar thing shortly.

Don't forget the greens, not least spinach. Very lightly salted dried spinach is a bit like chinese crispy seaweed but much better, better, better!

 

[Man of Tanith]

Don't forget the greens, not least spinach. Very lightly salted dried spinach is a bit like chinese crispy seaweed but much better, better, better!

i am so trying that out

 

[TinkyPete]

great post...

really like more ammo for when I get my dehydrator

maybe a sticky for dehydrated meal ideas???:thinkerg:

 

[Hammock Hamster]

Don't forget the greens, not least spinach. Very lightly salted dried spinach is a bit like chinese crispy seaweed but much better, better, better!

Mmmm now that does sound good, hadnt got round to doing any proper greens yet but i DO like crispy seaweed!!!

 

[Grendel]

Great Idea never thought of doing dehydrated veg to add to jerky for instant stew.

 

[mountainm]

If you grind the dehydrated veg into a powder do you get instant soup?

 

[Niels]

Question: isn't the dehydrated meat you put in your soup raw? Is it still edible that way? (I guess it is as you ate it)

 

[Hammock Hamster]

If you grind the dehydrated veg into a powder do you get instant soup?

I don't see any reason why not, I tend to dehydrate a lot of garlic and onion and powder it for use as a seasoning when cooking.

It's good for stews, stir frys etc...but may try out a soup! Things like the onion and leeks powder well but the carrots and sweet corn would take some grinding to get anything resembling powder.

 

[bilmo-p5]

Things like the onion and leeks powder well but the carrots and sweet corn would take some grinding to get anything resembling powder.

To quote a well known U2b, 'Will it blend?'

 

[Hammock Hamster]

Question: isn't the dehydrated meat you put in your soup raw? Is it still edible that way? (I guess it is as you ate it)

Good question and I can't say I know the answer.

The dehydrated version is in effect raw as its not cooked in the process however it's safe to eat as the moisture is removed which takes away the breeding ground for bacteria (at least that how I understand so anyone who knows the chemistry/biology of it please feel free to correct me).

In theory you can eat raw beef though most find it unpalatable, personally I like my steak to be practically mooing when it's served but that's just me.

Once it's in the pot the water rehydrates the meat and then cooks in the same way as fresh beef.
I suppose that's just a long winded way of saying that it cooks when in the stew, it can be a little tougher than the raw equivalent but still plenty soft enough to eat.

 

[PDA1]

Whilst this is an excellent method in many ways, I thnik it would be easier to cook the stew(s) at home, then dehydrate the finished product, then all one needs do at camp is rehydrate and heat. All the suggestions I have seen recommend cutting meat and all other foods to the smallest possible size, or they take for ever to rehydrate, so ground meat in stews is preferred to chunks.
One thing to consider, if you cover your dried meat withj water and leave for some hours to rehydrate before cooking, it will be a wet food in the danger zone of 40 to 140 deg f for a considerable time, which encourages bacterial growth. IMO, that's why fast rehydration is required for me. So I pour boiling water over dehydrated cooked foods for both safety and time condsiderations.

 

[Hammock Hamster]

To quote a well known U2b, 'Will it blend?'

I must admit I've not tried it in he blender but following the soup post below I might try and knock up a nice veggie soup in it and see how we'll it all dissolves.

 

[mountainm]

I must admit I've not tried it in he blender but following the soup post below I might try and knock up a nice veggie soup in it and see how we'll it all dissolves.

Blend it first then dehydrate the pulp?

 

[bilmo-p5]

Blend it first then dehydrate the pulp?

It had occurred to me that grated carrot would dry (& rehydrate) much more quickly than sliced

 

[mountainm]

It had occurred to me that grated carrot would dry (& rehydrate) much more quickly than sliced

I meant blend all the raw veg together...

 

[ateallthepies]

With beef I believe when fresh it's only the outside surface that can be a potential breeding ground for germs, hence why fresh raw or rare beef is OK to consume but minced beef should always be cooked as it's all mixed up meat and why burgers are a prime cause of food poisoning. The marinade should take care of the outside germs if any are present if the marinade is salty or acidic. Drying then prevents anything growing at all.

This is what I was taught or read but as always if I'm relaying bad info please say.

Steve.

 

[Hammock Hamster]

Whilst this is an excellent method in many ways, I thnik it would be easier to cook the stew(s) at home, then dehydrate the finished product, then all one needs do at camp is rehydrate and heat. All the suggestions I have seen recommend cutting meat and all other foods to the smallest possible size, or they take for ever to rehydrate, so ground meat in stews is preferred to chunks.
One thing to consider, if you cover your dried meat withj water and leave for some hours to rehydrate before cooking, it will be a wet food in the danger zone of 40 to 140 deg f for a considerable time, which encourages bacterial growth. IMO, that's why fast rehydration is required for me. So I pour boiling water over dehydrated cooked foods for both safety and time condsiderations.

Fair comment, I had always assumed the cooking process (boiling and then simmering) would do away with any bacteria and that a couple of hours in a covered billy wouldn't give enough time for a significant amount to breed (even in warm weather) unless the food, water or container were significantly contaminated in the first place.
That said I'm no expert as the only bacteria I know anything about is legionella through my work.

I'm not a big fan of dehydrating the meat pre cooked as I tend to snack on it a lot whilst outdoors and its doesn't quite taste right.

 

[bilmo-p5]

You could finely slice (either at home or in camp) your jerky before adding it to the pot. The smaller sized pieces and their greater surface area would enhance rehydration & cooking times.

 

[PDA1]

@hammock hampster. Correct, boiling will kill bacteria. However, if large quantities of bacteria are living in your food for significant time before they are killed, they can generate toxins, which might reach a high enough concentration to be dangerous in the meal to be eaten. Board of health regulations here (USA) demand that potentially hazardous foods for public consumption (ie in a restaurant) may not stay in the 40-140 (5-60 Celsius) for more than 2 hours before they must be thrown away. PHFs include wet foods such as meat. BTW, when dehydrating meat, be sure the temperature is above 160 f (70C) . The likes of e coli and salmonella are bad enough at home, on the trail they are a quantum step worse.