Beef Jerky And Other Things To Make With A Dehydrator
 

Found the old dehydrator in the basement. I remember drying all kinds of things with this, back in the backpacking days.

Now the kids love beef jerky.

2 pounds of flank steak, trim off the fat, slice thin along the grain, soak in yummy stuff, then 6 hours in the dehydrator.

Yummy stuff = BBQ sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, worchestershire sauce, liquid smoke, sugar, salt.

The boy had a lot of fun arranging the gooey strips on the dehydrator.

Anyone have good receipes for things to make with a dehydrator?

I love beef jerky. The teriyaki turkey jerky that Costco sells is addictive. I munch on that when I'm on the road. Sorry no recipes for you though.

dried apple rings and banana slices are great

Never done jerky myself but love the stuff. May have to find a dryer after this thread!

Joe A

If someone wants to make jerky you can also use your BBQ. Marinate in whatever, then lay on BBQ grill and roll into sun. Leave for about 2 days and nights andf voila! Jerky. make sure all openeings are covered. Flies like jerky, too. That being said, I can't wait to get a dehydrator for all my apples and also some bananas. Yum! John, give us you recipe indicated above. Sounds good. Unless of course its a "I'll have to kill you" type thing.

There's not much more to the receipe than what I posted:

2 pounds of flank steak, trim off the fat, slice thin along the grain, soak in yummy stuff, then 6 hours in the dehydrator.

Yummy stuff = BBQ sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, worchestershire sauce, liquid smoke, sugar, salt.

A couple more tips:

Put trimmed flank steak in freezer for an hour to make it firmer and easier to slice thinly. Can use honey instead of sugar, add pepper if you want a spicier jerky. No specific measurements for the marinade, just do it to taste. Soak (marinate) for 2-4 hours in refrigerator. Then use a timer on the dehydrator, or set an alarm, so you don't accidentally leave it on all day and mummify the jerky. I just tried some of the stuff I made and it is indeed yummy, on the sweeter side.

Alton Brown ("Good Eats") had a program on jerky recently. He recommends drying without heat and built a contraption using a box fan, HVAC filters, and bungee cords. Too much of a pain for me.

Can somebody explain the science of this?

Why doesn't the flank steak turn into a deliquescent mass of bacteria that will blow your colon quicker than the crab cakes at the Hotel Girardia?

I know that doesn't happen, can somebody say why?

The beer?

some of the sauces contain vinegar, which creates an acidic environ, and moisutre, h20, is needed for the chemical reactions to hydrolize, which is pulled out by the salt......and the heat accelerates these reactions, and if it is covered with the sauce, the air can't get to it, and then again theres magic************************

So it is kind of like ceviche, where the acid "cooks" the fish? But ceviche is wet, of course, so it doesn't keep long.

Oh, I have a good ceviche receipe too. 1-2 pounds of some white fish, 1/2 pound scallops, chop all into bite-sized pieces, marinate in lime and lemon juice overnight covered in refrigerator. Then chop finely each of the following extras and put in separate bowls - garlic, cilantro, tomatoes, onions. Serve each person a small bowl of the ceviche, and arrange the bowls of extras buffet-style so people can serve themselves. Add sangria or cold Corona and a 90F day (on the side).

I can't bring myself to try ceviche. I watched Emeril make it and I just thought, ugh. He!!, I have a hard time choking down a piece of Sushi. I have however, enjoyed pickled herring 'n sour cream sauce. Ya gotta understand, Oakies have wierd eating habits.