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I have a meal I like at home. Vegetarian chili.
I just mix a can of chili hot beans and a can of diced tomatos with jalapenos
No additional seasonings needed. So, I thought I'd try to dehydrate it.
It's really got a lot of free liquid. This site was down a while ago, so, in my panic, I sent SARBAR an emergency question at her website (Sarbar you can ignore it).
After simmering to reduce the liquid content, I ladled it onto parchment paper. It's a bit of a trick to not overfill, which causes spillage all over everything, but I caught on pretty quick. The two can batch just barely fit on one tray and is in the drier now.
I'm going to flip the leather when it's got enough strength, just like Sarbar recommends.
Tom
PS thanks SARBAR for being such a valuable resource!!
pps we eat out mistakes here <G>
I just have to hike in the lower elevations of the Smokies in the summer to dehydrate.
;-)
I use beans, and corn served on top of rice in my veterinarian chili. I believe if you mix beans with corn or rice, you get the whole protein, that you don't get with beans alone.
I also stared cooking dried beans, so I don't get all that funk that comes in canned foods.
gearfreak
05-12-2008, 11:38
Next time just dump it in a strainer or collander to get rid of the excess liquid. It doesn't hold that much of the flavor that your chili will be lacking upon rehydration. :cool:
Question: did you puree your chili before you dehydrated it? I've never dehydrated chili, but I dehydrate tomato sauce often, and I puree it because otherwise you end up with bits and chunks that dry at different rates. I imagine that the rehydration is smoother if you puree it, also.
envirodiver
05-12-2008, 12:08
I just take leftover chili and pour it on sheets in my dehydrator. Dry it till it's dry, bag it put it in a freezer. I do measure how much I pour on each sheet to help with knowing how much water to add.
burger--
What kind of tomato sauce are you talking about? I have never bought canned tomato sauce that is chunky. Homemade tomato sauce maybe?
Envirodiver--
I had envisioned dehydrating chili as a huge mess. I hadn't thought about using leftovers, which are ALWAYS so much thicker than when first cooked.
Thank you for the idea!
Frau
envirodiver
05-12-2008, 12:42
Envirodiver--
I had envisioned dehydrating chili as a huge mess. I hadn't thought about using leftovers, which are ALWAYS so much thicker than when first cooked.
Thank you for the idea!
Frau
Works good for me. I usually try to make extra when I make chili, for dehydrating. I also dehydrate leftover dried beans when I cook them.
Now if I could just figure out how to dehydrate cornbread...LOL.
burger--
What kind of tomato sauce are you talking about? I have never bought canned tomato sauce that is chunky. Homemade tomato sauce maybe?
Homemade--I make my own sauce with lots of vegetables in it, puree it, and then dehydrate. It comes out tasting exactly like the original.
envirodiver
05-12-2008, 12:56
Homemade--I make my own sauce with lots of vegetables in it, puree it, and then dehydrate. It comes out tasting exactly like the original.
Do you dehydrate to leather or crumbles?
Do you dehydrate to leather or crumbles?
I dehydrate the sauce until its leathery, freeze it, and then put it into a blender to make a powder (or small chunks). It's easier to chop into small bits when frozen.
envirodiver
05-12-2008, 14:35
I dehydrate the sauce until its leathery, freeze it, and then put it into a blender to make a powder (or small chunks). It's easier to chop into small bits when frozen.
Great idea, so it will rehydrate better than it would as a leather.
Great idea, so it will rehydrate better than it would as a leather.
Yep, that is what I do with spaghetti sauce and salsa :) Works like a charm!
um... YUM!?!?!? chili is awesome
Time To Fly 97
05-13-2008, 12:55
Funny story:
We dehydrated my meals for the PCT hike. There was Indian food (nod to Peacefrog who is an outstanding cook!), awesome soups and... there was one meal that was different from the others...the CHILI. This chili tasted great but as we soon learned it had a devestating side effect. You would have so much gas that it seemed that there just wasn't enough time to expel it in the day (and night). It would go on for hours of this near constant hot farting. It was funny at first, kind shocking...but after awhile it was apparant when we went into town to resupply, the meal that never got eaten was the chili.
But since the chile was always in the resupply bags, we would bring it anyway...for trading purposes with hikers we would probably never run into later on the hike. The chili factor became a great dinner wildcard. You never knew what dinner you would get for it and thinking about those hikers the next day or even that evening when it started in their sleeping bags was priceless hilarity on the trail.
Happy hiking and be careful with that chili!
TTF
Alligator
05-13-2008, 13:04
LOL TTF. I find dehydrated beans to be several notches higher on the gas than normal beans. It can be downright foul.
I just cook my chili down then dehydrate. But something to consider adding is tomato paste.
You might be able to freeze the cornbread then vacuum seal it. It's something I was thinking of trying with bagels. I tried vacuum sealing bagels w/o freezing, but they toughened up and looked, well...they looked like a sphincter.
I dehydrate the sauce until its leathery, freeze it, and then put it into a blender to make a powder (or small chunks). It's easier to chop into small bits when frozen.
Is that the final step? Is all the water gone at this point?
Chili dehydrates much the same as spaghetti sauce.
note to self do not EVER accept any food from time to fly
Time To Fly 97
05-21-2008, 13:40
Just the chili lol
TTF
Frau,
I'm sorry I never replied about the kind of tomato sauce. I never caught your question at the time.
Better late than never eh?
What I use isn't sauce at all, but rather "Diced Tomatoes with Jalapenos".
Grinder/Tom