Dehydrated cooked beef from the crockpot?

[sbhikes]

I am thinking about cooking some chuck roast in the crock pot and then dehydrating some of it. I'm assuming since all the connective and fibrous tissues are dissolved by crock pot cooking that this will work well. Before I do it, can anybody tell me if this won't work? Beef's expensive and I don't want to waste it.

I might also dehydrate some sweet potatoes. Any tips on dehydrating sweet potatoes?

[Rocket Jones]

I boil and then mash the sweet potatoes. Add a little cinnamon and nutmeg. Spread thin on parchment paper and dry until it becomes flakey like instant mashed potatoes. If you can find them, a little packet of maple syrup goes perfect with them.

[Wise Old Owl]

Not sure why she doesn't have a food processor. I liked her ideas, cold soak then blanch... she has done her homework...

Sweet potato should be the same.

[canoe]

Now that sounds like something worth trying

[Wise Old Owl]

I am thinking about cooking some chuck roast in the crock pot and then dehydrating some of it. I'm assuming since all the connective and fibrous tissues are dissolved by crock pot cooking that this will work well. Before I do it, can anybody tell me if this won't work? Beef's expensive and I don't want to waste it.

I might also dehydrate some sweet potatoes. Any tips on dehydrating sweet potatoes?

To me its a waste, stick to tried and true recipes for Jerky, there's no need for re-hydrating. And if you do its bland or tasteless. Also I covered converting gravy into "leathers" and it somewhat woke up the meat.

Part of flavor comes from two sources - one is the "water vapor" from the food that's just been cooked, that's partial why microwave - well is just aweful. The second is seasoning, to not overwhelm, but to enhance.

Keep in mind SB that you are talking making the basics of stew, Freeze Dried is best and cheap.

[canoe]

yea but there is nothing like home cookin

[Wise Old Owl]

Cant deny that, but home cooking - needs seasoning and other things to arrive at eatable when re-hydrated.

[canoe]

wont seasoning before dehydrating work?

[Wise Old Owl]

well seasoning needs to be done before (marinade)- or as a rub sprinkled on 1/2 way thru the dry process, so it sticks.

[canoe]

That will work

[grayfox]

I think that I have put just about everything that ever crossed my stove through the dehydrater at some time or other. Yes you can dry roast beef or any other cooked meat. The only problem is that some cooked meats never fully rehydrate even when cooked for a long time in camp. I think that the structure of the meat fibers changes and it is not able to reabsorb water to become tender. The other extreme is meat that disintegrates to powder--at least it is easier to rehydrate but can sometimes have what feels like small needles in its texture.

Given the short rehyration time for freezer bag style cooking it is hard to beat freezedried meats or TVP.

The best home dried meat that I have used is hamberger. It is pretty easy. Buy the leanest ground beef and fry it in small batches breaking up the larger clumps. Don't let it burn and just cook it until it is browned. Put it in a strainer over a pot and pour boiling water--about two cups per pound of meat--over the meat to rinse off the excess fat. This is to extend the shelf life and is not needed if you will use the meat in a few days or weeks. Make soup with the water. Put the granuals thinly on a fine screen or fruit rollup sheet and dry on high for about an hour and then reduce the heat a bit until the meat is very dry. Bag or seal the meat in small meal size portions and store it in the freezer until you are ready to pack your food. When you are ready to eat, boil water and add the meat then let it sit to rehydrate for a few minutes. Then reheat the water and meat and proceed as usual adding the rest of the food and cooking or cozying the meal.


Canned meats and fish also dry well and are easy to do. Use the separate rehydrating method and add to your food once the meat has softened.

[Grinder]

I would consider pressure cooking (a long time) and then shredding it with a food processor.

That was the only way I could get chicken breast to rehydrate well.

all the other ways were chewy after camp cooking.

[sbhikes]

Thanks. I think the slow cooking does the same thing as the pressure cooking. I'll try baking and mashing my sweet potatoes and drying it as a sort of crumble. I want plain beef and plain sweet potatoes for coconut curry. I think maybe the chuck roast has too much fat embedded in the fibers. I will see if I can find a leaner roast. I'm going to make some jerky as well. I bought a heart and am going to make heart jerky.

[Hoop]

Ground beef in the dehydrator now; mixed in 1/2 cup bread crumbs to 1 lb meat beforehand to see if it improves texture at mealtime. Pasta and sauce this afternoon.

Made a batch of strawberries yesterday.

[FarmerChef]

I dehydrate meat all the time for the trail but will say that I either cut it up small or run it through my grinder before cooking/dehydrating. Otherwise, like others have said, it just never fully rehydrates and the all the flavor is gone by the time it gets close to edible. To help with the flavor loss problem, I tend to conserve the rehydrating liquid as part of the meal and supplement with bullion where necessary. For instance, I make creamed hamburger over mashed potatoes. That requires a good beef flavor. In goes the beef bullion. But for hamburger helper I skip the bullion since it's the cheese flavor I'm after there (dried parmesan really helps).

Also, on my last hike, I made dirty rice and tried an experiment with some new smoked pork jerky I found at Sams (O-berto brand, I believe). It worked great. There was a slight porky flavor to it and the smoke permeated the rest of the meal. It stood in for the bacon and was spot on. Something else to consider....

[atraildreamer]

I would consider pressure cooking (a long time) and then shredding it with a food processor.

That was the only way I could get chicken breast to rehydrate well.

all the other ways were chewy after camp cooking.

I tried pressure cooking a beef roast that I had sliced to make jerky. The meat dried out very well, but the finished product broke up into flakes, but still very tasty!

[fungi601]

for beef, unless your doing jerky, I find it best to find the cheepest peice of roast, steak, choped steak, or whatever and grind it myself in my kitchen aid meat grinder. If you dont have a grinder than you can resort to hamburger. Pressure cook the ground meat in a strainer for 90 minutes then into the dehydrator. It is very versitile in what you can do with it on the trail.

[gunner76]

Only issue I see is the fat will go rancid as it will not dehydrate.