My trusty old dehydrator finally gave up the ghost after about twenty or so years. I know that there are several on the market are there any favorites that one would suggest? What are some of the new features available that you all wold recommend? My old one was just an aluminum box with a heating coil on the bottom with perforated trays up the middle. It was clunky but it did the job.

The version of dehydrator I use is American Harvest by Nesco.  It is a round unit (about 16-18 inches in diameter) and typically comes with 3 trays--one having a solid plastic insert for items that are mostly liquid when you start.  The unit has a dial on top to control the heat level and there is an index printed on the top to give you temperature settings for a variety of items.

I added a few extra trays to process more items at the same time and bought extra plastic inserts.  The only deficiency I've found on this unit (if there is one) is that it doesn't have a timer.  I guess I could always plug it into a timer if I felt it was necessary.

dd

I make a ton of duck and goose jerky every fall with my dehydrator and I would highly recommend one by Excalibur.  I previously had one of the round white ones with the heating element/fan on the bottom and I do not give it high marks.  Fluids leaked into it and burned out the motor.  The Excalibur is much better, as the heating elements and fan is at the back.  This also makes the food dry more evenly.  With the round one, I had to shuffle the sheets as one side would be done before the other.  The Excalibur is also a snap to clean, but the round one was an absolute horror.  Just Google the name, you'll find lots about it.

I'll agree with lotalota, I currently use a Snack Master 2400 which is adequate using 5 trays, it has a thermostat so that you can vary the temps, based on what you’re drying. The   (You need to Login or Register is on my short list kind of expensive, it will make a great Christmas present to me.  

Thanks guys, I guess I'll have to check them out.  This year I've been overrun by deer and we got a depredation permit for the ranch.  I used to give the meat to the local prison work camp here in the woods since the State of California requires that we give the meat to someone rather than use it ourselves.  This past year one of the other prison camps sued the State because they were feeding the prisoners with deer meat and it wasn't USDA approved.  Wouldn'tcha know it but the crazy judicial system we have here in California went ahead an awarded the suit to the prisoners.  Now the camps won't take deer meat anymore so I'm drowning in venison. The good people of California have gotten citified to the point where hunting is frowned upon and hunting license sales are way down we are literally being overrun by deer.  They reproduce like bunnies.  Anyway I've got black tail jerky to make!

Thanks
Chuck

That's a shame SW, I'm sorry to hear that California is sticking it to you.  Good luck hunting however, and great luck with your jerky.  If you're looking for a good venison cookbooks try John O Cartier's book "Best Venison Ever".  You can find it on the internet and order it directly from him somewhere in Michgan.  I eat Venison almost every day, and use his cookbook a lot.  Everything in there is fantastic.

Thanks, I'll have to check out that cookbook, I love cookbooks.  I currently use the Sausage Maker's cookbook for my sausage recipes and for my jerky. You can find the sausage maker at   (You need to Login or Register he's located in Buffalo NY.  I particularly like using their spices because they are much more finely ground than I've found elsewhere.  [smiley=dankk2.gif] (sorry I couldn't figure out how to add a hyperlink for the webiste.)

tangent - I have a sausagemaker smoker and absolutely love it.  And I love their catalog when it comes in the mail - so many sausage and smoking products to try :)

Which smoker do you have? I love smoked meats and have a homemade smoker made out of a 50 gal drum but I've looked through the sausage maker's catalog and man, are they nice, with temperature control and all. That home made smoker needs constant tending. I also enjoy the cook book, they've got some really good recipes in it.

I have their bottom-of-the-line Country Smoker - the aluminum model, not the stainless steel.  The temp control is manual, but once I get the smoker's temp it to where it need to be, I can pretty much leave it and go about my business until the meat is ready.  Plenty enough room for my needs, and simple to use.    

Just my 2 cents, the Excaliber is a pretty good dehydrator.  I experimented with a friend's model before buying a 5 tray unit for myself.  Should have gone for the 9 tray for making meals for larger groups.  Get it with the teflex sheets for doing leathers, soups, and stews, etc.  Like lotalota says, easy to clean and use, dries fairly evenly (though I switch my trays around a couple times in each drying, as well) and comes with or without a timer on current models.

Like DentonDoc, I use the American Harvest Snackmaster Pro by Nesco.  I purchased 6 additionall trays for a total of 10.  I also purchased additional fruit roll sheets for making fruit leathers and dehydrated tomato sauce.  Works great and is reliable.

wrote on Apr 10^th, 2007 at 12:04am:

Like DentonDoc, I use the American Harvest Snackmaster Pro by Nesco.  I purchased 6 additionall trays for a total of 10.  I also purchased additional fruit roll sheets for making fruit leathers and dehydrated tomato sauce.  Works great and is reliable.

Something I've discovered, instead of solid trays for roll ups or other semi liquid items try parchment paper, for the roll ups you can leave them on the parchment paper and just roll them up it works great. Tip: if you have something that is hard to remove from a drier tray, put the tray in the freezer for a couple of minutes the dried items will peel off esaily.

flp

[smiley=dankk2.gif]
Thanks for the suggestions flpaddler.  I will give them a try in late June when I start dehydrating for our July and August BWCAW trips.