Drying will never replace canning and freezing because these methods do a better job of retaining the taste, appearance, and nutritive value of fresh food. But drying is an excellent way to preserve foods that can add variety to meals and provide delicious, nutritious snacks. One of the biggest advantages of dried foods is that they take much less storage space than canned or frozen foods.
Recommended methods for canning and freezing have been determined by research and widespread experience. Home drying, however, does not have firmly established procedures. Food can be dried several ways, for example, by the sun if the air is hot and dry enough, or in an oven or dryer if the climate is humid.
With the renewed interest in gardening and natural foods and because of the high cost of commercially dried products, drying foods at home is becoming popular again. Drying is not difficult, but it does take time and a lot of attention. Although there are different drying methods, the guidelines remain the same.
Although solar drying is a popular and very inexpensive method, Illinois does not have a suitable climate for it. Dependable solar dehydration of foods requires 3 to 5 consecutive days when the temperature is 95 degrees F. and the humidity is very low. The average relative humidity in central Illinois on days with 95 degrees F. temperatures is usually 86 percent. Solar drying is thus not feasible.
Drying food in the oven of a kitchen range, on the other hand, can be very expensive. In an electric oven, drying food has been found to be nine to twelve times as costly as canning it. Food dehydrators are less expensive to operate but are only useful for a few months of the year. A convection oven can be the most economical investment if the proper model is chosen. A convection oven that has a controllable temperature starting at 120 degrees F. and a continuous operation feature rather than a timer-controlled one will function quite well as a dehydrator during the gardening months. For the rest of the year it can be used as a tabletop oven.
GUIDELINES
Speed
For a good-quality product, vegetables and fruits must be prepared for drying as soon as possible after harvesting. They should be blanched, cooled, and laid out to dry without delay. Foods should be dried rapidly, but not so fast that the outside becomes hard before the moisture inside has a chance to evaporate.Drying must not be interrupted. Once you start drying the food, don't let it cool down in order to start drying again later. Mold and other spoilage organisms can grow on partly dried food.
Temperature
During the first part of the drying process, the air temperature can be relatively high, that is, 150 degrees to 160 degrees F. (65 degrees to 70 degrees C.), so that moisture can evaporate quickly from the food. Because food loses heat during rapid evaporation, the air temperature can be high without increasing the temperature of the food. But as soon as surface moisture is lost (the outside begins to feel dry) and the rate of evaporation slows down, the food warms up. The air temperature must then be reduced to about 140 degrees F. (60 degrees C.).Toward the end of the drying process the food can scorch easily, so you must watch it carefully. Each fruit and vegetable has a critical temperature above which a scorched taste develops. The temperature should be high enough to evaporate moisture from the food, but not high enough to cook the food. Carefully follow directions for regulating temperatures.
Humidity and Ventilation
Rapid dehydration is desirable. The higher the temperature and the lower the humidity, the more rapid the rate of dehydration will be. Humid air slows down evaporation. Keep this in mind if you plan to dry food on hot, muggy summer days. If drying takes place too fast, however, "case hardening" will occur. This means that the cells on the outside of the pieces of food give up moisture faster than the cells on the inside. The surface becomes hard, preventing the escape of moisture from the inside.Moisture in the food escapes by evaporating into the air. Trapped air soon takes on as much moisture as it can hold, and then drying can no longer take place. For this reason, be sure the ventilation around your oven or in your food dryer is adequate.
Uniform Drying
Drying the food evenly takes a little extra effort and attention. Stirring the pieces of food frequently and shifting the racks in the oven or dryer are essential because heat is not the same in all parts of the dryer. For the best results, spread thin layers of uniformly-sized pieces of food on the drying racks.EQUIPMENT
One of the advantages of drying foods rather than canning or freezing them is that you can get by with almost no special equipment. A kitchen oven, drying trays or racks, and storage containers are the only basic equipment needed. If you want to dry large quantities of food, you may decide to buy or make a food dryer, but it is not essential. For sun drying you need only racks and storage containers.Although the following equipment is not absolutely necessary, it will help you make a more uniformly good product:
- a food scale to weigh food before and after drying
- an electric fan to circulate the air
- a thermometer to check the oven temperature
- a blancher for vegetables
- a sulfur box for fruit
Do not use solid metal trays or cookie sheets to dry food because air must circulate all around the food so that drying can take place from the bottom and the top at the same time. Pieces of meat for jerky can be placed directly on the metal racks in the oven if the pieces are large enough not to fall through the spaces in the racks.
Do not use racks made of galvanized screen, aluminum, copper, fiberglass, or vinyl. Galvanized screen contains zinc and cadmium. These metals cause an acid reaction that forms harmful compounds and darkens the food. Aluminum becomes discolored and causes an off-flavor in sulfured fruit. Copper materials destroy vitamin C. Fiberglass may leave dangerous splinters in the food, and vinyl melts at temperatures used for drying.
METHODS
Oven Drying
Oven drying is the simplest way to dry food because you need almost no special equipment. It is also faster than sun drying or using a food dryer. But oven drying can be used only on a small scale. An ordinary kitchen oven can hold only 4 to 6 pounds of food at one time.Set the oven on the lowest possible setting and preheat to 140 degrees F. (60 C.). Do not use the broiler unit of an electric oven because the food on the top tray will dry too quickly' Remove the unit if it has no separate control. Some gas ovens have a pilot right, which may keep the oven warm enough to dry the food.
It is important to keep the oven temperature at 140 to 160 F. (60 to 70 C.). So put an oven thermometer on the top tray about half way back where you can see it easily. Check the temperature about every half hour.
Arrange 1 to 2 pounds of prepared food in a single layer on each tray. Put one tray on each oven rack. Allow 1-1/2 inches of space on the sides, front, and back of the trays so that air can circulate all around them in the oven. To stack more trays in the oven, use blocks of wood in the comers of the racks to hold the trays at least I inches apart. Dry no more than four trays of food at a time. A lighter load dries faster than a full load.
Keep the oven door open slightly during drying. A rolled newspaper, a block of wood, or a hot pad will keep the door ajar so that moist air can escape while the heat stays in the oven. Four to six inches for electric ovens or 1 to 2 inches for gas ovens is usually enough space for ventilation, but use a thermometer to check the oven temperature to make sure it stays at 140 F. An electric fan placed in front of the oven door helps to keep the air circulating.
Shifting the trays often is important for even drying because the temperature is not the same everywhere in the oven. Rotate the trays from top to bottom and from front to back every half hour. It helps to number the trays so you can keep track of the order in which you rotate them. Stirring fruit or vegetables every half hour or so also helps the food to dry evenly. jerky needs to be turned over occasionally to keep it from sticking to the trays.
Food Dryer
A commercial or homemade food dryer or convection oven provides automatically controlled heat and ventilation. Most households will not need a dryer unless they dry large quantities of food. A food dryer takes less electricity than drying the same amount of food in an electric oven. However, the temperature is usually lower (about 120 degrees F. or 50 C.), so drying takes a little longer than in an oven.You can buy a dryer at hardware, housewares farm supply, or health food stores. The price of commercial dryers varies greatly depending on the size, type of heating element, and other, special features. Directions for making an inexpensive dryer (see illustration above) are given in several of the publications listed at the end of this circular. An old refrigerator or icebox can be converted into a food dryer. just be sure the temperature is controlled and the ventilation is adequate.
When using a dryer, preheat it to 125 F. (52 C.). Place the food on trays and stack the trays in the dryer. Gradually increase the temperature to 140 F. (60 C.). It takes 4 to 12 hours to dry fruits or vegetables in a dryer.
Do not use space heaters to dry food. These stir up dust and dirt, which contaminate the food. For the same reason, do not try to dry food on a furnace vent or clothes dryer.
Sun Drying
Sun drying is the old-fashioned way to dry food because it uses the heat from the sun and the natural movement of the air. But bright sun, low humidity, and temperatures around 100 degrees F. are necessary. In Illinois the humidity is usually too high for successful sun drying. This process is slow and requires a good deal of care. The food must be protected from insects and covered at night. Sun drying is not as sanitary as other methods of drying. Don't sun dry food if you live near a busy road or in an area where the air is not clean.If you decide to sun dry foods, you might want to use a natural-draft dryer (see illustration above). The advantage of this kind of dryer is that it hastens drying by trapping heat from the sun. It also protects the food from insects and birds. Its construction is described in several of the recommended publications.
Place pieces of food on drying trays and then cover them with a layer of cheesecloth or netting to keep off dust and insects. Place the dryer in direct sunlight on a roof or high surface away from animals, traffic exhaust, and dust. After the food is almost dry, put it in an airy, shady place to prevent scorching during the final stage of drying.
Be sure to bring the dryer indoors at night if the temperature drops more than 20 degrees F. Dew and sudden temperature change put moisture back into the food and lengthen the drying time. Fruits and vegetables take 3 to 7 days to dry in the sun. The length of time depends on the type of food and the atmospheric conditions. Natural heat is slower and less dependable than controlled drying in an oven or food dryer.
PREPARING THE MEAT
Any lean meat can be dried. Beef and venison are especially good; fish and poultry dry well, too. Be sure to use fresh, lean meat and cut off all fat and connective tissue. Fat becomes rancid easily and will spoil the dried meat.Partly freezing the meat before cutting makes it easy to slice. Slice with the grain into long, thin, even strips. Slice with the grain instead of crosswise makes the jerky chewy and less brittle. The strips should be about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, 1 to 1-l/2 inches wide, and 4 to 12 inches long. Thin slices of meat will dry faster than thick ones. Any wild game meat should be frozen for at least 30 days to lower the chances of trichinosis infection by killing parasite larvae.
Meat may be dried as is, or it may be seasoned to suit your own taste. Salt and pepper are the basic ingredients. In the drying method, however, salt is used only as a seasoning, not as a preservative. It is crucial, therefore, that the oven temperature be maintained above 140 degrees F. to prevent spoilage during the drying process. Keep in mind that too much seasoning will overpower the meat flavor.
Place seasoned meat in a crockery, plastic, glass, or stainless steel bowl or pan, and cover. Marinate the meat overnight or for about 12 hours in the refrigerator at 40 F. (4 C.).
Vs
Dehydrating
Tips for Preparing Meat for Dehydration
Partially freeze meat to make slicing easier. The thickness of the meat strips will make a difference in the safety of the methods recommended in this book. Slice meat into ¼-inch strips. For tougher jerky, slice the meat with the grain; for tender jerky, slice across the grain. Trim off any excess fat to prevent the meat from going rancid.A Word About Poultry
Although the USDA recommends that poultry be cooked until it has heated to an internal temperature of 165°F before it is dehydrated, many people dehydrate raw poultry just like they would dehydrate raw beef. If you feel more comfortable cooking the poultry before dehydrating it, follow this procedure:Cut poultry into thin slices ¼ inch thick and place on dehydrator trays or, if you are using the oven method to dehydrate, place sliced poultry on a cookie sheet. Maintain a constant dehydrator temperature of 130°F to 140°F during drying
Ground Beef Crumbles
(Makes 4 cups dried meat crumbles)
Taking the extra step of cooking ground meats before dehydrating them helps give them a “crumbled” look.
- 1 pound lean ground meat (beef, turkey, or chicken)
- ¾ cup dry breadcrumbs
- salt and pepper
2. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the meat mixture thoroughly, breaking it up with a spoon; season with salt and pepper to taste. Drain off the excess grease and allow the meat to cool for a few minutes.
3. Transfer to dehydrating trays and set the dehydrator to 145°F. Dehydrate for 2 or more hours, until the meat is completely dried. Dried meat crumbles can be safely stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark, low-moisture environment for up to 1 month, or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month or in the refrigerator for up to 6 months to a year.
Ham
Use a lean cut, well cured ham that is trimmed of fat. Cut a fully-cooked smoked ham into ¼-inch cubes or very thin slices. Spread a single layer of the cubes or slices on each dehydrator tray.
Dry at 145°F for about 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Reduce the temperature to 130°F and continue drying and occasionally stirring until the meat is hard and thoroughly dried, about 2 more hours. Store dried ham pieces in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. To re-hydrate, combine 1 cup of dried ham and 1 cup of boiling water in a saucepan. Cover and cook on low heat for about 1 hour.
What’s the Difference?
Now that I’ve mentioned it, I should explain that a bit further. Jerky is dried meat that has been soaked in a spicy marinade of some kind and that has been dried raw. It’s the popular mainstay of hikers and survivalists around the world. The sodium in your marinade helps with preservation and makes the raw meat chewier in the final dried product. Making jerky is really a separate topic, so I’ll stick to the plain meat for now.Your Dehydrator
Normally, you can dry just about anything even with a low-end cheaper machine. But when it comes to meat, your equipment is going to matter. You need higher heat to dry meat safely. You should only be trying any of this if your dehydrator has an adjustable thermostat that can reach 140F (60C). If your machine doesn’t have a temperature setting or indicator, you can’t really trust that it will reach this heat, or maintain it with any regularity.Your Meat
You can dry just about anything. Although you should avoid pork due to the high fat content. No matter how dry something gets, excessive fat will still go rancid on you. But other than that, you can dry beef, chicken, fish, and all kinds of game meats. Obviously, lean is best. Prepare your cuts by trimming away any visible fat.This is one spot where it differs from making jerky, you should use cooked meat when drying. Tender meat will dry the best, so braise your meat, though fish is better if you poach it.
The Technique
Cook your meat. Then, either slice it thinly or cut it up into small chunks (1/4 to 1/2 inch). Spread the pieces out on your trays. Then start up your machine.One thing that is unique to meat is that oil that will start to bead up on it as it dries. Keep an eye on your trays and use a paper towel to blot it all off as it shows up. To keep on top of this, it’s best to dry your meat during the day so you can watch it, rather than let it go unattended all night. The more oil and fat you can remove, the better.
Drying meat and fish creates aromas. So you probably shouldn’t dry your meat when you have company over.
Drying Guide
Here are a few times for the basic types of meat you might be drying. This is just a rough approximation as different cuts and types of meat will add some variety to consider on how to dehydrate meat. Use your best judgement and check your meat often. It should be pretty hard and tough when properly done.- Beef – 5 to 7 hours
- Chicken or other poultry –
8 to 10 hours
- Fish – 4 to 6 hours
- Seafood – 6 to 8 hours
- Venison – 8 to 10 hours
Cooking & Eating Tips
Unlike jerky, plain dried meat isn’t too tasty to eat on its own while still dry. Expect to cook it for at least an hour before its ready to eat, with plenty of liquid to help it rehydrate. You can just simmer it in water, or it to a soup or stew. Or, if you have a casserole dish with enough liquid in it, you can bake your dried meat instead. Again, it should be cooking for about an hour if you want it to get soft enough.Dehydrating is a good way to store excess meat that doesn’t put it at risk of a freezer failure, and it’s easier than canning. Dried meat probably isn’t going to become a staple of your daily diet, but it can be pretty handy sometimes. And tasty.
An
example of using a Dehydtrator to make Human grade Jerky.
1 – Start with a lean piece of meat. You can use Flank Steak, Bottom Round, Top Round, Eye of Round, Sirlion Tip, etc…. The goal is to find a piece of meat that has as little fat as possible. Fat will spoil and limit the shelf life of your jerky.
2 – Trim off the fat cap and other visible fat from the meat.
3 – Place the beef in the freezer for 1-2 hours to partially freeze for easier uniform slices. Your meat should be hard to the touch but not fully frozen. Slice the meat against the grain of the meat around 1/8″-1/4″ thick for an easier chew or with the grain for a more chewier jerky.
4 – Finish slicing all of your meat and set aside. Now it’s time to get the marinade ready. As I mentioned earlier, the recipe used here is Cajun Beef Jerky. Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl or ziplock bag.
5 – Add the beef strips and shake the container so all the meat is evenly covered with the marinade. I marinated my beef in the fridge for 18 hours. Anywhere between 6 to 24 hours is a long enough time to have great tasting jerky. The longer the better.
6 – After marinating, drain and pat dry the jerky strips to remove any excess marinade before dehydrating. This helps in speeding up the dehydration process.
7- It’s time for the easy part! As I mentioned above, useing Dehydrator for this batch. Place the beef strips on the racks making sure that they are not touching or overlapping.
Leaving space
in between the slices allows the air to better circulate and dry the
meat.
8 – Turn the dehydrator
to 160° and let it run for about 4 hours.
You want the internal temperature of your jerky to reach 160°. This
jerky took 5 hours to dry. Depending on how thick your slices are
will determine how long it will take to finish dehydrating.9 – Make sure you check your jerky throughout the drying process to avoid over drying. The jerky will be done when it bends and cracks but does not break in half. If it’s done, let it sit on the rack and cool for a couple hours.
10 – Now it’s time to either store it in ziplock bags, vacuum sealed bags, glass jars, or my favorite; your stomach! The jerky will stay good for 7-10 days if kept in ziplock bags. For longer storage, using vacuum sealed bags will allow the jerky to last 1-2 months. Please visit my page on sttoring jerky for further information.
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