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#200350 - 03/08/18 01:42 AM Question About Dehydrating Meals
Bill Kennedy Offline
member

Registered: 02/27/18
Posts: 332
Loc: Portland, Oregon
Is there any way to dehydrate/rehydrate full meals that contain both meat and vegetables?

I make a sort of stew that I eat at home, and like it well enough that I could probably eat it four or five nights in a row, but when I tried drying it, it was rubbery when rehydrated. It's just beef (stew meat), potatoes, carrots, onion and celery, not thickened or anything, so it's just meat & vegetables in a thin broth. Plain, but good.

The meat, potatoes, and carrots are in bite-size chunks, so maybe too big? Would it work to only partially dehydrate it?

I've had good luck with canned chili, and a pinto bean dish consisting of beans, ground beef, bacon, onion, garlic, and spices (chili powder, sage, cumin, oregano). I'll post the recipe if anyone is interested.
_________________________
Always remember that you are absolutely unique, just like everybody else. -Margaret Mead

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#200358 - 03/08/18 01:01 PM Re: Question About Dehydrating Meals [Re: Bill Kennedy]
BZH Offline
member

Registered: 01/26/11
Posts: 1189
Loc: Madison, AL
Was it just the beef that was rubbery? You could make it with just the vegetables then then add in freeze dried beef and see if that works out better.

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#200361 - 03/08/18 03:38 PM Re: Question About Dehydrating Meals [Re: BZH]
Bill Kennedy Offline
member

Registered: 02/27/18
Posts: 332
Loc: Portland, Oregon
It was all pretty rubbery. It's been a while, but I especially remember the carrots being that way.
_________________________
Always remember that you are absolutely unique, just like everybody else. -Margaret Mead

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#200362 - 03/08/18 03:59 PM Re: Question About Dehydrating Meals [Re: Bill Kennedy]
OregonMouse Online   content
member

Registered: 02/03/06
Posts: 6799
Loc: Gateway to Columbia Gorge
Try it with much smaller size pieces.
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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey

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#200365 - 03/09/18 03:19 AM Re: Question About Dehydrating Meals [Re: OregonMouse]
Bill Kennedy Offline
member

Registered: 02/27/18
Posts: 332
Loc: Portland, Oregon
I'll try that, thanks.

I've read that if you dry canned foods they rehydrate better, so maybe I'll try that, too. Something about being pressure cooked.
_________________________
Always remember that you are absolutely unique, just like everybody else. -Margaret Mead

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#200380 - 03/12/18 04:40 AM Re: Question About Dehydrating Meals [Re: OregonMouse]
Bill Kennedy Offline
member

Registered: 02/27/18
Posts: 332
Loc: Portland, Oregon
I just tried it, but no luck. I cut up the potatoes and carrots into 1/2" or less pieces and sort of shredded the meat. Dried for 5-1/2 hours at 135 degrees. Still pretty bad, although the meat was better than before. Back to the drawing board.
_________________________
Always remember that you are absolutely unique, just like everybody else. -Margaret Mead

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#200382 - 03/12/18 10:26 AM Re: Question About Dehydrating Meals [Re: Bill Kennedy]
DTape Offline
member

Registered: 11/23/07
Posts: 666
Loc: Upstate NY
Some people have ok luck rehydrating using freezer bag/cozy. I have not. To rehydrate: I put the meal in my pot, add water to about 1/2 inch over, bring to a boil, cover and then put pot into cozy for 15-20 minutes.
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http://ducttapeadk.blogspot.com

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#200383 - 03/12/18 01:14 PM Re: Question About Dehydrating Meals [Re: Bill Kennedy]
BZH Offline
member

Registered: 01/26/11
Posts: 1189
Loc: Madison, AL
I keep going back to Freeze dried. Your ingredients are pretty simple to assemble from purchased freeze dried sources. Dehydrating should result in a more broken down product. If it is still rubbery, it probably needs to be cooked more prior to dehydrating. If you like chunks of things buy the freeze dried version. Freeze dried stuff looks expensive, but you often get quite a bit in the package. If you really like and are willing to a eat a lot of it, the freeze dried version can be cost competitive.

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#204276 - 04/20/20 06:57 AM Re: Question About Dehydrating Meals [Re: Bill Kennedy]
haan9953 Offline
member

Registered: 04/20/20
Posts: 28
Thoroughly cook your food before it's placed in the dehydrator.
Always reheat leftovers before drying, to prevent the growth of bacteria.
Cut or shred your vegetables, fish and meats into smaller pieces. ...
Place the food evenly on the dehydrator so it quickly dries the food out.

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