Posted: 4/2/2016 2:56:06 PM EDT
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Been reading and researching on Food Dehydrator, for making wild game, fish jerky and drying fruits, like strawberries, blueberries I've smoked all my jerky meats and fish in the past.
Anyone recommend one in the $200 range that has suited you well. Elk, bear, fish jerky is expensive to buy. Also, how do you store your dried, fruits, veggies and meats after you are done? I know the fish and meat would get eaten very quickly as usual. 
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I much prefer jerky that has been made without heat, so it is really just a matter of airflow. Takes longer but in my opinion produces better jerky in the end.
I use a Presto Dehydro that I disconnected the heat element in from Walmart and extra racks also from WaMa. Fan is plenty strong enough to do 8 racks at a time as long as you leave a little gap between the pieces you are drying. Inexpensive and effective. |
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Quoted:
I much prefer jerky that has been made without heat, so it is really just a matter of airflow. Takes longer but in my opinion produces better jerky in the end. yeah, you want it dried and cured, not cooked. i'm actually going the other route--i want to start doing charcuterie, which requires fairly high ambient humidity to slow down the drying process. |
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Quoted:
I much prefer jerky that has been made without heat, so it is really just a matter of airflow. Takes longer but in my opinion produces better jerky in the end. I use a Presto Dehydro that I disconnected the heat element in from Walmart and extra racks also from WaMa. Fan is plenty strong enough to do 8 racks at a time as long as you leave a little gap between the pieces you are drying. Inexpensive and effective. The Nesco is temp. adjustable from 95-160 degrees, so, on low setting is not much heat involved. |
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I got a Presto model 6301 a few months back. It seems to be pretty efficient.
Apple slices were done in about 6hrs (4 racks worth), bananas never really get 'done' they always seem to be sticky, even about about 12hrs. I have not tried jerky yet, but this unit comes with a timer, and temp controls. My only complaint is the noise, its pretty noisy, like a loud dishwasher. I could probably rig it so the fan was slower, it really does blow maybe more air than necessary for 6 racks (12 I dunno). The sad part, my house ate up all the dried apples before I could even get any packed for storage ! If you are patient and more a off the grid type, check out the plans online for a solar dehydrator, I read a site with one that seemed really neat. If you get a lot of sun and plan ahead, its a real cheap way to dehydrate stuff. I think he used 1 sheet of plywood and a few other common materials. |
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yeah, you want it dried and cured, not cooked. i'm actually going the other route--i want to start doing charcuterie, which requires fairly high ambient humidity to slow down the drying process. Quoted:
Quoted:
I much prefer jerky that has been made without heat, so it is really just a matter of airflow. Takes longer but in my opinion produces better jerky in the end. yeah, you want it dried and cured, not cooked. i'm actually going the other route--i want to start doing charcuterie, which requires fairly high ambient humidity to slow down the drying process. I give it a brief bath in lemon or lime jooce since I buy meat at the grocery, then add worchestershire, soy sauce and dry seasonings. Any amount of heat to me produces a jerky that is more like a scab than I like. Fruit it may be an advantage, but I don't dry fruit. |
I just purchased this 160 liter version. It has 24 (21-1/2" x 16") racks for a total of 56 square feet of space. It will operate from 90 degrees to 160 degrees and has a 12 hour timer. Any suggestions on what I can do with this thing besides jerky or fruits? Would this work well for drying out snack sticks and summer sausage? With the removable shelves I am able to hang items vertically. I was able to get it for $175 at the Cabela's bargin cave. Someone dropped it and dented a corner but it has never been used or even unwrapped and put together.  |
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'Nesco American Harvest'-----Model FD-80 I posted this in a thread like yours, many people bought one and were Very Happy with it. "Happy Jerking, It's fun to play with your meat." Thank you very much, I just seen this comparison between the two.. One is a lot more and has more room, if doing a lot of drying. 
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