Dehydraters

[amafor3]

Our dog loves chicken jerky treats and hubby gets the long Slim Jims once in awhile. Could I make those things in a dehydrater?

Do you think it is a gadget that is used often?

[Axe]

Ahmafor3.... Excellent question and Dehydrating is my personal specialty.

As for the doggy treats, I have just posted a dehydrating recipe "Beef Heart Jerky for Dogs" that's awaiting approval. Honestly, dehydrating your own dog treats is HUGELY more healthy for your dogs than anything you can get commercially! (yes...I have 6 dogs and run an organic Micro-Farm)

As for the 'Slim Jim' thing, yes, yes, yes....but....first off, you are not going to get the commercial result as they use a vast array of chemicals to get the final product that you get at the store. With that said, yours will be far healthier. Also, a true 'Slim Jim' should be done in a smoker, not a dehydrator, but I do mine in the dehydrator and have no problem. Producing your own sausage (yes, a 'Slim Jim' is a form of sausage) is an art form and as with all hobbies like that, it takes some practice to get it just the way you like it.

There are places on the internet where you can get 'Slim Jim' "kits" that you use in a dehydrator, so I encourage you to start there. I get all my stuff from http://www.eldonsausage.com but there are others out there.

Once you start dehydrating, you won't stop. Fruit leathers, dried fruit, tomatoes, powders, trail mix, sausage, jerky, etc......

[amafor3]

Thank you so much for the help! The jerky treats we get Breah now give her horrible
puppy toots and she can clear a room quickly!

Would like to make the fruit leather for my grandsons instead of buying it at the store. All that stuff is getting so expensive!

Going to look around and find a dehydrator, check out your recipes, and look at the website. Any suggestion on what dehydrator to buy?

[Axe]

Excellent question! I think I may make a separate 'sticky' post to address the various dehydrators that are available.

But until that happens, the Excalibur is the top of the line, but if you are on a budget, pretty much any dehydrator with a fan in it, will do.

[Cheesehead]

I think mine is the Nesco (without getting up to check!) I got it on Amazon.com for around $55. It works great and came with 4 plastic sheets. It has the fan in the middle and the sheets are round, but it still works great. I make chicken jerky with chicken breast. We eat that, however! You can also make sweet potatoe 'jerky'. I will be posting some dehydrator recipes that I have used, including making grain free crackers and granola. I love my dehydrator. I'm going to be drying some sorghum that I soaked for 24 hours tomorrow.

[Shirl]

I would just like to add: If you are going to buy a dehydrator be sure and purchase one that has a fan. Years ago my parents bought me a ronco dehydrator, it has a heating element in the bottom and you rotate the trays. I do not get a good dry, almost a cooked dry if you know what I mean. I would suggest buying a good one spend the money as it will come in handy. That said my brother buys chicken breast when on sale and marinates it in a teriyaki sauce (for the dog) and dries it to use for treats. Personally I don't think the dog needs the salt or the flavor, just plain ol chicken would be fine. Oh the things I would dehydrate

[Cheesehead]

Has anyone tried dehydrating (after soaking and seasoning) pumpkin seeds (the ones you get from carving a pumpkin)? Did it turn out as good as roasting? I'd like to try that bcz it preserves the enzymes or whatever that's in the raw food.

[kberry]

WOW! I thought there would be more here.

I love dehydrating! I finally got an Excalibur with 9 trays.
Does a fantastic job!
I love the fact that the fan is in the back and I don't have to rotate trays nearly as often as I did with the Nesco.

I like to dry bell peppers because my husband does not like them and will not eat them.
So I dry them, powder them and use them that way and he is none the wiser!
I also end up with tiny bits so these are minced. He has no idea!

Tomatoes I dry and crunch them up on salads or eat as chips.
I only put salt on those.
I also dry herbs.
Have you tried watermelon?

That's some good stuff! Comes out rather chewy and I love it that way!
I want to try and do some soup mix vegetables and seasonings but not sure how to go about that yet.

Haven't found any recipes to use either.

[kberry]

I'm looking for a recipe to dehydrate my tomatoes.
They are bigger than cherries but smaller than gold balls.
So far I haven't found anything.
I usually slow roast or slice my larger tomatoes and dehydrate them but these are too small to slice without wasting a lot of meat.

Any ideas?
I also have butternut squash I am thinking about dehydrating.
Maybe chips but you have to eat those up quickly and I have SO MUCH!

[kberry]

Has anyone tried dehydrating (after soaking and seasoning) pumpkin seeds (the ones you get from carving a pumpkin)? Did it turn out as good as roasting? I'd like to try that bcz it preserves the enzymes or whatever that's in the raw food.

I don't do my seeds in the dehydrator.

I do them in the oven and the come out fantastic!
I did post a recipe for them you might want to try.
It will work for any large seeds like the pumpkin.

http://www.recipezazz.com/recipe/oven-r ... pkin-seeds