Oven Dehydrating

“There are a billion dehydrating threads, too many to look through and they may not address my question anyway about trying to use an oven as a dehydrator.

I wanted to make thick hard jerky for my dog to give her something really hard to chew on since she won't eat any hard biscuits etc.

What temp would you put the oven on and what would you line the pan with, oil? About what temp would you cook it at and for about how long.

Don't normal hydrators work with a fan and heat? Would it help to have the oven open and fan the heat around. This all sounds like too much trouble.

Are there any decent hydrators out there in a Walmart or outdoor stores. I only need it for my dog so it doesn't have to be top of the line, but I still want it to work.

Is there anything I should look for in one or avoid?”

“I have an American Harvest dehydrator. I got it as a gift. I think they run in the $40 - $60 range. I have a dehydrator cookbook at home that has oven directions; I'll take a look tonight and see what it says.”

“I would get one with a fan and adjustable temp.

You probably don't need any extra trays or anything.

Mine is a NESCO American Harvest and it might have come from Walmart.

You'll find that it's good for more than just dog food :)

I think the oven temp would be around 150 degrees. Not sure about the door.
last edited: 4/06/06 3:17:43 PM”

“Set your oven to the lowest setting, and prop the door open with a wooden spoon :-)
And line your trays with parchment paper..little cleanup that way!
If your just doing it for your doggy, save the money on a dehydrator :-) But, yeah, I have a Nesco Snackmaster also, and I like mine-and adjustable temp is everything.”

“Thanks for the ideas and buying suggestions. Sarbar1, if I buy the darn thing, I might as well use it for camping also. My husband is trying to go ultra light or at least lighter than the gear we bought about 8 years ago that was considered light at that time.

I'm still concerned about the one wall tent. I found another thread where Lizs said she got a wet head from leaning up in her tent from condensation. I better bring a hat when I try this new tent out. I think she said the condensation was actually dripping! Yuck!

Back to dehydrators, I can see starting off wanting a simple one like pepsi mentioned then it taking off from there to wanting a really good one. It always seems to work that way:)”

“I did a search on the Walmart site. Ron Popeil had one you could buy online for about $40, then there was the Snackmaster for about $44. This is the link, but sometimes links bring you to a sites homepage:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=1120727

I'm just starting to look at them. I haven't been to any stores yet. The one I posted looked fairly good. It says it does 500 watts and temps between 95 and 155 degrees. Of course none of this means anything to me at this point until I compare it to others.”

“Just out of curiosity, how long would it take to dehydrate some jerky?”

“Here is another link for that dehydrator directly from their site which turns out to be a Nesco American Harvest product:

http://www.nesco.com/products/?category=300&subcat=100&id=40”

““Just out of curiosity, how long would it take to dehydrate some jerky?”
lipstick hiker
6:26:18 PM
4/06/06

About 8 to 12 hours not including marinade time for the meat.”

“why would you dehydrate your oven?”

“LH, the one from the company direct is a good choice :-)”

“And much better than leaving the oven on for 12 hours in July :)


I wouldn't get it from the company though.”

“Well, I tend to go with pepsi on this one, because it may be easier to do a return if you needed to if you deal with a neighborhood store. The store sells it for less also.

What happened to the "You Can Buy Anything in Walmart" thread. I went there to look at the dehydrators and they had none. Neither did REI. I'm not shopping anymore by car. I'm researching to find one I like then calling stores to see if they have them. A store locator at a products site is not always useful, because they may carry one product and not another.

They wanted $18.99 a pound for this chicken jerky in a smaller boutique pet store that sells better foods, yikes!!! That's a good reason to buy a dehydrator right there. Also I can choose meats that are USDA grade and not what dog food companies put on products that say USDA inspected. Inspected means it was inspected but does not necessarily mean it passed the inspection, so that wording is very deceiving.”

“I know I have a lot to learn if I buy a dehydrator, but I was kind of wondering if people made jerky for themselves, how do you keep it fresh since it doesn't have preservatives. I would guess you would want to make a big batch.”

“At Walmart did you look in the section where they hide the Food Vacs? They are usually near that area, same with Target.”

“sarbar1, we were sent to the housewares area, but also checked the outdoor area with no luck. I see from a thread from 2002 and everyone seems to have bought some type of the same American Harvest model.

I think we did pass the food vacs and saw nothing. We do have a new bigger Target in Federal Way now. I'll check there, but I'm not leaving my house. I'm doing it all by phone. I'm not running around to stores anymore. My husband said we should check Sportco, another outdoor store. I'm still in the "do I want one" phase which I do just for my dog's jerky.

I need to see more info and read more old thread to see good stories which I have already how they dehydrators have been great for camp food. My husband would use it more for dehydrated meats. I'm happy with the old standby, cup a soups, the ones in the cup. I love my pasta, although.....hmmmm, I do love lentil soup and maybe some other things if I give this dehydrating thing more thought, because I hadn't thought about using it for myself.

I know Bear Creek makes some soups that need maybe 10-15 mins of cooking, but I like my own food. I think I tasted some potato soup by Bear Creek in Costco that was pretty good. I'm getting hungry!”

“sarbar1, I looked up Target and found what everyone was buying; it's the Snackmaster. They list an expensive one at $66. unless it's the $44 one and they just charge more. They may have more to offer in their stores. I have a feeling I'm going to have to go into stores and not be able to shop by phone. I'm not even sure what I want.

Funny enough, they list it under housewares, appliances and another category.”

““I know I have a lot to learn if I buy a dehydrator, but I was kind of wondering if people made jerky for themselves, how do you keep it fresh since it doesn't have preservatives. I would guess you would want to make a big batch.”
lipstick hiker
10:47:51 PM
4/06/06
ignore this user

I like to use soy sauce as the base for my meat marinade, which has a high salt content. Salt acts as a curing agent. You also want to cut as much fat off of the meat as possible, because the fats are what will spoil first. I remember reading somewhere (note this is from memory and could be wrong) that properly cured jerky will last about a month at room temperature before it will start to spoil. When I make a batch of jerky, I just put it in the freezer for safekeeping. When I unload my dehydrator I place the jerky on a paper towel and pat it down with another paper towel to soak up any excess oils before I package it in ziplock bags.

BTW, I wasn't able to find my cookbook last night, but it looks like Sarbar1 was able to answer your oven dehydration question.
last edited: 4/07/06 6:34:16 AM”

“LH...soemthing I have found is that in the urban stores you are not as likely to find one-go a bit rural, and they show up. And yes, Sportco used to sell them-since they are so heavy on hunting :-)I know they have them at the Covington Walmart and the Target on East Kent Hill.”

“sarbar1, thanks. There is a pet store called Reba Ranch that you may see advertised all the time now that's near or around Covington, so I can go there to and make the trip worth while. I went to Reba Ranch last week and it was about a 1/2 hour drive, that's with leaving out how long I was lost for, lol:)

I just took Route 18 east from 320th by the mall.”

“whatever you do, do not make turkey jerky and over dehydrate it. Never.”