View Full Version : Just got my food dehydrator!
fastfoxengineering
04-09-2015, 17:15
Sorry. I'm excited.
Just picked up my 9 tray excalibur. I'm excited to start using it... oh wait, I've had it for 2 hours and I've got bananas and green peppers in it!
Can't wait to make tasty trail snacks and all my food resupply for my JMT hike.
On the AT, i'll keep to resupply in towns but will dehydrate a bunch of vegetables beforehand and have someone mail me a decent sized bag of them every so often. That way I can spice up any meal.
Whats your favorite dehydration recipe? and got any pointers for a newbie?
I also have an Excalibur. Unfortunately, I got the 5 tray. Wish I had the 9 tray. This website is your very good friend. Every recipe I've tried has been very good. I particularly like his method of dehydrating meats - works well and they reconstitute quite admirably and quickly. I went ahead and bought the rather expensive book, but I like to be able to carry the books I like around with me. Plenty of tips on the website.
http://www.backpackingchef.com/dehydrating-food.html
The book that Excalibur puts out is quite good also, but not backpacking specific.
tim.hiker
04-09-2015, 18:30
I do a lot of jerky but I am wanting to start trying other things,, some of the back packing food is not very pleasant to eat...
tim.hiker
04-09-2015, 18:35
awesome site
I also have an Excalibur. Unfortunately, I got the 5 tray. Wish I had the 9 tray. This website is your very good friend. Every recipe I've tried has been very good. I particularly like his method of dehydrating meats - works well and they reconstitute quite admirably and quickly. I went ahead and bought the rather expensive book, but I like to be able to carry the books I like around with me. Plenty of tips on the website.
http://www.backpackingchef.com/dehydrating-food.html
The book that Excalibur puts out is quite good also, but not backpacking specific.
fastfoxengineering
04-09-2015, 18:53
I have been reading that site for quite some time, it convinced me to pick up a dehydrator. Very good resource.
I need to experiment a lot soon because I want to make all my meals for my upcoming hike. Going to use a lot of backpackingchef's recipes.
The short pamphlet that came with my machine is pretty good as well for standard stuff.
Still have some rabbit and venison left over from hunting season. Jerky anybody?
LoneStranger
04-09-2015, 20:58
Do you have access to lobster shells? Lobster marinara is good at home, but makes for amazing trail dinners. Dehydrated shrimp and pasta with a small baggie of pecorino romano to mix in just before eating. So simple and yet so annoying to your friends who are eating MH again :)
cconat2000
04-10-2015, 11:02
I also have an Excalibur, although mine's very old. I mostly focus on dehydrating meat, and then bring pasta or rice and seasonings to make meals.
To me, ground beef is one of the best things to dehydrate. It dehydrates very easily, is almost impossible to over-dehydrate (which you can do very easily with chicken breast), and it rehydrates back to the texture your taste buds expect.
Texture is one of the big issues with dehydrating, as everything comes out soft and soggy after you boil it. But since ground beef is supposed to be soft anyway, rehydrated ground beef tastes basically exactly like it does when fresh. Plus ground beef is really sense with calories, fat and protein. I like to add it to tortillas with cheese, instant rice and other stuff to make beef burritos.
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Pedaling Fool
04-10-2015, 13:11
One of the most important things to do when dehydrating is to NOT over dehydrate. If you notice many of the dehydrating “cookbooks” you'll notice that they say to ensure that the food is done when it's still pliable – NOT brittle. If it's brittle you removed too much moisture and some nutrients (and taste) were lost along with that moisture. It goes somewhat against the name of the process – DEHYDRATION – but you don't actually want to remove 100% of the moisture. Don't worry about storage, as long as you keep the food dry and out of the sunlight it will keep – I kept dehydrated food for as long as a year without refrigeration, nor special airtight bags, just simple ziplocks.
Also, to ensure taste (beside not over-dehydrating) never over-cook your dehydrated food stuff. If I'm cooking rice and must boil the water I throw the dehydrated stuff in during the simmering process and usually towards the end. I've never had a problem with re-hydration of the food.
atraildreamer
04-10-2015, 17:57
... I've got bananas and green peppers in it!
Should make for an interesting taste experience if the flavors migrate into each other! :-? :p:D:banana:banana:banana
The hungry hammock hanger's BBQ Spaghetti is my favorite. He has videos for each recipe.
http://www.hungryhammockhanger.com/styled-4/index.html
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Tuckahoe
04-11-2015, 13:20
Just dehydrated some fresh pineapple. Mmmmmm...
Hikes in Rain
04-11-2015, 15:01
Got 9 trays of pinto bean bark drying. Lots of uses for that, including instant refried beans.
fastfoxengineering
04-11-2015, 16:34
The hungry hammock hanger's BBQ Spaghetti is my favorite. He has videos for each recipe.
http://www.hungryhammockhanger.com/styled-4/index.html
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Nice! Thanks for the resource.
So my bananas and peppers came out great. Might make some jerky tomorrow if I can get it in a marinade before work tonight.
My biggest concern is storage for a longer hike. Let me explain... I have a thru hike of the JMT coming up. I'll be dehydrating a large amount of my food for that trip. Pretty much every single dinner and a good amount of dried fruits, jerky, etc for snacks.
I'll be heading out with a few days of food to start and picking up my resupply boxes with my other dehydrated foods in it.
I wanted to keep cooking really simple on this trip and plan on "freezer bag cooking" all my dehydrated meals.
Would I be allright if I made all my dinners and put them in freezer bags for a few weeks to two months prior to eating them, or would I better off vacuum sealing them?
I'd rather not have to vacuum seal them because then I would have to take freezer bags with me too.
Looking forward to making my hiking buddies jealous who will be eating ramen and MH the whole time lol....
Tuckahoe
04-11-2015, 19:12
I realize that there is a certain security with a zip lock type bag. But vacuum sealer bags can withstand microwaving and are used for sous vide type cooking, so I cannot see why they would not work for freezer bag type cooking.
Dehydrate food and seal into bag sized large enough to add water to. Boil the water and pour into bag over dried food. Roll closed and clip to secure and put into cozy... hhhmmmm maybe I should try this...
fiddlehead
04-11-2015, 22:12
One of the most important things to do when dehydrating is to NOT over dehydrate. If you notice many of the dehydrating “cookbooks” you'll notice that they say to ensure that the food is done when it's still pliable – NOT brittle. If it's brittle you removed too much moisture and some nutrients (and taste) were lost along with that moisture. It goes somewhat against the name of the process – DEHYDRATION – but you don't actually want to remove 100% of the moisture. Don't worry about storage, as long as you keep the food dry and out of the sunlight it will keep – I kept dehydrated food for as long as a year without refrigeration, nor special airtight bags, just simple ziplocks.
Also, to ensure taste (beside not over-dehydrating) never over-cook your dehydrated food stuff. If I'm cooking rice and must boil the water I throw the dehydrated stuff in during the simmering process and usually towards the end. I've never had a problem with re-hydration of the food.
This is the best advice I've seen here.
Especially the bananas.
Don't make them brittle.
Soft is good.
They'll keep at least a month.
Store them in a ziplock in the freezer then double bag them when you ship them.
Same with tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.
One of my favorite thing is black beans.
Cook them thick and slightly dry.
Put some hot peppers in there.
Dry them and rehydrate on the trail, add some cheese and you roll some tortillas up.
Don't forget the spices.
Enjoy
I wanted to keep cooking really simple on this trip and plan on "freezer bag cooking" all my dehydrated meals.
Would I be allright if I made all my dinners and put them in freezer bags for a few weeks to two months prior to eating them, or would I better off vacuum sealing them?
I'd rather not have to vacuum seal them because then I would have to take freezer bags with me too.
Looking forward to making my hiking buddies jealous who will be eating ramen and MH the whole time lol....
Vacuum sealing will preserve your meals much longer, especially if they contain meat.
This works best for me:
Place desired portion in a 1 qt Ziploc freezer bag, and z-fold the bag to~1/3 height.
Do not seal the ziplock, but place either toilet paper or a folded half-square of paper towel between the jaws of the Ziploc.
Seal the freezer bag inside the specialty vacuum sealer bags (the TP or paper towel ensures vacuum can be pulled on the Ziploc).
These will keep for a long time, especially if frozen.
At maildrop, remove the Ziploc and discard the outer bag. Zip meals closed after replenishing your TP allotment.
Dried fruit, if dried right, will last a year or longer. The key is to store it in mason jars after drying. This is airtight. Now then, ALL dried food will have residual moisture. Every month or so go into your pantry and shake up your jars, this ensures that remaining moisture moves around.
Berries, fruit, veggies, grains, pasta and so on only need pantry storage - and are good for at least a year. Freezer storage is only needed when it contains fat, meat and or dairy. Those can and do go rancid even when dried - use within 3 months for best use.
As for food vac bags, they work well for FBC.
Pedaling Fool
04-13-2015, 07:24
Dried fruit, if dried right, will last a year or longer. The key is to store it in mason jars after drying. This is airtight. Now then, ALL dried food will have residual moisture. Every month or so go into your pantry and shake up your jars, this ensures that remaining moisture moves around.
Berries, fruit, veggies, grains, pasta and so on only need pantry storage - and are good for at least a year. Freezer storage is only needed when it contains fat, meat and or dairy. Those can and do go rancid even when dried - use within 3 months for best use.
As for food vac bags, they work well for FBC.That's a good point and it's why you should always let the dehydrated food sit and cool before packaging -- I usually let a batch sit over night. I have seen moisture accumulate in my bags, but just let air out and eventually no more moisture is present.
I make a lot of paleo grass fed ground beef (or bison) jerky using the Weston jerky gun. Works great.
I dehydrated a bunch of strips of Moose steak
after soaking it overnight in the fridge in a Jack Daniels marinade...Ummmmm!
I have done 12 lbs. of grass fed bottom round, fat-trimmed, 1/4" slices against the grain, with a dry rub (salt, black pepper, cumin, cayenne, etc. - no sugar) in my Excalibur. Quite a production for that large a batch, but delicious.