Dehydrator

[Luvoutdoors]

I would love to buy a dehydrator so that we could make our own jerky from our deer meat as well as try my hand at making dehydrated meals. I don't want to spend a fortune but I would like at least two trays. Any suggestions?

[Grandpa]

Go to walmart and get one of those 5 tray plastic units. They work just fine for jerky. For deer, I like to run all the scraps through a food processer, just enough to cut up the gristle, then extrude the meat. Sure saves a lot of trimming and you can use all the meat that isn't used for steaks and roasts.

[limbs]

I got mine from Walmart as well, I think Target and other stores like that have them too. I also use my dehydrator to help dry the herbs that we grow in our garden.

[Refrigerator]

Yes Walmart had a good 5 tray one and works as good as a 300 dollar one.

[wvbreamfisherman]

Mine's an American Harvest 4-tray and I use the heck out of it! I think it came from Wal-mart or someplace similar (was a birthday gift).

I dry fruit and veggies when they are cheap in season. Apples, cherries, peaches and blueberries for fruit. Green beans, zuchini, tomatoes, you name it for veggies. I've made jerky with beef and turkey as well. I'm going to try some other stuff this summer and fall

[Refrigerator]

Originally Posted by wvbreamfisherman

Mine's an American Harvest 4-tray and I use the heck out of it! I think it came from Wal-mart or someplace similar (was a birthday gift).

I dry fruit and veggies when they are cheap in season. Apples, cherries, peaches and blueberries for fruit. Green beans, zuchini, tomatoes, you name it for veggies. I've made jerky with beef and turkey as well. I'm going to try some other stuff this summer and fall

That's the one wvbreamfisherman....that brand is by far the best I have ever used and I have 3 different types but the Harvest brand is the best and cost the least.

[jason]

Two things to look for. Heat/tempature control and a fan to push up the heat. I have a fairly cheap round one. I can add and remove trays as needed, along with adding plastic inserts to the trays to make leathers. The name escapes me right now though, but if needed I can find out when I get home.

[dinosaur]

I used to have one like jason's but it burned out. I have since bought two that are basic five trays. There is no temp control or fan since heat rises on its' own and the heat unit has to be bigger because the fan has a cooling effect. The simpler ones don't eat as much power and the temp can be adjusted by the top vents.

Like limbs and the breamfisherman, I dry herbs, vegetables, fruit, and make jerky. I've done apples, pears, peaches, wild strawberries, celery, potatoes, carrots, turnips, zucchini, and corn. Meats include beef, venison (several varieties), turkey, fish, and alligator.

Apologies to jason. I don't mean to insult.

[jason]

No insult on my end. I've just followed the recomendations from people like Alton Brown, and the authors of the books I have.

To each their own, and as they say, there is more then one way to skin a cat.

[BUUZBEE]

We got ours from Walmart also... love it!