Meat Dehydrator's

Midnight Smoke

Midnight Smoke

somebody shut me the fark up.
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I love Beef Jerky and want to get a Dehydrator. Going to return the Knife Sharpener and get something more useful for us.

Looks like the Excalibur is the best one. On the Excalibur Website the 3926 is the only one I can find with a timer.

I have been searching these on Amazon and the 3900 is the only one I see they have, but says, no timer model.

I think the 9 tray is an overkill for me, the 5 tray would probably be big enough. Any advice on this, should I consider the 9 tray?

Does the 5 tray come with a timer? Is the timer really that important?

Suggestions on what Brand/Model I should be looking for?
 
I have never had a dehydrator with a timer, but I really don't think it would be overly useful. I'm sure someone might be able to challenge this, but I have a cheap dehydrator and I make jerky quite frequently with it. It's sorta like Q... it's done when it's done. If you are worried about over drying it, don't. After its done, you want to let it 'stabilize' for an hour or two before you bag it up anyway...
 
We have the 3900 no timer -- I would'nt worry about the timer if you decide you need one go to lowes and grab one that plugs in wall 10 bucks or so.
if you like fruit roll ups get the solid sheets to go with it works great.
 
One site I looked at said to buy a $10 timer to use with the 3900.

Harvest Essentials had more uses than just dehydrating.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, clean, Swiss, SunSans-Regular][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, clean, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]The Ultimate in Versatility - Removable door and trays – This is a MUST- in order to use every other tray or no trays at all, allowing you to dry large items, make yogurt, raise breads, dry crafts, bloom rice, dry sprouted breads, dry pie crust and more.. You do not have to take apart to check drying or add more food.

I would get the larger one. Just like smokers, you will wish you had purchased the largest you can afford.
[/FONT][/FONT]
 
I agree with everyone else- you can never have too many racks. Also, any plug-in appliance timer will work.

If you're debating between models, I would suggest going for something that breaks down and is easy to clean.
 
I have a plastic one we bought at Bed, Bath and beyond, no timer and it had 5 trays, I found through a friend 4 more trays and it does just fine with 9 trays of meat. I agree it's done when it's done. I do rotate the trays through the drying process
 
I've got The Sausage Maker D-10 model. It works great, and I've got one of the earlier models that has no timer. I really can't say that having/not having a timer would be a make or break decision maker for me if I was currently in the market for one.
 
I have the Excalibur 2500 and have used it heavily for many years.
Great unit!!!!!!
Even drying througout the unit, although I still rotate shelves out of habit.
If I was to do it again, I would get the 9 shelf unit--just me.

I can see no need for a timer at all.
Drying time varies too much--it is done when it is done.

TIM
 
WHOA WHOA WHOA, wait a second....sorry to hijack but Ive never done jerky or any kind of curing. Just watched that Alton Brown thing and freaked out.

Can you eat raw meat once cured?! I mean I guess dehydrating it doesnt really change it so Im assuming you can, just never thought about it. So can I eat raw bacon thats cured and smoked?
 
I definitely recommend you buy the 9 tray Excalibur model. A timer is not necessary.

6581818325_79369143e3_b.jpg
 
nrok2118 said:
WHOA WHOA WHOA, wait a second....sorry to hijack but Ive never done jerky or any kind of curing. Just watched that Alton Brown thing and freaked out.

Can you eat raw meat once cured?! I mean I guess dehydrating it doesnt really change it so Im assuming you can, just never thought about it. So can I eat raw bacon thats cured and smoked?
Click to expand...

It's the dehydration that allows it to be stored at room temp and keep for a long time. With out the water in the meat it will last a long long time.
 
nrok2118 said:
WHOA WHOA WHOA, wait a second....sorry to hijack but Ive never done jerky or any kind of curing. Just watched that Alton Brown thing and freaked out.

Can you eat raw meat once cured?! I mean I guess dehydrating it doesnt really change it so Im assuming you can, just never thought about it. So can I eat raw bacon thats cured and smoked?
Click to expand...
The cure inhibits bacterial growth. There are many things done with cured meat to then make it even more stable. Drying is one. Smoking is another (cold smoked sausages and hams for example). Cooking is yet another. Most people these days, even when cold smoking, will heat the meat that is being smoked to a food safe temp, like 140, somewhere during the process.

So, I guess the answer to your question is.........

Our ancestors did, and in theory you can too. But the food police would like you to heat the cured meat to a food safe temp.

Excalibur, and many other dehydrators have a thermostat and can dry meat at 140*. You do not have to set it that high if you wish. I have dried it at low temps, and at 140.

I like the 140 drying better because it dries out faster. I think it tastes "fresher" the faster it dries out. However, if you try drying it at too high a heat then it takes on undesirable flavors as well, so you need to find the sweet spot.

You don't have to do it that way however...unless the food police are within earshot.
 
What the others said -- it's better to have more trays and not use them than have not enough and have to dehydrate in batches.

I've always wanted an Excalibur, but I'm too cheap. I have a Nesco FD-80 with eight trays and I sometimes use a cheap timer with mine (actually it's the same timer I use for the Christmas tree). For some reason, I seem to always get the thing loaded up late in the evening, which would put me getting up in the middle of the night to turn the thing off.
 
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