Dehydrator / Jerky

[Breagen]

Seeing as I consume a large quantity of jerky, due to a variety of reasons, I'm looking into picking up a dehydrator to start making my own and cut down on costs and all the preservatives etc in store bought stuff.

Does anyone have any experience with buying / using a dehydrator or making their own jerky? I could really use any help in terms of brands or types of machines to look for as well as tips on the actual jerky making process itself.

Thanks!

[Aabidano]

I used to make it in the oven and it came out great. I'll see if I can dig it up the recipe

[Canoe]

I make it in the oven as well - all the time.

I keep meaning to invest in a smoker, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

This is my favorite recipe... used with venison so your mileage may vary if you use a fatty cut of beef (venison has no fat). I imagine it would be fine, as long as you trim all fat off, and pick a fairly lean cut to begin with.

Make a mix of the following:

1/2 Cup Soy sauce
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 Teaspoon Pepper
2 Tablespoons Liquid Smoke (To give smokey flavor - you are doing it in the oven)
1 Teaspoon Season Salt
1 Teaspoon Onion Powder
1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

Take 2 Pounds of meat, cut into strips about 1-2 inches wide, 1/8inch thick, and as long as you want it (I prefer 6 inches or less as it hangs better).

Combine mix above in a glass bowl and add meat, mixing thoroughly to get coverage on all pieces (I use my hands to really work it together to make sure you cover everything). Cover with air tight lid (saran wrap can work - air tight is just so the fridge doesn't' smell like salt and smoke afterwards) and put in fridge for 24 hours.

After 24 hours, hang from oven racks with tooth picks individually. If you can picture it, put a toothpick through each piece, and put the toothpick perpendicular to your ovenrack so the jerky hangs below it. I leave it to dry like this over night, even up to 24 hours, but usually I hang it in the evening and then the next morning go to the next step. Leave oven cracked open (off - no heat yet) for air circulation - I stuff an oven mitt in between the door and the oven to keep a 1-2 inch crack open.

When you put it in the oven, be sure to put cookie sheets covered with foil on the bottom rack of the oven - will make clean up much easier later from the dripping pieces of jerky, and keep stuff from dripping on the heat elements.

The next day - turn your oven on as low as possible - LEAVING THE DOOR CRACKED OPEN. On most ovens this is 150-200 degrees, whatever the lowest setting is.

Check back in about 2-3 hours.. you don't want it "crispy" but you don't want it pliable either, after doing this once or twice, you will be able to tell when it's done. Usually it will take 3-6 hours depending on how thick you cut the jerky, and how long you let it hang and dry first.

This particular jerky recipe is a salty / smokey type taste. You can change it to what you like (for example I have friends who like heat in their jerky, so I back off some of the salt, and add pepper flakes to the recipe for them).

I know it's kind of a 3 day process (1 to marinade, one to hang to dry, and the third to "cook" it) - but it's a VERY good process that can be used with any marinade, with no need for a smoker

Generally what I do is take the meat out of the freezer on thursday morning before work and put it in the friday. Thursday night take it out and start slicing (it's still partially frozen here - makes it real easy to slice thin), marinade until Friday night. Hang to dry Friday night, and then turn the oven on Saturday morning. By noon on Saturday you have a good batch of jerky

FYI - don't skip the "drying" step (middle day), if you do the oven cooking will take much, much longer (took 10 hours once when I thought I could "skip" it).

I've done this maybe 100 times now with venison - works great now

[Canoe]

Oh and fyi, if you are purely going to make jerky - don't get a dehydrator, get a smoker.

If you are just doing jerky, you might as well just use your oven as a dehydrator as outlined above, waste of money otherwise unless you have one for other purposes.

[Breagen]

Sounds like I should be looking into a smoker instead than as I have no intention of making anything other than jerky. I had heard of the oven method but leaving the oven on for so long seemed like it could be a big electricity sink if I make it frequently.

Does anyone have any experience with smokers, buying or using, and are they something that I could set and forget so I could make jerky while either sleeping or at work?

[Canelek]

Since you are doing jerky and only jerky, you may want to look at an electric smoker such as the Big Chief or Little Chief. I think Cabelas has them, but they should be fairly common for outdoor or BBQ stores.

I have no experience with jerky, but I know folks who used those for smoking fresh salmon.

[Boogahz]

Since you are doing jerky and only jerky, you may want to look at an electric smoker such as the Big Chief or Little Chief. I think Cabelas has them, but they should be fairly common for outdoor or BBQ stores.

I have no experience with jerky, but I know folks who used those for smoking fresh salmon.

My mom used a Little Chief for several years for jerkey only. It worked great until her monster of a smoker was finished.