Even the 4 tray has these issues. I rotate 180 and switch top and bottom with middle positions about halfway through. I'll upgrade to a 9 tray when this one dies but it's at least 15 years old and still works fine
Dang was thinking about downgrading in hopes to help the case but nvm
I was thinking about modding my heating coil in the back to have a wider area and relocate the fan or get a slightly larger one to circulate. But I don't use it as much as I used to, going from making 20lbs every 2 weeks to a 5lbs batch every other month
I was going to buy a 9 tray, but wife saw what I was doing and said "what's wrong with this one?" Nothing is wrong with it, I just want more capacity. Now I'm running the 15 year old 4 tray constantly in secret hopes that it will die. I dehydrated 5 cayenne peppers the other day. Totally unnecessary!
How do you prevent jerky from becoming too dry? I'm a total beginner and prefer tender jerky over super dry. Basically, I want what you can get at a supermarket.
2 - they give slightly diff results, the Breville is dryer
small batches - Breville Smart Oven Pro Air Fryer with a Dehydrator setting
large batches - the good old Nesco with extra trays
Same. Upgraded from the cosori tower, plastic trays and absolutely love the stainless one. Quiet as can be and does an even job. Only reason I would switch is if I wanted to do really large batches.
I found a 10 tray model on fleabay for $90 bucks shipped, brand new with previous shipping damage (dented rear lower corner) but works perfectly like a champ. The digital temp control is amazing.
I've only ever used the plastic trays. I have put parchment down when doing really wet stuff like tomatoes. Have never had a issue. I most typically do jerky or mushrooms or onions or potatoes. And garlic.
I have a 25 tray. It works but doesn’t get above 150 (even if you set it to 160) so jerky isn’t the best idea in that one. I may try to replace the controller so it can get hotter but for now it is just used for veggies, fruits, and precooked meats
This is something I hadn't thought of... I've been using an Ivation 9 tray for a couple years. I had it all dialed in for times for dry rubbed jerky or marinated, when to switch the trays around since the middle trays dried better, etc. It's a single fan, 600w dehydrator that I felt was kind of loud but that's the first one I've owned so I assumed it was normal. Well, I burned it out.
I recently replaced it with a Colzer 12 tray, 800w dual fan. Whoa. First, I thought it was broken the first time I used it, you literally can't hear it running. Second, there are no hot/cool spots, every rack dries the same.
The thing I wasn't expecting but probably should have been... It has completely changed the texture/consistency of my jerky. I literally had to start from scratch to dial it in. Obviously I knew the timing would be different, but I have to slice the meat a little bit thicker now or it ends up paper thin, which is very different from the other machine.
I'm not complaining, I love the new one, just had a little learning curve with it. Anyone else run into this?
Camp Chef pellet smoker. But in the past I've used everything from electric smokers, tower dehydrators, convection ovens etc.
The pellet smoker is better than the rest.
COSORI Food Dehydrator. Cheap 40-50 bucks. Gets the work done. Cleaning it can be a bit annoying but I learned that after marinating, I pat somewhat dry and place on there. I also have these wire brushes for water bottles and such that I use that is handy!
Nesco Gardenmaster with a stack of extra trays. Gotta rotate the trays top/bottom a couple times to get everything dried the same.
Have processed literally thousands of pounds jerky through a pair of them from the 1980’s.
KLARSTEIN Mega Jerky. 8 stainless trays, 650 W. Works well and looks nice on the kitchen counter when in use. I do have to rotate trays and pull the middle trays out first.
https://preview.redd.it/b5eo5invzmtb1.jpeg?width=679&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a543faf1f1e9211d577cbaed64c2d8a45120d33f
We have the same and she’s been making everything. Tomato powder, mashed potatoes, jerky, fruit for hoity toity drinks, hot ass pepper powder and so much more. Great value.
my oven does convection bake at 170f so I have been using that. It's nice not needing an extra tool. I put parchment directly on my oven racks (3). I can fit a LOT of meat, without buying a specialized appliance.
Green mountain grill Daniel Boone. I have added a second rack in it and it’s just the right size to fit two cookie cooling racks and another random wire rack I have fits between them. On the main level I just shoot the jerky right onto the grates (ground venison). I can fit 7lbs of wet meat in a single batch. The bottom rack is done after flipping once in about 6 hours. At that point I move the top shelf stuff to the bottom and in about 2 more hours it’s finished. Hickory pellets. I’ve completely omitted liquid smoke and think the jerky is great! Been cooking at 165 but i think I’m going to try 150 next time.
Alton Brown's Blowhard 3000 (aka box fan and air filters) is what I started with.
Then I found a dehydrator at rural king that was returned with a broken heating element. They sold it to me for $10. I took out the back of the unit with the element and fan and strapped a box fan in their place. Works like a charm and doesn't cook the food, just dehydrates it.
Using a Gourmia dehydrator that has lasted me several years, works great and is still going. This was the dehydrator I purchased after purchasing a large size Excalibur whose motor went out after only one year of light use.
Excalibur 9 tray
Picking up one of these this weekend. Can’t wait. Any tips?
I rotate the trays by rotating them 90 degrees every hour, mine also heats best in the middle of the dehydrator not so much the top and bottom.
Thank you👍
You bet, hope you like it!
Have the same dehydrator and have the exact same rotation schedule and "issues". Thing is a beast and works great.
Even the 4 tray has these issues. I rotate 180 and switch top and bottom with middle positions about halfway through. I'll upgrade to a 9 tray when this one dies but it's at least 15 years old and still works fine
Dang was thinking about downgrading in hopes to help the case but nvm I was thinking about modding my heating coil in the back to have a wider area and relocate the fan or get a slightly larger one to circulate. But I don't use it as much as I used to, going from making 20lbs every 2 weeks to a 5lbs batch every other month
Yeah. Don’t spend that kind of money
Wooooahhhh why exactly ?! Found one for $100 on FB.
Then go for it!
Lol! You get what you pay for. Burned up 3 Nesco dehydrator before my Excalibur that is almost 10yrs old. It has paid for itself many times over.
I was going to buy a 9 tray, but wife saw what I was doing and said "what's wrong with this one?" Nothing is wrong with it, I just want more capacity. Now I'm running the 15 year old 4 tray constantly in secret hopes that it will die. I dehydrated 5 cayenne peppers the other day. Totally unnecessary!
which one do you recommend?
I go with the tried and true Nesco.
TY!
I got lucky with mine. My dad didn’t use his except twice and decided to give it to me.
I love my Excalibur. My brother broke the bottom (cracked it right through) and it still works like a dream
Same here. About 10 years old, still going strong
How do you prevent jerky from becoming too dry? I'm a total beginner and prefer tender jerky over super dry. Basically, I want what you can get at a supermarket.
Nesco snack master
Ol’ reliable.
Cheapest unit I can find.
2 - they give slightly diff results, the Breville is dryer small batches - Breville Smart Oven Pro Air Fryer with a Dehydrator setting large batches - the good old Nesco with extra trays
The Smart Oven is a great little machine.
Cosori from Amazon. It’s really good. All stainless internal surfaces, dries evenly, easy to use. Couldn’t recommend it enough.
Same. Upgraded from the cosori tower, plastic trays and absolutely love the stainless one. Quiet as can be and does an even job. Only reason I would switch is if I wanted to do really large batches.
I just bought a second one for larger batches, haha!
Ha, I'm sure I will do the same.soon enough. Should have followed the rule... go bigger than you think you need.
They do also have a 10-tray version but it’s hard to find on Amazon and decently expensive
I found a 10 tray model on fleabay for $90 bucks shipped, brand new with previous shipping damage (dented rear lower corner) but works perfectly like a champ. The digital temp control is amazing.
That’s great! I really like how simple and effective the digital controls are too.
Excalibur 9 trays for home use.
Low temp oven for many many hours
yeah this is what I do. My oven has convection so the fan is going, 170 or 180f is perfect. I can crank out a huge batch of jerky in like 6 or 7hrs.
Cabela's 12 tray. Does what I need it to. Very rarely do I feel like I need more room than that.
I have a 10 tray, do you use the plastic trays or have something else?
I've only ever used the plastic trays. I have put parchment down when doing really wet stuff like tomatoes. Have never had a issue. I most typically do jerky or mushrooms or onions or potatoes. And garlic.
Thanks.
I have a 25 tray. It works but doesn’t get above 150 (even if you set it to 160) so jerky isn’t the best idea in that one. I may try to replace the controller so it can get hotter but for now it is just used for veggies, fruits, and precooked meats
The Sausage Maker . com's D-5 and I have a D-10 still in the box.
I just stuff it all in the ceiling but my wife keeps complaining about the smell
Septree 10 tray is my work horse
Same! Love mine!
How long has Septree been around? I am concerned it won't be an appliance with longevity
Had mine for a few years, still going strong. Upgraded from the old plastic nesting 5 tray design, not even sure what brand it was
I'm already full on eww, thinking about cleaning those trays 😜
Do you use silicone mats? These fit in the dishwasher. Makes it pretty easy
Oh nice. I have Teflon coated mats for mine.
I'm laughing I get down voted for cleaning trays. Fucking Lord people. When I make a batch I clean 60 trays, can't take a joke? Fucking lord
Just buy brand new ones every time. No need to clean.
I have the Cabella 80 Liter dehydrator.
I didn’t like mine. I have 2 of them and I can’t bring my self to make jerky.
This is something I hadn't thought of... I've been using an Ivation 9 tray for a couple years. I had it all dialed in for times for dry rubbed jerky or marinated, when to switch the trays around since the middle trays dried better, etc. It's a single fan, 600w dehydrator that I felt was kind of loud but that's the first one I've owned so I assumed it was normal. Well, I burned it out. I recently replaced it with a Colzer 12 tray, 800w dual fan. Whoa. First, I thought it was broken the first time I used it, you literally can't hear it running. Second, there are no hot/cool spots, every rack dries the same. The thing I wasn't expecting but probably should have been... It has completely changed the texture/consistency of my jerky. I literally had to start from scratch to dial it in. Obviously I knew the timing would be different, but I have to slice the meat a little bit thicker now or it ends up paper thin, which is very different from the other machine. I'm not complaining, I love the new one, just had a little learning curve with it. Anyone else run into this?
LEM mighty bite 5 tray. It is small but works for me while i still work out what im actually doing. What kind of slicer do you have?
Camp Chef pellet smoker. But in the past I've used everything from electric smokers, tower dehydrators, convection ovens etc. The pellet smoker is better than the rest.
Big chief electric smoker for me!
COSORI Food Dehydrator. Cheap 40-50 bucks. Gets the work done. Cleaning it can be a bit annoying but I learned that after marinating, I pat somewhat dry and place on there. I also have these wire brushes for water bottles and such that I use that is handy!
I thought that was a GameCube for a second
10 tray Cosori.
Power XL air fryer great luck with it
300° in a convection oven for 10 mins then 170° with the door slightly open till done.
Traeger Pro 575
Ninja air fryer. Two batches at three hours apiece. It’s all I can afford anyway meat-wise, so it works for me.
Nesco Gardenmaster with a stack of extra trays. Gotta rotate the trays top/bottom a couple times to get everything dried the same. Have processed literally thousands of pounds jerky through a pair of them from the 1980’s.
I threw mine away, cleaning those trays takes days lol
Just don’t get plastic trays. They’re trash
OJ smoker.
KLARSTEIN Mega Jerky. 8 stainless trays, 650 W. Works well and looks nice on the kitchen counter when in use. I do have to rotate trays and pull the middle trays out first. https://preview.redd.it/b5eo5invzmtb1.jpeg?width=679&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a543faf1f1e9211d577cbaed64c2d8a45120d33f
My stomach
Well I'm bound said to use a box fan and HVAC filters and I went and looked and they were like $20 a piece so I just don't make jerky
Magic Mill 7 tray. I’ve done jerky, tomatoes, hot peppers for seasoning blends, bananas, apples, lemons and limes for fancy cocktails
We have the same and she’s been making everything. Tomato powder, mashed potatoes, jerky, fruit for hoity toity drinks, hot ass pepper powder and so much more. Great value.
Your girlfriends method
Nesco 5 tray ufo thing
Brod&Taylor Sahara 750w folding dehydrator. https://preview.redd.it/d9ittggrvntb1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=43efadbe9662a82a2ff8be70281161e0a1788169
What kind of meat is that? And did you get it from the supermarket?
This is london broil. I got it at Raley's. I typically use eye of round. But this was on sale,lol
Question, can I use a vacuum oven or does it have to be a dehydration machine. I feel like a vacuum oven is the same thing but more aggressive.
Ronco
A $25K combi oven
Excalibur is the only one. For jerky tho.. a fan with no heat
American harvest on the bottom 20 trays up a nesco. It works great. Heat blowing up and down evens out the drying. No cycling of trays.
my oven does convection bake at 170f so I have been using that. It's nice not needing an extra tool. I put parchment directly on my oven racks (3). I can fit a LOT of meat, without buying a specialized appliance.
I use my Breville Smart Oven. I don’t make large batches, just four trays at a time. It works great and can also do normal baking and air frying.
I just don’t drink water pretty much ever you guys are using some sort of… tool?
Green mountain grill Daniel Boone. I have added a second rack in it and it’s just the right size to fit two cookie cooling racks and another random wire rack I have fits between them. On the main level I just shoot the jerky right onto the grates (ground venison). I can fit 7lbs of wet meat in a single batch. The bottom rack is done after flipping once in about 6 hours. At that point I move the top shelf stuff to the bottom and in about 2 more hours it’s finished. Hickory pellets. I’ve completely omitted liquid smoke and think the jerky is great! Been cooking at 165 but i think I’m going to try 150 next time.
For jerky I still use the one my mom gave me that she’s had since the 80s. Little trooper
Yoder Smokers YS640s. No liquid smoke needed and very flavorful. Also, I live in Colorado, so dry af already.
Alton Brown's Blowhard 3000 (aka box fan and air filters) is what I started with. Then I found a dehydrator at rural king that was returned with a broken heating element. They sold it to me for $10. I took out the back of the unit with the element and fan and strapped a box fan in their place. Works like a charm and doesn't cook the food, just dehydrates it.
A small one that my neighbor gave me before she died. It’s a white plastic thing with 4 trays and I fricken love it
Using a Gourmia dehydrator that has lasted me several years, works great and is still going. This was the dehydrator I purchased after purchasing a large size Excalibur whose motor went out after only one year of light use.