Dehydrators

[MoreTime]

Do you have a smoker, or a dehydrator? If so, how adventurous are you with it, and what of the more experimental foods have you dried?

[Grandpa]

Since I can buy dry fruits and veggies, I dry mostly meats. I usually dehydrate 5-10 lbs of hamburger every winter. I put dehydrated hamburger and a gravy mix powder in a ziplock, put instant mashed potatos in another ziplock, put both in a food saver bag. A 4 oz package then yields a nice 20 oz meal on the trail.

With the smoker, I smoke fish, turkey, and venison.

[outwest]

I have never done this myself but I might look into it now, seems like I have been missing some stuff! A friend of mine in high school, their mom was well known for cutting down just about anything and jerky was well known in their house too. I did love her chips too!!

[Chilly]

When you dry foods like this, how do you rehydrate and cook them on the move? I'm just curious as I've never done this before.

[Grandpa]

Practice rehydrating at home so you know how long each item takes for maximum flavor.
With my hamburger, I used to start soaking about an hour before eating but found it was much better textured and flavored by just putting it in the cold water I was about to heat, then letting it simmer 3-4 minutes after bringing to a boil. That also coincided with the gravy I mixed with it for a good blending.

With any of this stuff, you want to practice at home so you don't have an unpleasant surprise while camping. And I do all my experimenting with my camp stove and pots rather than using grandma's better equiped kitchen. (good way to use up those almost empty fuel cannisters as well)

[Bud]

I had a smoker for a long time when I lived on the coast. I used it exclusively to smoke salmon, which I used to catch lots of when I lived there. Soul food!

[jason]

I have a smoker and dehydrator. I love trying things on it. Dehydrator we usually do herbs and veggies. I've been making leathers (fruit roll ups) on it too. The smoker gets the meat products. Trying different rubs, cuts, and types of meat. Sometimes wet sometimes dry, different woods, etc..

[MoreTime]

How much weight can you conceivably save compared to carrying fresh? And how long does the dried food last for, presumably storage is pretty simple once dehydrated?

[ChadTower]

I have a cabinet smoker but I don't dehydrate anything in it. I'm a BBQ guy.

[Benny]

Never thought about it, but it's quite possible that something like this could come in handy. Especially since no-one knows about what might happen in 2012.