Food Dehydrator: Save Money on Road Food

I love beef jerky.  I especially enjoy the teriyaki flavored ones you can find at the 7-11, even though these probably have very little connection to any actual teriyaki cooking techniques.  It’s quick and easy, great protein – great road food.

What I hate is the price. The average price for jerky is $2.75 per ounce! At the time of this writing that is about the same price as a ounce of copper.   

But we are not here to talk about big jerky and how they are keeping their thumb on the market.  The solution to this expensive product is a food dehydrator. I recently have been using a dehydrator to make jerky and dried fruit and it is great.  It adds ease to some trips without ballooning your food cost.

Here is what I have learned so far:

• Jerky
  • Beef Jerky isn’t super difficult to make.  After you feel out your machine – it’s power, meat slice thickness, drying times – most of the work is in the prep.  
  • To achieve any significant flavor you will need to marinate overnight. I have also found that most recipes are heavy on the seasoning, so I tend to cut the marinade ½ or ⅔ of the original amount.  
  • You can learn a whole lot about recipes and techniques at http://www.makethatjerky.com.
• Fruit
  • Apples are your best friend.  It’s really difficult to make crispy chips, but they are still super enjoyable and amazingly convenient. No bruised apples, no mushy grainy stuff, and they fit just about anywhere. Slice, dry, done. Maybe add some cinnamon if you are feeling a little crazy.  
    • Try this: when apples are in season and really cheap buy a bunch and make chips til you can’t stand it. They will keep for about 6 months in a cool, dry place and longer if frozen.
  • Bananas are alright.  Like apples, most store bought chips are fried to give them a crispy bite and it will be difficult to achieve that with a dehydrator alone.  The taste you achieve is also very strong. Think back to the last time you had a banana flavored candy (best example: banana runts). This is what a dried banana tastes like.  It isn’t bad, but very banana-y.
  • Strawberries are ok too. I just feel like they turn into nothing. The flavor is there, but chips get really tiny and you will turn a quart of strawberries into a few bites really quick.
  • Some folks will talk about citrus baths and prepping fruit in various ways before drying.  My thoughts are that this would in fact make a better chip, but, for my purposes of just a quick snack that is healthy and full of energy, slicing and drying seems just too easy.  I can cut up and apple, through it in the dehydrator and i’m done in minutes.

The food dehydrator I have been using is the NESCO FD-75A.  It seemed to be a balance of power and cost, has 5 trays and you could expand to more trays if you wanted to.  So far it would be my recommended buy for road food prep.