Lean Beef dehydration question

[HangNhike]

I am leaving for 4 days on the AT this Tuesday. I have 2 lbs of ground beef that was bouth that needs to be "dehydrated". first let me say, i do not have a dehydrator, nor am I planning on getting one. i looked at the ones locally and nothing was worth spending my money. I would rather buy a bette runit, but since I leave in 3 days, ordering is not an option...

So, I am left with my over. My over goes down to 170. How can I dehydrate lean beef in my oven? A lot of folks say prop the oven door open and just let some of th heat escape. That seems a little silly as you would use alot of energy because the oven would be going contstantly to counteract. My thought was, instead of browning then dehydrating, let the oven do some of the cooking. Perhaps cook at like 250 until cooked, then drop th eheat to 170 and finally kill the oven an dlet the residual thermal energy do its thing... But I don't know. I have never done this before.

Also I read a tip saying to mix in bread crumbs or panko to assist with the rehydration. IS this a pretty common practice among you dehydrators?

[Wise Old Owl]

I am going to guess about your cooking skills, there is no time left for doing what you ask and having a few trial runs... to be honest I use the Walmart purchased Nesco and with fan and 160degrees and 5 hours is optimum, I use old modified cookie press to make thin sheets of burger jerky and the burger has to soak mixed with low or no Kero BBQ sauce, Kikkoman low sodium ( as an acidfy ) and Morton Sugar cure ( Saltpeter) to kill bacteria over night... It created a reasonable result... after several trys - the first few couple of times became dog treat. To little time is raw - too much time is called Gravel.



Have you considered FBC and toss this idea?

[HangNhike]

unfortunatly, I don't know whta FBC is..

My cooking skills are there and I know I can make it without killing anyone or getting anyone sick. Its going to be the first trail meal at dinner so it really only has to last 24 hrs before being eaten. I was going to attempt trials beforehand but by the time I got my friends together and we organized a food plan, it... well here we are LOL.

[Wise Old Owl]

FBC is Freezer Bag Cooking - here is Sarah's website http://www.trailcooking.com/ - books, video's and how too...

Sarah is a member here, and has well planned this type of backpacking experience....

She is a good friend over the years....

[Wise Old Owl]

In that case 24 hours? make patties cook them stick them in glad bags and take the condiments. - easy.

[The Cleaner]

I got this from a trail cookbook many years ago.Cook your ground beef in a skillet until done.After this try to drain off as much liquid fat as you can by holding the skillet at a slight angle and use a large spoon.Then dump it on a plate with several paper towels to remove more fat(the fat is what goes rancid). Spread it out on a cookie sheet pan.Put it in the middle of your oven and set the temp at 125*. Prop open the oven door with a wooden spoon and leave it overnight or about 10 hours.When done you will have crunchy nuggets.To rehydrate add boiling water to them for several minutes.Then add them to whatever you will be cooking,ie,spaghetti sauce,chili,or make a white flour gravy for SOS.The dried beef will stay good for several weeks in your pack or longer if in cooler weather..

[Wise Old Owl]

Yes that is true ... but the fat is the calorie energy you are removing... When I make jerky I leave the fat in there... There is a clear reason for Pemmican.

[Rocket Jones]

Exactly. Pemmican is not dehydrated ground beef.

My advice to the original poster is to cook the meat medium rare and break it up into fine bits. Drain it well, rinse it under hot water, drain it again and then use paper towels to blot it dry. Use your oven at it's lowest setting with the wooden spoon prop. You're trying to dry the meat, not cook it, so worrying about a few pennies worth of wasted energy is much ado about nothing at this point.

I don't use the breadcrumbs, but might try 'em in the future. I'd suggest the same for you. Save the complicated processes for another time, when you have the time to experiment.

Your ground beef will come out like gravel. Most of the fat content will be gone, which will extend the shelf life.

Re-reading above, since it'll be your first trail dinner, why not just partially cook some patties then freeze them solid? They'll defrost in your pack during the day and be ready to crumble and add to your dinner that night.

[The Cleaner]

Good point but IMO Spaghetti or Chill tastes a little better than Pemmican and may be easier to chew for those with teeth which do not work like a bear's teeth...BTW you can dry beans in the oven in a similar method also....

[jeffmeh]

Yes that is true ... but the fat is the calorie energy you are removing... When I make jerky I leave the fat in there... There is a clear reason for Pemmican.

Yes, but Pemmican uses very lean beef for dry jerky, then pulverizes it and adds rendered fat which is very pure. That creates a very stable outcome, much moreso than making jerky out of fatty meat. You probably already know this, but I figured I would mention it for clarification.

[Wise Old Owl]

Yea I am aware, its semantics... and beef does make a good pemmican. You can make it with elk,moose,lamb,deer,bison or ground hog, pemmican is a high fat energy food.. So is my quality home made jerky - I make so much of it I share it with my friends - it beats the roadkill out there.

[atraildreamer]

You might try preparing the hamburger this way:

http://www.endtimesreport.com/hamburger_rocks.html

The procedure sounds like it might be adaptable to your needs, and is quick to prepare:

RECIPE FOR HAMBURGER ROCKS

"1. Using a large skillet (cast iron is great), brown and fry 5 pounds of ground beef. When thoroughly cooked, transfer the meat to a colander. Rinse under hot running water to remove the fat. Then clean the skillet with paper towels to remove excess fat from the first cooking.

2. Place the washed meat back into the wiped skillet and fry it again over medium/low heat, stirring often until you see no more steam. Keep the heat/flame low once the rocks are browning up nicely.

3. Place the "twice cooked" rocks into an oven roasting pan. Turn the oven to 200 degrees F, stirring and turning occasionally as the meat continues to dry. One to two hours should finish the job. Remove from the oven and check for dryness. When cool, pack into zip lock bags or mason jars. Pack tightly, expelling as much air as possible. Store in pantry drawers or shelves.

4. To "can" the hamburger rocks for long term storage, preheat canning jars in the over at 250 F, simmer the lids as usual, put the "rocks" into the jars while still hot, then seal the jars. After 15 minutes or so the jars will cool and you will hear the jar lids "pop" as they seal in place...."

Your meat will reduce down to about 1/6 the weight of the original size. So 2 lbs. (32 ounces) will end up as 5-6 ounces of dried product.

[zelph]

unfortunatly, I don't know whta FBC is..

My cooking skills are there and I know I can make it without killing anyone or getting anyone sick. Its going to be the first trail meal at dinner so it really only has to last 24 hrs before being eaten. I was going to attempt trials beforehand but by the time I got my friends together and we organized a food plan, it... well here we are LOL.

You're ok. Do as you say. Cookem up and Hike your own hike. 24hrs come fast. eat good, laugh a lot and enjoy life.:)

[Crowe]

Has the OP stated what meal he is trying to make (other than dehydrated beef)???? Is he trying to make spaghetti---he has not said.

If you want gravel (dehydrated ground beef crumbles)--those are easy enough to make, and You can't screw it up (Cook, Drain, Rinse, Oven dehydrate).

FWIW, If you want Jerky, save yourself the headache--Freeze the ground beef and save it for when you get home. Then go buy some Jerky at the grocery store for your hike in 4 days. Typical yields on jerky is around 25-33% (depending on how moist you want it and if it is whole muscle or ground), so it you bought 1 lb of jerky, it would be equivalent to buying 3-4 lbs of lean meat.

Make memories and laughs with your friends, instead of stressing over the food.

[Wise Old Owl]

You're ok. Do as you say. Cookem up and Hike your own hike. 24hrs come fast. eat good, laugh a lot and enjoy life.:)


Yea - never tried it that way... oh well.
He never did say what he is making.. and the oven doesn't really remove moisture as much as cooking.

[HangNhike]

I guess I would be trying to make "gravel". we are putting it in Hamburger helper :)

Well Tomorrow when I get home from work I am going to give the Hamburger rocks a try. Thats seems like something I can go with the resources I currently have