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Reply To: Food Dehydrators. Who's got one

#51072 Report Abuse
USA
Member

Hi sue

The oven doesn’t work as well but I think you are on to something! Dori (or anyone else) should probably make some treats in the oven first while they find out if making jerky is something they are going to stick with. Once you are making jerky regularly and want to go to the next level of quality and/or volume than the investment in a dehydrator seems more justified.

For an oven you would put it on the lowest heat and leave the door slightly ajar for better air circulation. For jerky that will last a long time without preservative you would cook until it it pretty hard and breaks easily into smaller pieces. For a raw fed dog like Dori’s you could cook it less because the dog is used to dealing with bacteria but you would only make a couple of days worth at a time (it will spoil) unless you freeze it.

You must remove any external fat from the neat before you slice it (no thicker than 1/4 inch) because fat goes rancid fast no matter how long you cook the jerky.

Hi Melissaandcrew

I am fearful of using anything other than 100% stainless steel for dehydrating foods. Plastics even if they are “food safe” and “BPA free” scare me.