Dehydrating and Vacuum Sealing Meats

Question from Jimmy – from Alabama

 

Can You Dehydrate Meats???

YES!!!

Doesn’t hydrate as well as veggies

They are chewier

Cooked Meats – Dehydrate 135F-160F (consult manual)

Don’t go below 135F

Vacuum sealed, dehydrated meats are known to last up to 2-3 weeks at room temp

Refrigerating or freezing will maintain quality and lasts longer

Fats and proteins – broken down by O2 and Light

Causes Poor Flavor and Spoilage

They are perfect for stews, soups, or dishes where they are cut up such as beef tips or stroganoff

Tips when Rehydrating Meats before We Go Into Detail

Adding chicken/beef stock adds more flavor

Small pieces rehydrate more evenly

General Preparation for Dehydrating

Choose Choice/Tender Cuts to reduce toughness

Less Fat – Fat goes rancid

Cut into small pieces

Cook it – thoroughly

Drying makes it easy to set up meals

Dehydrate all ingredients

Add all of your ingredients

Make meals and vacuum seal it.  Freeze until you want to go hiking.

This is great for hiking meals for overnight or multi-week hikes.

Designed for use for month long hikes.

If you aren’t ready to make meals

Dehydrate ingredients

Freeze the ingredients you are not ready to use until you can make meals

Take it out and let it sit to return to room temp before opening (condensation)

At room temp – you can open it

Make meals and re-vacuum seal it.  Freeze if desired.

Meals preserved this way have been good up to 8 months after packaging them

Place vacuum bags in Mylar bags

When vacuuming, use O2 absorbers

3-mil bag

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Types of Meat to Dehydrate

Ground Beef

Sliced Ham

Shrimp

Tuna

Crab

Chicken

 

Dehydrating Beef

Called gravel by backpackers – doesn’t rehydrate well

Add breadcrumbs to the raw meat – allows liquid to penetrate it better

Turns out tender every time

Only use lean ground beef with fat below 15%

Lower is better

Usually labeled as ground round

Grass-fed beef is usually 7-10%

Prepare it

Each pound, ½ cup bread crumbs (can make them yourself)

brown over medium heat, fully cooked

blot with papertowels while cooking

press between papertowels after– remove oil

Dehydrate at 145F on sheets until hard

If drying for long term storage, no bread crumbs (soaks fat)

Dehydrating Sliced Ham, Lean Deli Roast Beef, Turkey, Chicken

Sliced 1/16 in thick

Slice into Strips of ¾-1”

Dry at 145F for about 6 hrs

Blot oil every couple hours while drying

Usually chewy when hydrated

Boil 2 mins to help soften it up

Dehydrating Shrimp

Frozen/Precooked/Peeled

Thaw in refrigerator or cold water

Slice into small pieces

Dehydrate at 145F for about 6hrs

No moisture remaining when cut

Dehydrating Tuna

Solid white tuna in water

Drain water

spread evenly on tray

Dry at 145F about 6 hrs

It will be crispy (yes it stinks!)