Dehydrator Recommendations?

DuckDogDr

Looking at getting a nice one; willing to put down some jingle but don't want to break the bank.

Trying to eat healthier making my own venison jerky, dried pineapple, bananas,  and sweet potato chips

nolaegghead

This is (a slightly newer version of) the one I have.   I love it.

https://www.amazon.com/STX-International-STX-DEH-1200W-XLS-Commercial-Dehydrator/dp/B007QCXU5M/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=2ZV1JDOLTXFIQ&dchild=1&keywords=commercial+food+dehydrator&qid=1612158662&sprefix=food+dehydrator+,aps,194&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExSUc3Q0ZaMTBITVVKJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTQ1MDgxMU1QVFFRR0pINVY3RCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNDczMDg0MlcwUzVPMTFCSkI5QyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

lkapigian

I have this cabelas 80 liter , about 300, the one below that I bought each of my boys for Xmas ...79.00 small but perfect for 1 person

Gulfcoastguy

I have the Excalibur . Go to Excaliburdehydrator.com for more info and many recipes.

etherdome

I have had an Excalibur 5 tray for years . There is also a 7 and 9 tray that I know of. Maybe even bigger . No issues at all. 

shtgunal3

I really like dehydrated banana chips and dehydrated pineapple chunks. Don’t know why I’ve never thought of making my own. I bet the pineapple would be great with a little Dizzy Pig Pineapple Head sprinkled on beforehand.

WeberWho

Not to sound like a broken record but check Craigslist and Marketplace. Especially for a dehydrator. People get sick and tired of storing something like this when they don't use it very often. I was looking at them a few days back on Marketplace. A lady had a brand new commercial quality dehydrator that list for around $300 for $75. 

You'll find a bunch of them second hand as people use them once or twice and then the niche is gone. 

paqman

WeberWho said:

People get sick and tired of storing something like this when they don't use it very often.

https://brodandtaylor.com/pages/sahara-folding-dehydrator

I decided to get the Sahara because it is foldable.  Love it!   And I use it more than I ever thought I would

nolaegghead

That's cool AF

pab

I have the Brod and Taylor collapsible bread proofer that I use at least weekly. It works great, holds it’s temps well and stores easily. I imagine the food dehydrator would work as well as the proofer since they operate on the same general principle.

OhioEgger

Excalibur 9-tray model, bought about ten years ago. I use it a lot because I'm kind of a jerky addict. Always great results. Just a simple principle, blowing hot air over the food, but it works perfectly and it's easy to clean the trays.

Canugghead

My experience was not as great. Had a 9 tray Excalibur used mainly for jerky. Not completely happy due to uneven heat... top and bottom trays cooler than middle ones; rear of trays hotter than front.  Tried jerky on my Traeger Pro 34 once and Excalibur is history, sold it on CL for more than what I paid   

lkapigian

Todays dehydrator project ...chipotle bacon and roasted garlic snack sticks ( natural casings )

You'll love your dehydrator no matter what you get, and you can use your oven on the lowest setting to give things a try

paqman

lkapigian said:

Todays dehydrator project ...chipotle bacon and roasted garlic snack sticks ( natural casings )

You'll love your dehydrator no matter what you get, and you can use your oven on the lowest setting to give things a try

Now that is something I’d like to make!

Moleman

@lkapigian, care to share the recipe for the roasted garlic snack sticks? I'm still messing with this stuff, thanks. 

lkapigian

Moleman said:

@lkapigian, care to share the recipe for the roasted garlic snack sticks? I'm still messing with this stuff, thanks. 

@Moleman , 

Some pork butt..1.75% salt .25% cure 1 cubed and cured for 24 hours do this first, everything else is seasoning to taste 

For the Bacon, I used about 25% to the weight of the pork, you can omit this but it gives it a nice smokey flavor 

 For the Adobo Sauce...home smoked Chipotle , a few chile de arbol  and guajillo ....roast peppers for a few minutes , soak in a hot stock for 30....add chili's to blender, couple tbs cumin 3 heads roasted garlic and 2 TBS  Mexican oregano , 1/4 cup vinegar and add stock to blender, about 50% up the level of chili, blend to a paste, separate the seeds and skins with strainer ( no salt, already in the pork)....grind mix and Let ferment for a couple Days in the fridge, add .7% ECA and 1% NFDPM to the total weight . , stuff into 22mm sheep casings , dehydrate 160 for 10 hour ish 

ECA =Encapsulated Citric Acid
NFDPM-NonFat Dried Powdered Milk 

Moleman

Laughing, you make it sound so simple. I appreciate the information. 

lkapigian

Moleman said:

Laughing, you make it sound so simple. I appreciate the information. 

LoL ....it is...just get your 2% salt by weight, decide what you want for your flavor profile, go ..2 to .5 % keep to just a few spices....your forward dominate spice  ( ie italian fennel ) go a little higher .....Salt is all that is really need and will be good with just that 

nolaegghead

lkapigian said:

Moleman said:

Laughing, you make it sound so simple. I appreciate the information. 

LoL ....it is...just get your 2% salt by weight, decide what you want for your flavor profile, go ..2 to .5 % keep to just a few spices....your forward dominate spice  ( ie italian fennel ) go a little higher .....Salt is all that is really need and will be good with just that 

Never has a truer thing be said here. 

CONTROL YOUR SALT!

nolaegghead

I've noticed, for whatever reason, spices are "muted" in sausage.  To get my desired effect I use much more than I would have had I been cooking something in the kitchen.

buzd504

lkapigian said:

Moleman said:

@lkapigian, care to share the recipe for the roasted garlic snack sticks? I'm still messing with this stuff, thanks. 

@Moleman , 

Some pork butt..1.75% salt .25% cure 1 cubed and cured for 24 hours do this first, everything else is seasoning to taste 

For the Bacon, I used about 25% to the weight of the pork, you can omit this but it gives it a nice smokey flavor 

 For the Adobo Sauce...home smoked Chipotle , a few chile de arbol  and guajillo ....roast peppers for a few minutes , soak in a hot stock for 30....add chili's to blender, couple tbs cumin 3 heads roasted garlic and 2 TBS  Mexican oregano , 1/4 cup vinegar and add stock to blender, about 50% up the level of chili, blend to a paste, separate the seeds and skins with strainer ( no salt, already in the pork)....grind mix and Let ferment for a couple Days in the fridge, add .7% ECA and 1% NFDPM to the total weight . , stuff into 22mm sheep casings , dehydrate 160 for 10 hour ish 

ECA =Encapsulated Citric Acid
NFDPM-NonFat Dried Powdered Milk 

What is the difference between Encapsulated Citric Acid and regular food-grade citric acid (which I have) ?

lkapigian

buzd504 said:

lkapigian said:

Moleman said:

@lkapigian, care to share the recipe for the roasted garlic snack sticks? I'm still messing with this stuff, thanks. 

@Moleman , 

Some pork butt..1.75% salt .25% cure 1 cubed and cured for 24 hours do this first, everything else is seasoning to taste 

For the Bacon, I used about 25% to the weight of the pork, you can omit this but it gives it a nice smokey flavor 

 For the Adobo Sauce...home smoked Chipotle , a few chile de arbol  and guajillo ....roast peppers for a few minutes , soak in a hot stock for 30....add chili's to blender, couple tbs cumin 3 heads roasted garlic and 2 TBS  Mexican oregano , 1/4 cup vinegar and add stock to blender, about 50% up the level of chili, blend to a paste, separate the seeds and skins with strainer ( no salt, already in the pork)....grind mix and Let ferment for a couple Days in the fridge, add .7% ECA and 1% NFDPM to the total weight . , stuff into 22mm sheep casings , dehydrate 160 for 10 hour ish 

ECA =Encapsulated Citric Acid
NFDPM-NonFat Dried Powdered Milk 

What is the difference between Encapsulated Citric Acid and regular food-grade citric acid (which I have) ?

ECA does nothing until heat is added, then the casual breaks down, that's why you don't run it through the grinder ...citric acid starts working in the meat right away and if you left it for a while it will turn mushy ....one is in a casual, one is not ...thata all ( I think ) @nolaegghead ?

nolaegghead

lkapigian said:

buzd504 said:

lkapigian said:

Moleman said:

@lkapigian, care to share the recipe for the roasted garlic snack sticks? I'm still messing with this stuff, thanks. 

@Moleman , 

Some pork butt..1.75% salt .25% cure 1 cubed and cured for 24 hours do this first, everything else is seasoning to taste 

For the Bacon, I used about 25% to the weight of the pork, you can omit this but it gives it a nice smokey flavor 

 For the Adobo Sauce...home smoked Chipotle , a few chile de arbol  and guajillo ....roast peppers for a few minutes , soak in a hot stock for 30....add chili's to blender, couple tbs cumin 3 heads roasted garlic and 2 TBS  Mexican oregano , 1/4 cup vinegar and add stock to blender, about 50% up the level of chili, blend to a paste, separate the seeds and skins with strainer ( no salt, already in the pork)....grind mix and Let ferment for a couple Days in the fridge, add .7% ECA and 1% NFDPM to the total weight . , stuff into 22mm sheep casings , dehydrate 160 for 10 hour ish 

ECA =Encapsulated Citric Acid
NFDPM-NonFat Dried Powdered Milk 

What is the difference between Encapsulated Citric Acid and regular food-grade citric acid (which I have) ?

ECA does nothing until heat is added, then the casual breaks down, that's why you don't run it through the grinder ...citric acid starts working in the meat right away and if you left it for a while it will turn mushy ....one is in a casual, one is not ...thata all ( I think ) @nolaegghead ?

https://meatgistics.waltonsinc.com/topic/192/encapsulated-citric-acid