I got a dehydrator as a Christmas gift several years ago and I think it's still in the box in the basement.  Bullfrog, you have inspired me to finally get it out and try and make something.  First attemp will be to dehydrate a bottle of Guiness Stout - (I'll let you know how it goes.)  Seriously though I am going to get it out.  Winters are long up here.

About the only thing I dehydrate any more is hamburger, jerky, and chili beans.  Everything else I can find commercially either in the supermarket or at my local CoOp.  The quality is much better than I could do myself and it is not expensive like "camping/backpacking" food.

For instance my CoOp carries in bulk dried mushrooms, dried peas, dried cream of mushroom soup, tomato powder, dried bell peppers, dried corn, dehydrated refried beans, dehydrated hummus, and many more things. 

They also carry the Just Tomatoes line of products  (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) They make all kinds of dehydrated fruits and veggies.

Supermarkets carry many dried fruits -- apples, mixed fruits, etc, as well as dried onions and others.

Salsa is always a big hit. Take along the most indestructible crackers you can find, (Triscuits have worked for us), reconstitute some salsa, and you have a nice treat. Besides that, we usually have at least one dinner of dehydrated chili, and one of dehydrated stew of the day. A vacuum packer works well to contain the finished product.

For fruits, try taking some applesauce and dry it in the soup tray. Makes good apple leather.

Jerky takes a little practice. It is somewhat like chili with all the variations a person can make. Seasonings, type of critter, type of cut all make a difference.

Possibilities are pretty much endless. It does take some playing around to see what is worth the work and what is not.

FISH Jerky??!??!!? What are you complaining about, TTC? It went over real good with our bottled water and thermally challenged ice cubes I thought.

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I told you we should have poured it out of the bottle, Pascanell.  Geez . . . You never listen.

Canoeboy,
I've never tried dehydrating eggs, mainly because powdered eggs are so readily available.  Dehydrating raw eggs is begging for a case of salmonella...dehydrating cooked eggs is a crime against nature.  I have eaten freeze-dried scrambled eggs (e.g. add hot water and eat) and they are horrible.  However, I do condone and am quite proficient at rehydrating powdered eggs.

To produce lump-free reconstituted powedered eggs the key is not to add all the water at once...add only a bit of water and then mix thoroughly to produce a smooth paste free of lumps.  Once the paste is made then continue small additions
of water with mixing until the eggs take on the consistency of well-scrambled raw eggs.  These will fry up as well as fresh eggs (within reason).

Salt and additions of flavor nuggets such as green pepper, onions, meat (bacon, sausage, brat, walleye), cheese, salsa, etc. will hide the fact that you are eating the once-dessicated remains of chicken ova.

canoeboy

In response to eggs....... Here is what I and or we do.
We pack in 6 hard boiled. 3 each for the next morning. We have found a protective shell designed for such at Ace.

The following morn is ususaly just oat meal, or those dang bars. To tired to think on seriously cooking again.

The next morning starting to live with the pain and whoop up some low colesteral version of dehydrated form just the grocery store... extreemly light weight and not to bad if you like cardboard.

Next morning a hardy meal of pancakes, jelly and more... maple oatmeal. This was a good thing for keeping you regular  as we tended to over do it on summer sausage & cheese in the past. (Did I share (perhaps contribute) too much again?)

Then on the next morning we finaly wake up and wish we had bacon..... no, really,we do! We forgot about being so darn cheap and bought the special issue from our local sporting goods store. Mountain something, with dehydrated bacon added. The good stuff. Enough to make me drool. Heck, I think I'm gonna leave the cardboard at home this year.

After the fourth morning we repeat the cycle or just get creative.

Oh, here's a good tip. Bacon bits! To add to what ever.. perhaps just mac and cheese. (Don't forget the carnation powdered milk!) Just keep them tightly sealed along with any other spice to keep it hopefully hidden from Yogi's whiffer.

K

Goat and K....

I have a bunch of boy scouts that I have been drying some food for. So far some of it has went well. I had one boy ask about eggs so that was why I ask for help. I thought it sounded sick to start with. K... I like the idea of mac an cheese with bacon. I will have to try that. canoeboy

I just posted a recipe for "Vegetable Soup Leather" that I picked up a few years ago from "The Geezer Cookbook" on (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links).  I haven't checked to see if the website is still active.  There aren't many dehydrator recipes in there, but I have tried this one and found it very good.
The technique of cooking meats and vegetables separately in the stock and dehdrating meats, vegetables and stock separately can probably be applied to a number of recipes.

Canoeman
Hmnn, you might just have to ask around. There might be others that would perhaps be interested in helping you out. I too am a scout leader.... well actualy tiger cubs. A new program for 1st graders, a year before they are eligable for cub scouts. I may also be helping out with the boy scouts on bwca trips. I may consider teaming up with you some year. There are others here that I would believe would be up to a trip like this. Only problem I can see is I would think the whiskey would have to be left at home, but with all that help from the boys the physical part may be a heck of alot more tolerable. Yes, the whimpy dad's can be an issue, but I think "most" of the dad's in my pack are pretty tough. The ones that show up, or would consider the trip. But it would be nice to journey with someone that has some experience, so a to proud dad doesn't attempt to take over and get the pack in trouble on a windy day or what ever.
What did you think of the sandwich?
If you watch for specials you can get jerky at a pretty good price! And it keeps very well! Then I also have the luxury of an uncle with a farm and a smoker. The deer jerky is awsome. Jerky is good for indurance. I mix it up with bars (for quick energy) and sandwich's prepared early in the day. Gave up on bread for the most part, although I'll need some for the grilled peanut butter thing. Frozen shaved ham along with sliced cheese and yes jam or peanut butter too, is all mixed in a variety of fashions depending on what's left. Not as bad as it sounds...really! But I now mostly use soft boritto torttlias. (I can never spell that right) They don't crush and keep well. Don't forget to stock up on the little packets of mustard, mayo, horsie sause, from your fast food joints. If you forget, Arbies in Ely is always willing to help out. That is my substanance for the day while I paddle, along with freeze dried mixed fruit. I never drink and paddle other than water. This year I actual got brave and drank straight from "THE MIDDLE FAR AWAY FROM BEAVER DAMS"  of the lake or wide deep part of a river I was on. I'm not suggesting this and if you do it you do it at your own risk. I've known others that have become deathly sick. The whiskey is reserved for the end of the day, when I need it most.
K

C B
Well then, perhaps the first time around it should be with just yourself, your boys, and I. That would be less of a daunting task, prep us for a boyscout trip and allow us to bring whiskey...! I can teach your kids how to climb like a monkey to hang the bear bag! (FYI... must be done b4 drinking whiskey) LOL! Something to ponder any hoo.

Ah, now I'm reminicing. My first taste of whiskey, I was about twelve. Dad knew I was curious so he gave a shot of straight scotch. I thought it was horrible, I'm sure that was what Dad had intended. I'm also sure that is why I drink bourban. I think scotch is dehydrated. They took all the good stuff out.
K

Has anyone tried dehydrating chicken?

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That's good!  Unlike beef, you should not dehydrate uncooked chicken.  It needs to be thoroughly cooked before dehydrating.

Just like you, Doc, I also dehydrate the can chicken.  It sure simplifies things -- it is already cooked and in pieces.  Just dump it on the dehydrator tray, spread it out, turn the dehydrator on.

My success with it has been moderate.  It can rehydrate rubbery.  Now I opt for the foil pack chicken instead.

This year I have dehydrated apples, pears, bananas, peaches, strawberries, cantalope, pineapple, onion, red pepper, jalapeno pepper and mushrooms.  All have turned out fairly well.  I am not a big fan of dehydrated fruit, but the rest of my group has given all good reviews.  The problem is that while all are light, I now have a plastic grocery bag full of fruits/vegetables taking up space.  The fruit will be good snacks and the vegetables are great thrown into different meals.  However, none of what I dehydrated means I don't have to take something else.

Some oddball items I have dried successfully include green salad olives, brocolli, seasoned cucumbers, cherry pie filling, blueberry pie filling, smoked salmon (from the can), shrimp, venison, and canned tomatoes (all kinds).

The canned tomatoes (I usually get the diced, seasoned kind) make a great snack as well as being a staple in the creole dishes and chili that I like. If you like salty snacks, the green olives are hard to beat.

-aj

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Yeah, smaller (or thinner) is definitely better. Over the years the stuff I dry has become smaller and smaller...like quartering cherries (before I discovered pie filling) and slicing watermelon and olives into thin pieces.

When I do chicken, the pieces always seem to be too big, so when I turn them, I cut them and cut them and... I haven't tried shredding, but it sounds like a good idea (just in time for my August trip).

Some things, like chicken, turkey, corn, and peas take a looong time to soak and be edible. And I don't like the idea of any food soaking at room temperature for very long.

Some foods I actually prefer a little crunchy (tuna, salmon come to mind).

-aj

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The Gimp makes a good point about dehydrated chicken.  You'll need to put the chicken in some form of protective container or you will wind up with chicken powder.  I've been recycling the light weight plastic containers/tubes that many powdered drinks (e.g., Tang) come in for this purpose.  

In addition, if you've stored the chicken in a plastic bag, don't count on the bag being free of holes if you plan to use it to re-hydrate the chicken.  Seems like dehydrated chicken has sharp edges and points!  Hmmmm

So as a lunch, for example, I will dump about the equivalent of a small can of dehydrated chicken in a snack sized baggie and add water about mid-morning.  At lunch, I add a small packet of mayo and pickle relish.  Need in the bag until thoroughly mixed and viola a passable chicken salad.  Eat with crackers, pita or tortilla.  Put the trash back in the baggie for disposal later in the day.

Speaking of crackers, has anyone tried a product called (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links).  They seem to be made locally and I've only found them in up-scale and health food grocery stores.  Although they are quite tasty, I've only find one fault with them--they are addictive!      Just thinking of taking a package or two (or 3 or 4 or 5) on this year's trip and was just wondering how they survive in a food pack for a few days.  They are much more substantial than a typical cracker (hince the CRUNCH factor), so I would suspect they would outlast most other forms of cracker.

dd

I was happy with poached chicken I dehydrated this year.  I slowly simmered a 3.5 lb chicken with a few seasonings in a large pot for about an hour until done.  I removed the bird from the pot, deboned it, and threw the bones, scraps and more seasonings back in to the pot to make a strong stock.  I cut the chicken into 1" pieces and dehydrated.  I made a potato-garlic soup with the stock and dehydrated that, too.

In camp, I reconstituted the soup with the chicken for about an hour, brought to the boil, added some egg noodles and served when the noodles were done.  It was a big hit.

A QJ Inukshuk taught me a few cooking tips this summer and introduced me to taking hamburger in a foil pack from Walmart to be added to hamburger helper as a canoe trip supper entree.  I was suprised as to how tasty this meal turned out along with the great economics provided compared to a prepacked manufactured mountain house type version.  However the foil packed version of hamburger seems to have been dicontinued. 

I have read in this thread that some of you dehydrate hamburger.  Any sugestions on what grade to buy?  85%, 90% lean?  Do you break the burger up into smaller peices before dehydrating?  Suggested technigues for packing if you do not have a vacume sealing machine? I'd be interested in giving this a try.   

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You want to use the leanest ground beef you can find or have it ground by the butcher using sirlion. Fry it as if you were going to make Sloppy Joes when cooked through remove from the pan and place in a wire colander. You will need to rinse the cooked beef under hot water to remove any of the remaining fat (the fat is what makes the rancid) dehydrate at 135~145 degress. During the cooking process you can add spices or better yet prepare you meal and then dehyrate the whole lot. I'll make up Chilli and  Sloppy Joes for a layover lunch add your water to reconstitute. Rule of thumb for every cup of dry add one cup of water more water can be added if needed.
The finished product can be packed in a zip lock bag.
flp

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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

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IMHO It's not worth the time. To shorten cooking times for rice you can pre-soak them in water 1 to 2 hours before cooking ( 1 c. rice to 1 c. water). When your ready to cook the rice add 1 c. of water bring to a boil and remove from heat allow it to rest 10 mins. (don't remove the lid) stir and serve.
flp

thanks for the tip on presoaking...

as for minute rice, never tried it!   Grew up using only real rice, and that is all I've ever used myself....

I have taken plastic screen door screen and cut it to fit several shelves of my dryer. When drying ground meat the screens keep the meat from dropping through. The screens lift off for easy washing with other dishes and last for years.
To get small crumbly pieces off the dryer without dropping any pieces put the hole dryer shelf in a plastic garbage bag then turn it over and tap it.  After empting several shelves this way the dried food can be pored out of the bag with no mess.

Here is a question for all of the backcountry chefs out there.

For dehydrating ground turkey and ground beef...

After cooking and rinsing, is it necessary to add salt for a cure when dehydrating both the turkey and ground beef? We just started experimenting with the dehydrator and wanted to try a few things out.

Thanks, BT

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BT

You do not need to add anything at all just rinse it with very hot to boiling water and package it up . We use a vacuum sealer.

M and A

Thanks for the tips!  

We dehyrated some tomato paste the other day and used it to make some of the Bear Creek Chilli tonight. That one seemed fairly easy to make and was very edible. If only everything else would reconstitute that easily!

TwistTie,

That doesn't sound good at all. I am trying the ground turkey for the first time tonight. Was the meat cooked in a pan before dehydrating?

My wife tried to make beef jerky using just an oven a few years back and had similar results. The highest setting on our dehydrator is 155 degrees F., I hope that will be sufficient.

The 2 batches of jerky we made so far did not get anyone sick.

Beavers,

I am in the same boat with you.. Done the same thing with the same results... Dried cooked ground beef at 155 degrees... no problems.

M

When I browned the hamburger I just chopped the beef up into small pieces with the spatula.  It shrinks quite a bit when drying.  Some of the smaller pieces were almost powder when done drying...still tastes fine.
If you don't mind longer dehydrating/rehydrating times larger chunks of ground beef would taste more like the "real thing" after cooking.

Thanks for the tips. The smaller pieces do seem to dry more evenly, and good idea on getting them to rehydrate quicker as well. I have the fruit sheets to catch the smaller pieces on bottom. One thing I did notice is that perhaps I should have put less meat per tray to keep each piece seperate and not touching each other, hard to do with all the small pieces. This is starting to look like it might work. 

Folks, don't take my mention of 170F as a fact...I got it off the top of my head, which doesn't have much else up there.

To answer a question, I did cook it thoroughly before drying.

I believe it was the single setting on my dehydrator being too low for this particular food.

I don't do jerky (I buy) so I have no idea whether my dehydrator can adequately do jerky.

My only point was to caution those who have a fixed-temperature dehydrator with respect to my experiences.

If it works for you, fine.

To replace the home-dried burger I bought a #10 can of f/d ground beef.  I then packaged it in 1# and 1.5# units and vacuum-sealed them.  It was pricey but it's worth the money not to barf.

TTC

I hear you about the what ever it takes not to barf... I was in the hospital for 3 days running a fever for 101-106. They pumped 36 bags of fluid in me in that time, the first two by opeing the valve wide open and squeezing the bags into my arm. What from? Water borne something or other.. I wound up with an acute case of viral Pharyngitis. I drank from a river in C.O. Through the dehydration and fever, the doctor said I was on my death bed. I had gone in a few days before and they had mis-diagnosed me with pnuemonia. Never again will I drink un filtered water. So I hear ya when you say it is worth it to you to avoid the problem...

My dehydrator has a variable heat setting with the highest being 155 degrees. That may be the biggest difference...

I too like to hear other opinions, thanks.

M

Bottom motors suck! I burned through one of thoe too.

M

I use the round one you hate so much... It is a Nesco American Harvest Snack Master. Top Motor... I have had it for about 5 years and I love it. I have had no problems with it what so ever!

I had a Nesco bottom motor that I burned out within weeks... I called Nesco and they replaced it with a top motor that I have had every since.

Mark

Yes things on the top finish first, unless you follow the directions and keep rotating them...

I  move trays about one an hour. Top to the bottom... Keep rotating.. The last few trays take a little longer than the rest.

M

I doubt that I am going to be able to justify that kind of money to myself. $189.00 is the cheapest I could go to get the timer you speak of. I do not mind tending my dehydrator.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

Mark

For home-dehydrated meats:

1.  Use the highest temperature setting your dehydrator can produce.  155 is good, as noted.

2.  To be safe, do not store dehydrated meats for long periods of time at room temp.  Vacuum pack them and store in the refrigerator for short-term storage or the freezer.

3.  Be wary of storing dried meats in plastic such as ziplocs which are not completely moisture-proof.  Dried meats will absorb moisture from the air and it doesn't take a lot of moisture to allow it to begin to spoil.

When I dehydrate meats I do it a week or two before the trip, vac-pac, and refrigerate until I pack it to minimize food-safety problems.

Smoking is a great way to cook whole-muscle meats such as jerky, chicken, etc.  Obviously not a good way to cook ground meats, of course.  But smoking will make any sort of meat, even those eventually dried much more resistant to spoilage.  If you are making dehydrated chicken chunks you can smoke the chicken breasts to cook them, then dice and dry them for maximum safety.

I have not tried this but I wonder if smoking cooked ground beef before drying it would decrease the spoilage risk.  You'd have to get a fine-mesh screen to do it on, but I think it might work.