Dehydrated foods

[geomaniac]

Does anyone dehydrate their own meals for hiking? What kind of dehydrator do you use? What are some foods to avoid? What are some of your favorites?

Just wondering because I just ordered an Excalibur dehydrator and am looking for recipes for backpacking foods.

[Lugnut]

Use 'Search'. There's loads of information posted on various threads. :)

[Phreak]

Chili, beef stew, various casseroles are what I typically dehydrate.

[geomaniac]

Thanks for the input! I have a feeling I am going to be developing a lot of my own recipes. I like to cook and experiment with food so it will be fun.

[russb]

http://www.amazon.com/Backpack-Gourmet-Dehydrate-Healthy-Eating/dp/0811726347/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265202197&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Fork-Trail-Mouthwatering-Tempting-Backcountry/dp/0899974317/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265202237&sr=1-1

After these you will be creating your own recipes!

[Pedaling Fool]

I have an excalibur, very fine dehydrator. Assuming you bought it new, it will come with a recipe book and great tips on how to dehydrate. I don't have recipes; I just dehydrate all types of veggies/fruits and meats. The closest thing I got to recipes are the concoctions I put together for marinades, (but I don't write them down) which can enhance the taste greatly.

However, I don’t marinade much of the stuff for a long hike (only for stuff I do for home), because I just got too much stuff to mess with marinades. Of course this doesn’t include meat/poultry -- ALWAYS MARINADE MEAT/POULTRY -- marinades are an important process to ensure the meat stays bacteria free.

[RollingStone]

This is a good package to get started with -- http://www.amazon.com/Nesco-American-FD-61WHC-Snackmaster-Dehydrator/dp/B0002WSQHU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1265399823&sr=8-4

Doing your own meals can be as involved and complex as you want them to be, or as simple as you want them to be. It's a load of fun and ADDICTING experimenting with different meals. In the end though, with a little thought and some common sense, you can dry almost anything ;)

Have a blast.

[wannahike]

This is a good site for dehydrating info and recipes

http://www.trailcooking.com/

[BobTheBuilder]

Lean ground beef, browned, drained, rinsed (yeah, rinsed), dehydrated. Packs light, rehydrates wonderfully, and works in so many trail meals - ramens, mac & cheeze, potatoes, everything.

[Mango]

Check out "onepanwonders.com".

[Calmwater]

For meat, lean ground beef works real well. Just cook it up drain it and put in in the dehydrator. I have a Nesco with the 'fruit roll up trays" they are solid so nothing falls through the tray. When drying stuff one way to have a better chance at being successful is to dry food with low fat content, the higher the fat content the better chance at it going rancid. Don't add butter or oils to the foods and always get the leanest meat available. Beans, corn, peas, work well. You can put them in right out of the bag if you buy them frozen. Dry these items separately and you can add them to supplement store bought foods on a hike.

[ChefGlenn]

You will find lots of backpacking recipes using dehydrated ingredients on my website. I use an Excalibur Dehydrator.

http://www.backpackingchef.com (http://www.backpackingchef.com/)

[geomaniac]

You guys are great! Thanks for all of the tips, my dehydrator will be here tomorrow! I will definitely check out backingchef.com.

[wudhipy]

Marinade some ground chuck in soy sauce, I add a little hot sauce to the soy before adding...spread out on dehydrator sheet and add a good shot of ground pepper (coarse) This is great to add to about any noodle side. Just measure out about 1/2 cup and vac seal. If mail drops are involved I always have my support system keep it in the freezer until time to ship...enjoy:D

[jackportd]

Hello,
In a dehydrator, which is a machine that removes all the hydro (water) from the food. You can buy these or make them. My grandmother used to make dehydrated foods by putting the food between screens and putting them out in the hot sun. We have a Sunbeam, which works great.

[LaurieAnn]

http://www.amazon.com/Backpack-Gourmet-Dehydrate-Healthy-Eating/dp/0811726347/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265202197&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Fork-Trail-Mouthwatering-Tempting-Backcountry/dp/0899974317/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265202237&sr=1-1

After these you will be creating your own recipes!

Thanks for the plug Russ. While I do really like my own book, the other that you posted, Backpack Gourmet, is a wonderful resource as well.

If the original poster has any questions I'd be more than happy to help.

[geomaniac]

Thanks LauriAnn, I may just buy both books, I have been dehydrating all kinds of food! What great fun! I just discovered how stinky it is to try and dehydrate broccoli!!!!

[East Coast Alex]

Does anyone dehydrate their own meals for hiking? What kind of dehydrator do you use? What are some foods to avoid? What are some of your favorites?

Just wondering because I just ordered an Excalibur dehydrator and am looking for recipes for backpacking foods.


On an impulse, I bought an Oster brand food dehydrator when I was in Wal-Mart one day. It only cost me a mere $40, and is pretty much bargain basement special.... but I'll have to say, I'm pretty glad I bought it.

I was thinking about getting a better one like the Excalibur, but then decided that I want to maybe build my own, as I am looking to "stockpile" dehydrated food in mass quantities for when I live "off the grid." But for the time being, my cheap little Oster brand is good for experimentation purposes.


I've found that some vegetables don't reconstitute very good. Most do, some don't. Specifically, I could never get celery to reconstitute good. Carrots, corn, etc.... all puffs back up to almost original size when you rehydrate it.... but celery.... doesn't do that, for some reason.... at least not from my 'experimenting.'


Here is a decent YouTube channe (http://www.youtube.com/dehydrate2store) which specializes in instructing people on the art and science of food dehydrating.


Thusfar, I have only experimented making "soup mixes," dehydrated chili, as well as a beef/turkey stew kind of thing with some combination of noodles and "one minute" rice. I used a variety of freeze dried meats from the different freeze dried food suppliers combined with dried gravy packets (and dried chili packets for the chili) which you can get at just about any supermarket (McCormicks brand 'seasoning mixes,' or there is usually also a 'store' brand of these things, for about $89 cents apiece.

. I have not tried dehydrating the meat yet myself. Kind of afraid to leave meat exposed on the counter in the machine for 24 hours... afraid it might pick up bacteria from sitting there.... but I'll experiment with that later.

[Bags4266]

Dehydrating jerky is simple. To ease your fear of the meat getting contaminated try this method that I use.
1) Top shelf London Broil meat, Its low in fat.
2) Freeze half way then slice in 1/4 inch strips. (easier to cut in slice when partially frozen)
3) Mix in w/ your jerky mix over night.
4) Place on cookie sheet and bake @ 350* for only ten min. in your home oven. Blot off dry w/ paper towel.
5) Place in dehydrator for around 6 hours @ 160*
No risk of spoiling because they were allready cooked in the oven.

[daibutsu]

Oh-oh !! I'm new to dehydrating too- do you have to first cook the meat conventionally (10 mins. in 350 degree oven) ? Made jerky just a few times and didn't cook it previously, but kept it in a 'fridge after I jerkyed it as we tested (munched on) it.

[Pedaling Fool]

Oh-oh !! I'm new to dehydrating too- do you have to first cook the meat conventionally (10 mins. in 350 degree oven) ? Made jerky just a few times and didn't cook it previously, but kept it in a 'fridge after I jerkyed it as we tested (munched on) it.
When you purchase a dehydrator they usually come with a "cookbook", many of which recommend that you pre-cook (or sometimes post-cook) the meat, especially poultry. I never do (start dehydration with completly raw meat/poultry) and I don't refrigerate nor do I vacuum seal. I just keep in a dark cool space and have eaten chicken jerky that was about a year-old.

However, the marinade process (with ample amount of salt), IMHO, is cruicial to keeping bacteria growth under control. No matter how lean, most meat has some fat, which will liquify during the dehydration process and you can blot away with a napkin. However, not all fat will melt away, to do this one would have to over-dehydrate the meat, devoiding it of most of its nutritional value.

[East Coast Alex]

Does anyone know how you can dehydrate something like a can of Bush baked beans? (specifically the liquid portion)


I have a certain chili recipe I make which uses a can of Bush baked beans (different flavors), and I'm looking to see if I can make a dehydrated version of my concoction for use on the trails. Most of the other ingredients in my chili I can dehydrate no problem..... but the can of beans.... I need to figure out how to do that. It's not the beans, obviously.... those are easy to dehydrate.... but its specifically the tasty liquid in the can of beans that I need to dehydrate.


I was thinking about maybe separating the beans from the juice, dehydrating the beans as normal in my dehydrator.... and then putting the liquid from the can spread out on a tray in my oven.... with the door partially open to let the moisture escape... and then seeing if I can turn all that liquid into some kind of..... whatever.... some kind of dried out substance like a Fruit roll up.... where I can just add the water back to it later to reconstitute the sauce.




Same question I have for tomato sauce..... I reckon if anyone knows how to dehydrate tomato sauce, it would probably be the same as dehydrating the liquid in the can of beans.

[daddytwosticks]

I just dehydrate our home-made leftover chilli...liquid and all. When it's leftover, it tends to thicken just a bit. Spoon it out onto parchment paper over the dehydrator trays. Dry on high for about 8 hours. Comes out great and tastes good. :)

[aarenlainey]

I'll be using the food dehydrator specifically in drying veggies and fruits. I find my Excalibur works perfectly for me. After experimenting for some time with dehydrated foods, I've discovered that outside of dried fruits/veggies, crackers & onion bread, I don't put it to much use, so a 4-trayer is ideal. None of them compare to the Excaliber. Well worth it.

[East Coast Alex]

I can never get celery to reconstitute to it's original shape. This is beginning to irritate me. It's a small nitpick, but it's bugging me.

I have not tried enough kinds of vegetables to see which other ones don't reconstitute properly, but I have tried celery multiple times, using different blanching lengths and times... and it always reconstitutes basically "flat." It doesn't regain its curved shape, like it originally had. It also tends to be stringier too, in taste, but that bugs me less than the shape.


Corn and carrots seem to reconstitute to almost identical their original shape.... but celery.... grrrr.... I am now resigned to the fact that I shall just have to supplement my dehydrated celery with freeze dried celery which is much more expensive. The freeze dried stuff should retain the same shape, since it's not as shriveled up as dehydrated food, and resembles more the original look.

[crazyonelost]

I tried many veggie dishes, I have not tried to dehydrate noodle/pasta since I wasn't sure if they would dry properly or not. I have stayed away from meats since I tend to buy the cheap stuff and know they have more fat then the leaner stuff.

I do have some precooked ham I going to try and dehydrate and make my own bean/ham/tater soup.

Fruits no problem,Right now dehydrating water melon and see how they turned out. Bannana chips and apple chips are awesome with some walnuts/pecans.

I want to try Yogurt,but not sure how to properly do it right.

But as with everything else,guess I gotta experiment more and see what happens. Gotta be cheaper then the MRI's that cabelas sells

[Farr Away]

Pasta dehydrates very well.

-FA