Make Your Own Dehydrated Meal Packs

The DIY World ^ | April 6, 2011 | Techman2015

[doorgunner69]

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[Arrowhead1952]

Which cut of beef do you use to make your jerky? Thanks.

Strips from brisket makes good jerky. You can use any part of the rump too, just cut it with the muscle grain and season well before dehydrating.

[Jane Long]

Thanks much!! Will look for these cuts when they’re on sale.

[Thidwick]

How do you store your dehydrated food so it lasts? Can it be stored to last years?

[Organic Panic]

Not really. There’s methods that you can use if you really want to but I don’t do it. You get sterilized #10 cans, add dry ice to the bottom so it displaces the oxygen (or some other way of displacing the oxygen)then seal the lid with a dessicat pack. I will just store my stuff in Ziploc bags without all the hassle because I use it up within 6 months.

[Kartographer]

Preppers’ PING!!

Hat tip to Diana in Wisconsin for the heads up.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

There is a book out there, (possibly out of print) called “The Well Fed Backpacker” it has some of the best recipes for trail food.

[Sarajevo]

I have to agree with BHFred here. :o

[Sarajevo]

If you find a way to dehydrate water, Army Medics will love you!!!!

[Political Junkie Too]

I bought one of these to make jerky for my dogs after the recall of the Chinese poison strips.

Nesco 4-Tray Food Dehydrator - $64.99

The link is to Target. I got mine at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

-PJ -PJ

[Dubh_Ghlase]

It's easy: Get your packet of dehydrated water, put it in your water container, and add water.

Brought to you by Obamacare, because one good trick deserves another...!

[SisterK]

My home dehydrated food lasts for years, just in zip-lock bags, but I take out more water than the commercial products. The commercial products leave more moisture in, so that it will be chewy. I trust mine to last longer than the average commercial variety.

[bigheadfred]

The commercial products leave more moisture in, so that it will be chewy.

Add the fact they sell by weight. Where would we be if we weren't paying those high prices for water?

[null and void]

bigbob ~ We need to find a way to freeze-dry beer...

Mariner ~ Concentrated beer is known as "Whiskey".

This is concentrated Guinness...

[SisterK]

That is funny!
you have been blessed with an excellent sense of humor -

[Scoutmaster]

It's easy: Get your packet of dehydrated water, put it in your water container, and add water.

PLEASE don't try that. Manufacturers have been trying to perfect the manufacturing process for years, but, no matter what they try, when you add water to dehydrated water the resulting solution always contains dihydrogen monoxide.

Dihydrogen monoxide is a colorless and odorless chemical compound that can be deadly if accidentally inhaled.

[Dubh_Ghlase]

It will also stop your breathing if you immerse yourself in it for long periods of time...

[Patriotic1]

What have you been using? Chicken? Beef? Are you using any seasoning? I have this model and dogs... Only used it for fruit, but I could try jerky.

[Political Junkie Too]

I bought the powdered kit, but it was way too salty for me.

I don't use chicken because the dehydrator goes to 160 degress Farenheit, but chicken or turkey needs an internal temperature of about 175 degrees, where beef is fine at 160 degrees. The manual says that fowl is fine if it's already cooked and you are dehydrating for later rehydrating (say, for camping).

For my dog (and for me), I was buying a cheap cut of meat at the store (maybe a chuck roast at $4.99/pound) and slicing it thin with a meat slicer (maybe 2-3 mm) and then marinating it overnight. For the marinade, I was making about a 4:1 mixture of low sodium soy sauce and worcestershire sauce (which I am going to eliminate because of the onions in the ingredients), a little splash of liquid smoke, a sprinkle of ground ginger, and a squirt of lemon juice and a squirt of lime juice for the acid (using the stuff in the plastic bottles in the produce section).

About 1.5 to 2 pounds of beef will fill up the 4 trays that come with the dehydrator. It takes about 4-6 hours, based on how thick you slice the beef.

I once tried a bottled teriyaki sauce, but I didn't care for it.

Back to my dog, I need to be careful not to include things that are toxic. I know that onions are bad for dogs, but I had hoped that the worcestershire sauce would have cooked out the toxins during the making of the product. Then I saw an episode of "How it's made" that showed the Lea and Perrin's factory, and realized that they boil a LOT of onions, so I'm going to take it out of the marinade even though I only use a few splashes of it.

-PJ

[Nevadan]

thanks Diana!