One of my Christmas gifts was a food dehydrator, something for which I’d been itching to buy for a while now, mostly so I could make my own jerky. About two days after Christmas, I started using it, and I’m hooked. I’ve been drying all kinds of stuff.
Dried apple rings
Dried bananas
Dried blueberries
Dried grapes (homemade raisins)
Dried pineapple
Strawberry-banana leather (basically a fruit roll-up)
Apple cinnamon leather
Carrot leather
And of course, beef jerky. Although, I do need some work on flavoring the jerky. The first batch, which I made yesterday, is good enough, but I could have done better on the spices I flavored it with. I chose to stay somewhat simple this time, since I wasn’t sure how the jerky itself would turn out, so I sprinkled it with hickory smoked salt. It came out okay, though I think I might have dried it a bit too much. When it’s bent, it tends to snap off instead of being more elastic, but otherwise it’s fine. I think maybe two hours less and the texture would have been better. The flavoring, though, is not the best. It’s not bad, but does tend to be really salty, especially in places where more of the spice collected. I think for the next batch I make, Cajun seasoning will be what I use.
That’s it for now. Off to go take some painkiller and go lay down for a while. I’m recovering nicely, but it’s still hard to sit for longer than five or ten minutes, and some mornings, like today (and I won’t go into any detail), the pain is more intense and all I can really do is take some Percocet and go lie down for a few.
Happy New Year to everyone!
Dried onions and red bell peppers for stews and such. Dried mushrooms.
One nice thing is once you see that Bell Pepper #729 and Onion 67-X.B1 are looking a little past their prime you can just deconstruct them and repurpose them to be long-term food candidates. Dry them and bag ‘em, stick them in the freezer.
Ah, Percocet… my pain levels have dwindled such that I weaned my body off them last week – the body rebelled and my brain said “Tough sh*t”. But when you need that stuff, it works. Hope your southern hemisphere is healing in general.
If you like I can share a few rub and wet marinade recipes for the dead animal flesh that have worked for me in the past…
Hell yeah! If you’re willing to share rub recipes, I would definitely be interested. And grateful. Thanks.
Love jerky, especially deer jerky!
Yeah, I’ve always loved jerky. Teriyaki, hickory smoked, black pepper, mesquite, hot Cajun jerky, carne de seca jerky, you name it, it’s great.
Though I have to admit, I’ve never eaten turkey jerky. It just doesn’t sound good. Go figure.
I love drier jerky rather than chewier. Jerky parchment. Yum.
I bought a discount dehydrator at Aldis. One of the racks melted on first use. I took it back. Have always wanted one though. Guess you get what you pay for.
You should try again, Nicole. The one I got has been working great.
Glad you are up and getting around some…
I like good jerky… there are several places around here to get good stuff… but I can’t stand the bagged stuff.
Once you get your recipe right- I’d be happy to be a taste tester!
I’ll definitely keep you in mind, once I get my technique polished up.
Gonna try making some venison jerky next week. Probably season it with black pepper and a little salt. We’ll see.
I’m glad you are recovering nicely, and that they gave you plenty of drugs
I’ve always wanted to try making pemmican, but if I recall it can’t be made in a dehydrator. Your stuff, even the “ok” stuff sounds awesome.
Take care, my friend!
Thanks, Aggie. Yeah, I’m recovering well. Should be back to work in another week. The only real problems I still have are that I can’t sit for very long, maybe a half hour but that’s it, and that’s only with two or three pillows to cushion the ‘sore spots’. I also can’t drive yet, as that exercise requires you sitting up straight for the most part, and the pressure on the affected area as well as the uncomfortableness of car seats in general makes that an exercise in will power. Even riding as a passenger is no fun, as I end up having to lean way to one side to relieve pressure.
You take care too!