wrote on Sep 6^th, 2005 at 12:38am:

I do the same thing as flpaddler.  Never thought of adding the sloppy joe or chili mix first.  Have to give that one a try.  One other tip.  Line the dehydrator tray with a paper towel.  The hamburger dries down to the size of instant coffe and will fall thru the tray other wise.

Taco seasoning also works well in this process.  So, if you are going for beef tacos or beef and bean burritos, this works well.  

I also typically use the plastic liner (same as used to dehydrate tomato paste, picante sauce, etc.) inside the tray when dehydrating "fine grained" meats (e.g., chicken and hamburger).

As for storage, my previous experience with dehydrated chicken in plastic bags (which wind up getting holes in them from the sharp edges of the dehydrated chicken) has lead me to put dehydrated meats in old vitamin bottles, being more rigid/rugged than ziplock bags.  After the vitamins are gone, I remove the labels and clean then thoroughly.  The screw-on caps are convenient and bottles are easier to use to dispense a part of the contents in one meal and the remainder for another.  Of course, partially full bottles are also nice for the initial re-hydration process.  I also look for bottle sizes that will telescope into other storage containers to minimize space after the contents are used.

dd