Well the hamburger is browned and in the dehydrater... I'm a little afraid I won't know when it's done. Never dried anything before... you might say I'm wet under the ears on this.  :-/ Any thoughts on knowing when it's done? From stuff I've read it should be about ten hours...

Ben

Ben -- Here's the directions I've used before:

Dry (in dehydrator) for up to eight hours.  Turn the meat to ensure even drying.  Dehydrated hamburger looks and feels like chunks of ground coffee.

I've given up drying hamburger, personally.  I'll carry the extra weight and avoid the work.  Once it's cooked, it'll stay pretty good, especially if it isn't exposed to air.  Now I just cook it, cool it, and seal it in my foodsaver.  But I admire your ambition!

prouboy

Here's my 2cents

Brown lean burger, grind in processor or blender, rinse well in coffee press with very hot water( getting rid of fat that can go rancid :P), then dry in dehydrator until dry, and vacuum bag. PB is right about coffee ground texture ;)

[quote author=
I've given up drying hamburger, personally.  I'll carry the extra weight and avoid the work.  Once it's cooked, it'll stay pretty good, especially if it isn't exposed to air.  Now I just cook it, cool it, and seal it in my foodsaver.  But I admire your ambition!

prouboy[/quote]

Hmmm, I'll have to try your method for the first couple of days out or so, but I would think it would be questionable by the fourth or fifth day. I'm going for twelve days. Man a food bag for one guy and twlve days gets full fast... Thanks for the advise... both of you :)

Yeah, I just packed my food bag for 8 days, starting next week.  Weighed 25 pounds.  

prouboy

Puckster wrote on May 13^th, 2010 at 11:08pm:

Yeah, I just packed my food bag for 8 days, starting next week.  Weighed 25 pounds.

I hope you aren't sharing that food pack with anyone Prouboy.  You might have to resort to canibalism otherwise  ;D

jjcanoeguide wrote on May 14^th, 2010 at 1:39pm:

Puckster wrote on May 13th, 2010 at 11:08pm: Yeah, I just packed my food bag for 8 days, starting next week.  Weighed 25 pounds.   I hope you aren't sharing that food pack with anyone Prouboy.  You might have to resort to canibalism otherwise  ;D

Well, it seems like a lot of food.  Hopefully I don't do the Donner deed.  But dog Puck is 52 pounds, and might be my "Plan B."

prouboy

I dehydrate a LOT of hamburger.  I brown it, (not to small)
then I put it in a colander, (after draining grease)  Ussually don't have much grease, as I use 90% lean burger.  Then I put HOT tap water over the burger to drain off the grease that is left.  Then I put it on the trays and dehydrate.  I ussually dehydrate 8-12 hours, don't think you can over dehydrate it, just means you took more water out of it.  Kind of like GRAVEL when your done.  I also try and keep track of how much I put on each tray (like 1/2 pound or whatever)  That way when I zip lock it up I know what is in a zip lock.  I mark the zip lock HB 1/2lb or HB 1/4 lb in black magic marker.  I then store in the freezer till I am ready to go.  I take it out of the freezer a day ahead of time, and put it in a new zip lock with a couple paper towels lining the zip lock, so the pokey, gravel doesn't poke through my zip lock, I mark every meal and what goes in them with a marker either on a paper and put in the bag or right on the bag.  To Rehydrate, I Heat the water, to almost a boil and let the burger sit for awhile to rehydrate.
I have done this many times with ground sausage also, but for whatever reason never is as good as hamburger.   I think it just has to much FAT in it,it works but not as well, and seems to take longer to rehydrate.
FYI, I do the same thing with White Meat Chicken in a can.  I add this to Knorr's Teriyaki Rice or Teriayki noodles.  I also dehydrate broccoli, red pepper, green peppers to add to the Teryaki meals.  Thought, I would add that for you BEN!

SunCatcher

SunCatcher wrote on Nov 8^th, 2011 at 4:53am:

FYI, I do the same thing with White Meat Chicken in a can.

Yes.  I used to do that too until a couple of years ago.  Since then, I've opted to pick up a roasted chicken at the local grocery store.  It does take a few minutes longer to process since you have to debone and cut into smaller pieces to dehydrate, but I think you'll find the taste vastly superior.

In fact, I deboned one of those chickens yesterday for dinner (with lots of left overs).  Then I took bones, fat, skin, etc. and put it in a stock pot and covered with water.  After simmering for several hours, you'll have wonderful chicken broth.  If you want low-fat broth, place the broth in the frig after cooling.  Much of the fat will rise to the top and solidify.  You can then scrape off the top (fat) layer and viola!

dd

DD...I now love to grocery shop, so I can buy a fresh, warm, broasted chicken.  The cats like the scraps.  Man them is good eats!

I start with 94 (or maybe 96) percent lean, stir well while cooking so no big chunks, drain and press with paper towel, and put in dehydrator for 12 hours.  I don't rinse.  Looks like Grape Nuts to me - but that seems close to coffee grounds and gravel.  Tasted great.  I used in spaghetti (all dehydrated ingredients) and with stroganoff pasta side. A 1/4 pound single serving dehydrated weighs nearly nothing.

Looking forward to chicken - was thinking I'd grill boneless and skinless breasts but the roasted chicken sounds like a winner.