I have a dehydrator & mostly use it for apples. Sliced dried apples make a nice snack. I’ve also made jerky & have a pretty good marinade:
It’s recommended that you use either 1pound of very lean round or flank steak to make jerky. We use any meat we have, but most often we use shoulder roasts and round roasts. When the meat is semi-frozen it is easily sliced to about 3/8 inch thick (the thinner the slices the faster the drying). Meat cut with the grain will be chewy while the cuts against the grain will be tender and break more easily when dried. Marinate the meat in a sauce of:
4 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon onion salt
1 tablespoon ketchup
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon pepper (more if you like)
1 tablespoon of liquid smoke
Marinate the meat for at least 4 hours, then drain in a colander. Place the meat on trays to dry. For fastest drying time, do not overlap the meat on the trays and turn the meat over at least once during the drying period if it doesn’t look as though it’s drying evenly.
Dry at 145º F. for 8 to 10 hours. It is ready when it bends like a green willow without breaking. Store in a jar with a tight fitting lid, or ziplock freezer bags. Long-term storage should be in a refrigerator or freezer.
We dehydrate fruits, veggies and venison. The marinate recipe listed is a good one. Just one caveat: When drying meat, put the dehydrator in the garage overnight. The meaty smell in the kitchen can get overwhelming.