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Anyone on here make their own biltong, jerky or similar? I'm looking for whatever dryer to use as a Christmas present for my better half but have no idea where to start. Recommendations gladly received.
My mate used to use his oven to dehydrate food for backpacking trips many years ago but then bought a dehydrator and reckoned it was fab. I just thought it was a load of faff just to be able eat exactly what he wanted at the campsite. I was happy with spending an hour cooking as there was nowt to do on the hill anyway !
This recent article might be helpful
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/review/best-dehydrators-and-how-use-them
A Ninja (other brands are available) air fryer can also be used as a dehydrator. Might be more useful than something that only does one job?
A Ninja (other brands are available) air fryer can also be used as a dehydrator. Might be more useful than something that only does one job?
This is good to know!
Ours makes things easier that. That guide, it has a Dehydrate mode built in
I made one out of a filing cabinet. If you punch the bottoms out of the drawers and retain the file hanging thingies you create a perfect vertical dryer. A couple of light bulbs in the bottom, it made incredible biltong. you may want something less visually offensive.
I can't comment on any commercial versions but my pal has access to land and is a good shot. His venison salami is artisanal. I'll ask him what make it is but knowing him it's almost certainly some over the top commercial version.
yeah, been thinking about an air-fryer for ages, finally looked into them properly last night, I see the super-duper 15 function Ninja one does loads including dehydrating, slow-cooking, bread-making, etc! So will defo be looking out for one of them on BF.A Ninja (other brands are available) air fryer can also be used as a dehydrator.
I've got a Ninja Multi cooker and have used it to dehydrate tomatoes from my allotment - you might find it's a bit small depending on the quantities you are looking to dehydrate - I've got a tiered rack for it and I could do with more space.
@disco_stu which one have you got though? The problem when people say "I've got a Ninja" is there's at least 10 different types now 😂 Was looking at the 7.5L one which I think is the biggest?I’ve got a Ninja Multi cooker
@zilog6128 I think it's the 6L 11-in-1, the cooking area inside it on a rack is about 22cm in diameter.
ta, yeah thought if I was going to get one might as well go all-out & get the biggest/most features. Still not massive though - you can get huge multi-tiered dehydrators on Amazon for not mega money, part of the appeal of the Ninja though is we'd be able to cut down on all the other kitchen gadgets that take up space if it can do a little of everything!
Yeah, a device that can do more than one job is a good point. Our pancake maker and waffle iron being prime examples of things that take up a lot of space and see little use.
We have one with several plastic trays that we use for drying apples and other fruit.
Our current one we got given by a friend who wanted cupboard space back. Previous one was an internet cheapy costing about £25 and had fancier digital timer but broke after 4 years.
If you're doing more than an occasional slice of something the tiers are worthwhile.
I think we've dehydrated at least 4 buckets full of apples and pears this year plus a few damsons. We need the tiers to get the larger throughput in the autumn.
The drying bit is dead easy. Cardboard box about two foot tall, ram some garden canes through the sides to hang the meat from & a source of heat. A 40 watt light bulb is about right. If you want to get fancy a small computer fan will speed the process up. However; it doesn't take long & I only ever use a bulb.
Check the internet for recipes but we cut the beef into long strips, wash in vinegar; pat dry then coat in spices & allow to marinade for a few hours. Once you're happy it's a simple as pegging the meat strips onto the canes; waiting and monitoring. This is the difficult part as the temptation to eat the whole lot is immense :o) 36 hours saw ours perfect.
Some observations. Too much heat will make the outside go hard. Our best batch was the first. Subsequent batches had more prep & intervention & in my view weren't as good as the first.
Google "Biltong Box"
wash in vinegar
I've not made jerky, though I would like to give it a go and over the years have halfheartedly watched a few vids on the subject, but all of them insisted that you must steep the meat in vinegar for a few hours to kill off any surface* bacteria.
* The inside of meat is sterile, which is why its ok to cook steaks 'blue' the surface however can pick up bacteria just from the fact its dead flesh and the natural enzymes of decomposition are at work. Plus I should think handling, from the knife etc.
Something like point of rump, or topside/silverside would be ideal