Thinking of buying a dehydrator and wanted to know some recommendations from any members if they have gotten into it.
What budget models do a decent job, this is just for the Wife and I and not for commercial usage.
Also any favorite recipe’s
Thanks!
Keith
I really can’t comment on using a dehydrator since the wife and I quit using them for jerky years ago. We switched to a small electric smoker box and our oven, just worked better. Now I have a large smoker and can do 50 pounds at a time. For the sake of flavor, I would not go that route.
Check out the Bradley smokers. A neighbor had one going all the time. The jerky he made was awesome.
I have a small electric smoker and really like it for salami and snack sticks (and of course the usuals like ribs and pork shoulder), but for the once or twice a year that I do jerky (venison), I just throw it on racks in the oven. I’m sure smoking it would be great, but if you just want to dabble and see if you like it, give these mesh racks a shot. As far as recipes go, if this is your first time, just grab a seasoning kit from the store (Walmart, outdoors stores, etc). And if you’re going to be slicing your own meat and don’t have a fancy slicer, just throw the slab of meat (~1.5” thick) into the freezer for a little bit to firm it up. That’ll make slicing it evenly so much easier.
I used a round cheap model with trays just like you described.
I use to make deer jerky alot in a dehydrator. It was some good stuff, yum, yum. I would make a whole 5 trays worth on sunday and come home from work on monday and the family, including me, would wipe it out by the end of that evening. I started making two trays with red pepper added, 3 trays like normal and that gave me at least two trays to eat on before it was gone as the rest of the family thought my special batch was too hot.
I used a kit similar to this. It’s been awhile back so it may not be the exact one I used.
What I used was 1 pound deer ground sausage and 1 pound deer ground meat mixed together. Added in the season packet that comes with the kit mixed it all together in a large bowl. Filled the gun up with meat and used I think the double barrel looking tip. Squezzed out strips about 4 inches long and placed them all around the tray fitting as many as I could per tray. Took about 6 to 8 hours and filled the house with jerky aroma 
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Making deer jerky there’s almost no grease. It will have a few beads of grease on the jerky, I just used a paper towel to dab that off before putting in plastic bags for storage.
Good stuff!!!
I use to use dehydrators. Most of them seem to use heat. Smoke is good but most people use too much and it becomes too smoking tasting to me. Not my favorite method. I usually wait till the temp outside is nice so I can open the windows. I have some corrugated metal roofing that I spent way to much time on, drilling holes in it. I stack them and tie them around a box fan and aim it outside for hours. Temp and humidity levels can drastically change how long to leave it going. I haven’t had better jerky. Of course personal preference on spices and marinades will vary. I like mine with a little heat. The wife and kids not so much.
I’ve used on of the round tray with a fan style, I believe it is a Nesco, I use it to make venison jerkey. I use ground meat and use a jerkey gun, then use Backwoods brand mix’s. I like it, I dont use it hard, a few times a year.
I have a basic 5 tray round dehydrator. The kind you get at Walmart. I love that thing. I buy sirloin and have it sliced pretty thin. Then I marinate overnight in teriyaki sauce with a little liquid smoke. There’s also a rub made for dehydrated food, (can’t remember the name) I sprinkle just a dash of that on top of every piece when it’s in the dehydrator. And if I want a little heat I add some red pepper flakes. Delicious!
I am not a lover of venison except in jerky form. I used to have the whole deer sliced into strips. My son would use the round style dehydrator with teriyaki sauce. It didn’t last long, everyone liked it. For some reason I always take beef jerky in the car when on long road trips. That and baby carrot sticks.
Here is a recipe I just posted using my smoker Tri-Tip Beef Jerky. Absolutely incredible! Its mind blowing stuff. You could convert this to a dehydrator recipe. If you do I would up the liquid smoke. Dehydrator jeky is never going to be quite as good taste wise but texture wise it can be even better.
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If you are going to use a dehydrator I like this one. https://www.amazon.com/Presto-06300-Dehydro-Electric-Dehydrator/dp/B008H2OELY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=23WH8PTAAXOP2&keywords=presto+dehydrator&qid=1576940787&sprefix=presto+dehy%2Caps%2C674&sr=8-1
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The capacity is very small but the convection rate is like double what it is with my high country, and the heat is a bit higher too. In a very short amount of time that high speed/heat creates a glassy finish on the jerky and gets it dried evenly.
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Be very careful not to over dry the jerky. It will be tough and crunch if you do. The meat will still bend easily when its hot making it seem like its not done yet, but when it cools it will be like 4x as stiff.
Thanks everyone for the info!
I know what you mean about too dry, I hate that.
I am sure it will be some trial and error.
Approx. what thickness do I tell the butcher that I want?
And what cut of beef?
Just tell them this Tritip roast with fat cap sliced?
Think I will get the dehydrator that Vestureofblood listed. Like the fact that it is a name brand that I know and trust. And the price is good if it turns out to be something that doesn’t work out for my wife and I.
We will try on New years break hopefully.
Later,
Keith
The Tri-tip is a great choice. I like it pretty thin. The setting I used on the batch in my video was even a little too thick for me. About 1/16-1/8” max on the cut. It will be about half as thick when its dry. I prefer having it cut with the grain for jerky myself. If tri-tip is not available or is over priced where you live you can also get a rump or arm roast if you can fine one with good marble in it and preferably the fat cap still on.