Good Dehydrator?

[+elmuyloco5]

Does anyone dehydrate food for backpacking? What units do you use?

[+briansnat]

I use a Ronco dehydrator (don't laugh). It's not great, but it works and is inexpensive. My quarrel with it is that it dries a bit unevenly when all the racks are full and the bottom racks dry faster, so you have to rotate them periodically.

 

According to that link that model is unavailable, but they have a similar one.

Edited December 7, 2007 by briansnat

[+briansnat]

I have no experience with it but I noticed this Nesco has a lot of very good reviews.

[bogleman]

I've used the ronco model a few times but for ease I just use the oven, set it to the lowest temperature (check with a digital probe) and crack the door to regulate the heat.

 

mmmmm pear/apple leather, good stuff - old school fruit wraps, looks nasty but tastes great. In the fall dried apples fresh from the stand in the oven smell great, kids love them, heavy on the fiber so watch yourself

 

get a cooling rack and place your goodies on them and you are good to go

Edited December 7, 2007 by bogleman

[+elmuyloco5]

I have no experience with it but I noticed this Nesco has a lot of very good reviews.

That's the model I've been looking at. They have it on sale at Cabelas.

 

I would prefer not to use the oven as it heats up the house so much, and it also takes up the oven when I need to cook. I bake our own breads and stuff, so it's usually pretty busy anyway.

 

We love jerky and have been considering a dehydrator for awhile. Now the kids are old enough to really start backcountry camping and we thought it would be a good way to cut down on some weight in our packs. We're already going to have to carry two tents as there's 5 of us, and we may end up carrying alot of our youngest's items as he's only 6. I know food isn't the area that's going to save us alot in weight, but every bit helps in the overall picture.

[+briansnat]

I have no experience with it but I noticed this Nesco has a lot of very good reviews.

That's the model I've been looking at. They have it on sale at Cabelas.

 

I would prefer not to use the oven as it heats up the house so much, and it also takes up the oven when I need to cook. I bake our own breads and stuff, so it's usually pretty busy anyway.

 

We love jerky and have been considering a dehydrator for awhile. Now the kids are old enough to really start backcountry camping and we thought it would be a good way to cut down on some weight in our packs. We're already going to have to carry two tents as there's 5 of us, and we may end up carrying alot of our youngest's items as he's only 6. I know food isn't the area that's going to save us alot in weight, but every bit helps in the overall picture.

 

Check out the cheaper Nesco models on Amazon. They have one that is $39 that has some good reviews.

[Ferreter5]

I have no experience with it but I noticed this Nesco has a lot of very good reviews.

That's the one my wife has. She has six trays for it and it works well.

 

The only two things about any of these types of dehydrators:

 

(1) It takes a little experience with it to get the right temperature setting for drying different types of things.

 

(2) Things in the bottom trays will dry a little faster than the things in the top trays because the heater and fan are at the bottom.

[+Mopar]

I have no experience with it but I noticed this Nesco has a lot of very good reviews.

That's the one we have. It works very well. I like that it's expandable (we have something like 8-10 trays for ours).

There are a few accessories for it you will probably want to get as well.

Get some extra trays to fit the model dehydrator you buy (if you get an expandable one like the Nesco), especially with 5 people. It takes a lot more time and work to make 2-3 small batches instead of one large batch.

If you are a fan of store-bought jerky, get a jerky gun (we have this one). It sounds and looks silly to use ground meat in a caulking gun for jerky strips, but most store-bought stuff is made from cheap ground up scraps which is one reason why it's not as tough to chew as normal homemade jerky.

Also get some of the fruit rollup sheets. Make sure ya get the right ones for the model dehydrator you get, Nesco makes a few different sizes. Make your own fruit rollups.

 

Oh, and if money is no object theExcalibur brand dehydrators are supposedly the best there is from what I hear from other people.

Edited December 23, 2007 by Mopar

[+elmuyloco5]

Do you find the ground up meat jerky is better than the thinly sliced piece of meat jerky? I usually prefer the brands that are made from a slice than the ground up ones, but I know that homemade is alot different than store bought.

 

I do like the idea of the fruit roll ups for the kids. I personally can't stand the store stuff, but I know my kids would appreciate them.

[+BFPierce]

I found a great one on craigslist for $15, it's one of the stacking kinds, and it took about tqwo batches to really get it down. Look there or keep your eyes open in estate/garage sales.

[+rock_rat]

Just to show my geekiness. Alton Brown used a box fan, some furnance filters, and bungee-cords as a dehydrator. Here is a page I found that duplicated it.

 

http://annarbor.albertelli.com:85/weblog/?p=86

[+Monkeybrad]

A hiking buddy of ours turned us on to making our own jerky a couple of years ago. We have one of the cheaper Nesco models and have been very happy with it. I will echo Mopar's suggestion, the jerky gun makes life much easier. It took us quite a bit of experimenting to get our jerky just right, but now I would not dream of carrying "store-bought" jerky.

 

We have also had great success making our own banana and apple chips to carry on the trail.

[+Monkeybrad]

Identical post made purely to up my post count.

Edited March 12, 2008 by Monkeybrad

[+briansnat]

I have no experience with it but I noticed this Nesco has a lot of very good reviews.

 

I just ordered this one yesterday. Once I've used it a few times I'll post my impressions.

[+Mopar]

I have no experience with it but I noticed this Nesco has a lot of very good reviews.

I just ordered this one yesterday. Once I've used it a few times I'll post my impressions.

That's the one we have. It works very well. I like that it's expandable (we have something like 8-10 trays for ours).

There are a few accessories for it you will probably want to get as well.

Get some extra trays to fit the model dehydrator you buy (if you get an expandable one like the Nesco), especially with 5 people. It takes a lot more time and work to make 2-3 small batches instead of one large batch.

If you are a fan of store-bought jerky, get a jerky gun (we have this one). It sounds and looks silly to use ground meat in a caulking gun for jerky strips, but most store-bought stuff is made from cheap ground up scraps which is one reason why it's not as tough to chew as normal homemade jerky.

Also get some of the fruit rollup sheets. Make sure ya get the right ones for the model dehydrator you get, Nesco makes a few different sizes. Make your own fruit rollups.

[+briansnat]

I have no experience with it but I noticed this Nesco has a lot of very good reviews.

 

I just ordered this one yesterday. Once I've used it a few times I'll post my impressions.

 

OK, I've been using this for almost two weeks now. It is an excellent dehydrator. I just made a batch of thick cut beef jerky in about 5 hours. That would have taken 12+ with my old Ronco. Last night I dried mangoes for my wife and they were done in 3 hours.

 

My only complaint is that the racks are a bit difficult to clean, but that was also the case with my Ronco.

 

I give the Nesco FD-1010 three thumbs up.

Edited April 1, 2008 by briansnat

[+TotemLake]

I always found a long hike without water does a great job of dehydration.

 

(Sorry, it was a good day today and I couldn't resist)