Beef jerky craze going on and the butcher sells nice jerky but it's a bit not he expensive side per kg. If I could find a $40 dehydrator then It'd pay itself off after one batch probably!
Cheap dehydrator for making cheap beef jerky?
AustriaBargain on 16/10/2017 - 14:29
Comments
Oh nice, I didn't even think to check Kogan. Under $40 and with shipping, slam dunk. And look at all those fake reviews. Slade L left a review six days ago claiming this one is good for jerky and fruit. I'll order this one tomorrow when I get paid if nothing better shows up 👍
I have this unit for drying mushrooms. Works well, although the lowest temp setting is 40C and it feels quite hot at that temp. Placing food on higher trays fixes the problem.
I had a cheap dehydrator and used it to make jerky for years before I spent the extra and bought a decent one.
The round ones that you can pick up for $40 generally have issues with heat distribution so you need to swap the trays around (top to bottom etc) every couple of hours during the dehydrating process. They will work, but just need a bit more effort.
I ended up buying one of these. They used to retail at $199 and at the time there was an eBay promotion so I got it for about $180 delivered.
It's the best thing ever, just set and forget. It gets hotter and has a temperature control depending on what you're drying, not all of the cheaper round ones do have that option so it's worthwhile looking before you buy. My old one just had an on or off switch.
That one looks very nice. I'll give the $39 Kogan a go and if home made jerky is something the family wants to get in on long term I might upgrade to that one. I don't get enough protein day to day but if I had a bottomless source of jerky I think I'd be good for protein for the rest of my life, I'd never get sick of eating it.
For sure, you have to start somewhere because it'd be silly to drop $200 on something that just ends up sitting in the cupboard because you changed your mind. Just keep in mind that if you do start making lots of jerky then upgrading to something bigger will pay itself off pretty quickly. The box ones are better because they heat from the back, whereas the round ones heat from either the top or the bottom, meaning the meat closet to the heater will dry quicker, that's why you have to rotate the trays every coupla hours.
If you like chilli/spicy jerky, may I recommend you order yourself a bag of this Chilli Biltong Spice
It's a dry rub and technically for biltong but you can still use it as a jerky flavouring, just no need to brine it or whatever they do with biltong before drying. I usually coat the meat in it and let it sit in the fridge overnight before putting it straight in the dehydrator, but you could probably skip the overnight part if you wanted to without much difference.
I haven't made a batch of jerky in about 6 months (moved house, been busy) but am thinking of getting some happening this weekend :)
Have you tried dehydrating Bananas? Do they become crisp like does 'Banana Chips'
@KBZ:
I've done it a few times yeah, they come out chewy not crispy. The banana chips you buy at the shop are usually deep fried in palm oil which is why they are crispy (and high in saturated fat).The ones you make at home are still a tasty snack, and they will go harder if you dry them long enough, just takes ages.
Great response. I bought a aldi one for $40. It generally worked well, but I had to swap a few trays around during the 6-8 hour process. The end result was still good quality though
The one I have is branded Sunbeam but it looks like it was made in the same factory as yours - here's a link, I picked mine up for around $149 from the Myer ebay store.
Best. Jerky. Ever.
You'd be surprised how expensive jerky is to make.
You can lose up to two thirds of the weight when you make it. Bulk jerky seems to be about $80 per kg. It depends how much you can get your steak for, but I'd budget about $25 per kg, so it's not always going to be the biggest saving. Definitely fun though, and well worth it when you can source things like venison!
If you have an electric fan forced oven which can reliably hold temps between 50C and 100C then you don't need a dehydrator, but it will make your whole kitchen / house smell like jerky, which the missus might not like ;)
I make my jerky in a smoker with very low heat for long periods, you could also use an oven or even just hang in the sun as the traditional jerkys were made.Please note most modern jerkys are not suitable for storing without refrigeration.
we are coming in to summer in Aus so build your own fan assisted drying box.
If I could find a $40 dehydrator then It'd pay itself off after one batch probably!
Not that simple unfortunately, I looked at doing this recently and decided it's not worth it.
Meat is 75% water, so you need a lot of it to make jerky.
And you have to use the dehydrator for 4-12 hours which goes through a fair bit of electricity.
argh, I just ordered it. I should have checked these comments sooner.
They're still great, just not to save money.
What if I used cheaper cuts of lean meat than recipes usually call for, or used cheaper extra lean mince?
How about this one?.