Dehydrating meals

[Taylor329]

I started a thread on dehydrating in the Wild Game Recipes sub-forum here a while back. Started with my jerky recipe (only recipe I have) then asked others to post theirs so we could all benefit, as I'm new to the dehydrating scene. Not a single reply yet, so if you've got some recipes let's throw them up there too! Glad someone else started a thread on this!

[Jrax]

Any recommendations for a food dehydrators? this thread is making we want to get one haha

We used to have a Canadian Tire brand, circular dehydrator that crapped out after 2 years and was OK.

The Excalibur, ordered via Amazon has been excellent. My wife dehydrates apples and other fruits, tomatoes, mushrooms or something once a week so it has seen good use. I used it last year for dehydrated meals and it was very easy and turned out better than expected and beats mountain house etc. Moose chili, Butter chicken and a stirfry with rice.

The only hiccup with the meals was that the dried rice was puncturing the vacuum sealed bags

[Andrewh]

Rather than retyping, I cut/pasted from the sheep hunting food thread

My dehydrator is an excaliber 5 rack with timer. Over 10-11 years old now and still running strong...

It will pay for itself after the first trip of not having to pay for crappy mountain house meals.

The way I do it -

dehydrate 'base' separate:
- cook rice as normal then dehydrate
- cooked pasta noodles (little shells work very well, lots of surface area)

Dehydrate 'mains' as follows and make dinners that will make your partners drool. I did this last year and I could barely finish my meals and the nutritional value was not even in the same ballpark as a mountain house meal.

- sheep curry in slow cooker
- butter chicken in slow cooker (shred chicken after cooking and before tossing in dehydrator)
- tomato sauce with large amount of veggies and cooked venison grind.
- pulled pork
- stone sheep chili

Basically you can make a meal and toss in dehydrator until totally crisp. I start by putting the 'sauces' on parchment paper until it hardens up and then remove and place directly on screen so it dries from both sides. Dry until 'crisp' and easily breakable. I then pack the mains with the bases in separate bags for each day. It is IMPORTANT to dry the bases and mains separate as they have significantly different drying times.

I weigh out portions and find this is about 1.4 times the amount of food as a mountain house and weighs less with less waste after the fact. 6oz is the total for each mixture and I usually end up giving away my leftovers to the people forcing down a mountain house and still looking for more

To rehydrate, simply empty ziplock into this bowl, close lid and wait for 8-10 minutes. https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5050-8...r-Share-Mug-II

Other notables to dehydrate:
- pineapple slices (better than bad sex)
- mushrooms slices (add to any meal)
- zucchini (entire zuc fits in palm of hand after drying, I took a total of 4 zucchini on last trip)
- yam slices

andrew

[TreeStandMan]

The "Hunt Backcountry Podcast" recently did an informative episode on DIY dehydrated meals for the backcountry: https://exomountaingear.com/126/

[Bustercluck]

Any recommendations for a food dehydrators? this thread is making we want to get one haha

I don't know which brand is the best, but I can tell you what I don't like about mine. The racks are too big to soak in the sink and they're not dishwasher friendly. It's quite the pain in the *ss trying to soak and scrub them when you've been dehydrating jerky that has sauce and bits of meat stuck to them.

[Avalanche123]

I don't know which brand is the best, but I can tell you what I don't like about mine. The racks are too big to soak in the sink and they're not dishwasher friendly. It's quite the pain in the *ss trying to soak and scrub them when you've been dehydrating jerky that has sauce and bits of meat stuck to them.

He is so right....I forgot about how difficult and time consuming it was to clean those racks.
That's the main reason I don't use mine much anymore.

[Bustercluck]

Not that it's hunting related, but I just got back from a little trek and thought I'd share a little drink I made up. Rehydrate some apples, pears and pineapples. Add a little bit of dr oetker peach drink crystals and some moonshine. Tastes pretty good but it might have been because I was on a sandy beach on the coast.

I also tried out some stroganoff, chili, spaghetti and daddy mac. I'm just heading out for another few day hike and I'll try and post some recipes when I get back.

[Astepanuk]

[QUOTE=Andrewh;2014841]

To rehydrate, simply empty ziplock into this bowl, close lid and wait for 8-10 minutes.

How much water do you add in to rehydrate your meals

[Stormy]

I like to pressure cook all my chicken and beef before dehydrating - add some potatoes to the pressure cooker and mick in with the pulled (Shredded meat before dehydrating - this helps with the re hydration and getting it nice and tender.

Mountain house food is expensive and gives me the trots, My Excalibur works overtime this time of the year drying fruits like pears, cherries, peaches etc then its onto salmon and hunting season prep.

[solo]

I don't know which brand is the best, but I can tell you what I don't like about mine. The racks are too big to soak in the sink and they're not dishwasher friendly. It's quite the pain in the *ss trying to soak and scrub them when you've been dehydrating jerky that has sauce and bits of meat stuck to them.

I have dehydrated many hundreds of meals. Our scout group currently has 3 dehydrators, and we wash the trays in a commercial dishwasher in the facility we regularly meet at. Favourite meals are Mongolian beef, and Shepherd’s pie. We normally take minute rice and instant potatoes, instead of doing all the work to prepare and dehydrate the carbs. Typical cost per meal is in the $3-$5 each. Recent trips have included a KVR bike trip with 28 people, and a 2 day hike with 9.