dehydrators Dehydrator for jerky

I am going to buy a dehydrator to make jerky tonight at Bass Pro. They have the 5 tray LEM for $155 and a round stack style for $45. Is it worth spending the extra money for the square LEM?
 
you may wish to consider any unit that has a thermostat so you can control the heat setting for different products you may wish to dehydrate, i don't think the cheapie has temperature control.

when i looked at the lem, the price looked good but then as i thought about things, i didn't like the slide in/out shelf set up. the low end lem didn't seem to have enough clearance between shelves but maybe i was being a little over analytic or just anal. the excalibur slide shelf unit seemed to have more room between trays - of course you don't have to have all trays in the unit but if you do, you just have to make sure everything is cut to the tray height requirement.

right now i have a batch of banana peels dehydrating for my soil additives, i have the nesco fd80 stackable square unit and am satisfied with it but i bet i would have been satisfied with the lem unit or excalibur or if i had the money a sedona.

have fun with your new purchase.
 
I have been making jerky for 3 years now and havent had any problems at all. I use the Nesco FD-37
http://www.nesco.com/category_449f7f01f1ea/subcategory_39febe0b9343/product_59c36ea6291d/session_637a096de92f/
Works wonderfully. This nifty and cost effective dehydrator also works great for drying pepper pods for grinding into powders. I use Hi Mountain Jerky kits, lots of wonderful flavors. I spice the mix up with my own pepper powders, mix it into the HMJ seasoning when you combine the seasoning/cure salt together. :onfire:

http://www.himtnjerky.com/

Here is what I do...

Mix the HMJ seasoning/cure salt as directed in the kit for the amount of meat I am going to jerkify (I dont think thats really a word LOL)

Take your meat that you want to make into jerky (ground or whole muscle) and drain it of blood.

Mix the jerky cure/seasoning as suggested in the directions and sprinkle it onto the meat.

Put the meat in a tupperware container in the fridge for atleast 24 hours (for whole muscle)

Once cures, spread onto a cookie sheet lined with no stick foil and put into the oven for 90 minutes at 200 degrees This is done to
kill any and all little nastiest, making the meat safe for consumption.

Put the meat onto the trays and dehydrate for 4-8 hours (depends on how dry you like it)

Store in a tupperware bowl in the fridge.

I have never had an issue with the meat going bad on me, it usually doesnt last that long anyways. LOL
 
Well,I went with the 5 shelf LEM. I did some jerky last night but I think I dried it for too long. And the recipe I used had way to much worcestershire sauce in it. Now to get a milder tasting recipe.
 
We swear by our 9 tray Excalibur. http://www.amazon.com/Excalibur-3900-Deluxe-Tray-Dehydrator/dp/B001P2J3K0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325376041&sr=8-1

They also have a smaller version. http://www.amazon.com/Excalibur-3500-Deluxe-Tray-Dehydrator/dp/B001P2FUZC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1325376041&sr=8-2

I'm in total agreement on the thermostat. Extremely important when dehydrating.

I'm building one of these solar dehydrators this Spring and see how they work http://homepower.com/view/?file=HP57_pg62_Scanlin
 
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