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18
Drying Meat
Meat must be always cured or pre-cooked before dehydrating. Dehydrated meat will taste better
when cured first. Meats should be always dried at 70℃. Depending on how thick the meat is cut,
how heavily the dryer is loaded, and the humidity, meat strips take from 4 to 15 hours to dry. Always
use lean meat when dehydrating.
Pat meat strips with clean paper towels several times as it dries, to remove the excess oil that
accumulates on the top of the meat strips. When removing meat strips from dehydrator trays, wrap
it in paper towels and let it stand for a couple hours prior to packaging. Excess fat will be absorbed in
the paper towels and the shelf life will be extended.
Storage
Beef meat strips that are stored un-refrigerated will start to go rancid at room temperature after 3 to
4 weeks. Refrigerate or freeze for longer storage or until ready to go on a trip or camping. If any ice
crystals have formed inside bag, re-package in a dry container. If meat strips are dried thoroughly, it
will last for several weeks in the outdoors or while traveling. All types of meat strips must be dried
sufficiently to avoid mould. If mould is found inside a storage bag of meat strips, the whole container
must be thrown away.
Drying Cooked Meats
If you are drying meats for other purposes than jerky such as for stew, sandwich spreads or
stroganoff, the meat should be tender and high quality. It must be cooked so it will not be tough and
chewy when reconstituted. Using the remainder of a dinner roast or leftover steak saves the step of
precooking the meat. Dehydrate those leftovers for snacks, backpacking and camping meals.
The shelf life of dried, cooked meats is 2 to 3 weeks at room temperature. Store in refrigerator or
freezer to maintain the best quality until ready for use for backpacking or camping. They will stay
fresh and tasty for up to 6 months in the freezer.
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