Dehydrator, Comments and Recommendations

[Eugene]

Glut of vegetables. Thinking about purchasing a dehydrator. Looking for comments, recommendations, and tips.

[pickerandsinger]

Nesco by American Harvest.....6 Trays... Dehydrator and Jerky maker....Walmart...About 50 bucks.....Awhile back....Works for us....We use it for everything especially " Sun dried roma tomatoes" and venison jerky....Dave

[Eugene]

Thanks Dave.

I have looked over WalMart's selection. Price is right.

Next question, is there an economic value in dehydrating home grown vegetables?

Further suggestions or comments appreciated.

If/when I pick one up - considering the price of jerky - will have to discuss beef and deer jerky recipes.

[Peter Person]

Eugene,
We bought an Excalibur a few years back - 9 drawers. Had the best reviews. Works great.
Cabelas units did not have great reviews at the time - not sure if they have improved.

Peter

[pickerandsinger]

I have looked over WalMart's selection. Price is right.

Next question, is there an economic value in dehydrating home grown vegetables?

Further suggestions or comments appreciated.

If/when I pick one up - considering the price of jerky - will have to discuss beef and deer jerky recipes.

We picked Walmart, for the price and so we could easily take it back if it didn't work....Luckily we never had to...Had it over 5 years...( Not a huge fan of Walmart, by the way)....

Economic value....Well we use dehydrated tomatoes alot in cooking and they are extremely expensive to buy pre-packaged....And jerky is out of sight also....We do alot of canning etc...The dehydrator has become part of our routine....Will be glad to post a jerky recipe....Wifey is still sleeping and I don't touch her recipe book ....Dave

[pickerandsinger]

Eugene, Also we dry the majority of all our herbs etc for use during the year....Quality is way above store-bought and price is minimal ....

[pickerandsinger]

Venison Jerky....Liquid smoke 1 3/4 tbs....Soy Sauce 4 tbs...Worchestshire 4 tbs....Ketchup 1 tbs....pepper 1/4 tbs...garlic powder 1/4 tbs...onion powder 1/4 tbs....salt 1/2 tbs....Slice thin and marinade it 24 hours...Dehydrate ( follow instructions for dehydrator, depending on type )....Goes good with Dave

[Joe Malinowski]

We also have the 9 drawer Excalibur, in this case I think you get what you pay for. I would highly recommend it.

[SONNY]

The only thing we had luck with drying was onions and wolf river apples with ours!---havent used it for many years! thanks ; sonny

[pickerandsinger]

I wouldn't pay 200/300 dollars for a dehydrator till I found out if I liked the results....Of course you can always use an oven to try things out....If I had time I'd tell you about the Excaliber Limo Kit my friend had and Randy Travis's Chickens. ....Dave

[Eugene]

Purchased a mid price range Presto dehydrator from Target's web site. Digital timer and temperature control. Seems to work satisfactorily. Only thing I noticed is that the fan seems to have a bit more noise than I expected.

Made jerky, came out great. Messing around, dried some cherry tomatoes and cucumber chips. Cherry tomatoes came out great. Cucumber chips, bitter cucumber, went into the composter. Lesson learned, should have tasted the cucumbers before I tried turning them into chips.

[pickerandsinger]

Never tried cucumber chips.....Wife makes a lot of stuff to add into soups but no cuc's.....Will have to try that one....Dave