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12 Brilliant Ways To Use A Dehydrator
We are obsessed with the salty-sweet fried chicken at Root & Bone in New York City, and one of the secrets of why it's so crazy delicious is the ground dehydrated lemon that it's tossed with. As it turns out, chefs Jeff McInnis and Janine Booth are both dedicated to classic Southern dishes as well as addicted to modern technology, like their food dehydrator, which they couldn't live without. Here, they share a handful of the many reasons we're adding a dehydrator to our holiday wish list.
1. We dehydrate lemon, grind it up and then toss it with our fried chicken.
2. We dehydrate grapes until they are plump raisins, then pour pickling liquid over them.
3. We make apple chips by brushing thinly sliced apple with maple syrup and dehydrating them.
4. We dehydrate cherry tomatoes for our shrimp and grits. They become like mini, juicy sundried tomatoes.
5. We make salumi using different Old World techniques, but we also use the dehydrator as a time machine to speed up the fermentation and drying-out process for our spicy pork snack sticks, which are like little Slim Jims.
6. When we make jam, a white, fluffy foam floats to the top. We spoon it onto a Silpat or sheet pan and shove it in the dehydrator overnight. It turns into a really unique fruit roll-up. If you dehydrate it for longer, it turns into crystalline, crunchy dehydrated fruit chunks, which we use to garnish desserts.
7. We juice ginger and spead the pulpy fibers on a sheet pan to put into the dehydrator. It turns into a spicy ginger crunch that we use in cocktails and on grilled pumpkin.
8. When we were growing our own herbs this spring, from time to time we had a lot of extra and would use the dehydrator to dry them out.
9. For Thanksgiving, we loaded our dehydrator with leftover cornbread, which became our holiday stuffing.
10. We put overcooked rice in the dehydrator for a day, then throw it in the fryer. It pops up like little puffed rice cakes.
11. We put ketchup or barbecue sauce in the dehydrator and make ketchup or barbecue sauce paper. It's as simple as spreading a thin layer of sauce on a Silpat or sheet pan and leaving in the dehydrator overnight. The next day it pulls off and is rubbery. You can wrap a sticky string of ketchup around a potato, or put a sticky sliver of barbecue paper over a piece of chicken.
12. Pickle powder!!! We dehydrate pickles, then crunch them up to sprinkle on french fries.
Choosing A Food Dehydrator
Is a dehydrator worth it? Before choosing a food dehydrator, learn about the differences between stackable dehydrators and box-and-shelf dehydrators
When I lived in California, land of eternal sunshine, preserving food by drying was virtually effortless. Using big redwood trays salvaged from an old prune orchard and spread out on a huge barn roof in full sun, hundreds of pounds of peaches and pears were dried each summer. We also dipped and dried our own prunes and figs, made raisins from seedless grapes, and dried the walnut crop in the fall for winter storage. In the shade of a big fir tree, I dried and processed all our own herbs from the garden.
Life in the humid Midwest, where I now live, is another matter entirely. Even the thin leaves of basil start to mold on the drying trays unless I am extremely careful. I tried using the electric oven and, for wetter fare, the warming oven of the wood cookstove, but space limitations and the difficulty of controlling temperature stymied my efforts. Finally, the promised success of electric food dehydrators got the upper hand. I decided to find out just how well they worked.
Many different electric dehydrator models are available; I settled on four that best represent the various designs available: L'Equip's Model 528, Nesco/American Harvest's Gardenmaster, Excalibur's Large Garden and Living Foods' Jumbo dehydrator.
Home-food dehydrators fall into two categories: those with stackable trays, and those constructed of a rigid box with removable shelves. Size is a factor; most fit on a countertop, but larger models are free-standing and require more space. Some models have base-mounted fans that move hot air vertically; one has a rear-mounted fan for moving air horizontally; yet another uses convection drying, with no fan at all.
I put these four different models through their paces during the peak of the humid harvest season here in Iowa. Each dehydrator dried lots of herbs and vegetables with comparable ease, but the fleshy crops, like tomatoes and peaches, put the dehydrators to the ultimate test, determining their maximum capacity, efficiency and overall effectiveness.
Stackable Dehydrator Units TestedL'Equip's Model 528, which has rectangular trays, and Nesco/American Harvest's models, with round trays, are plastic stackable units with base-mounted fans. The L'Equip has six trays, expandable to a stack of 20; two of the Nesco/American Harvest models have four trays, expandable to 12. Nesco's Gardenmaster, which is designed for less bulky harvests such as herbs or dried flowers, can accommodate up to 30 trays.
While these models may stack up to 30 inches tall, they have a small footprint and consume little counter space. They also provide the least expensive way to get started with food dehydrating, but they all share one big limitation: Uneven heat distribution in the stack means that the trays closest to the heat element and fan dry much faster than those at the top of the stack. Diligent tray rotation is critical, especially if very fleshy foods are being dried. And while perfectly suitable for drying fruits, vegetables, fruit leathers, herbs and jerky, these machines cannot readily be adapted for any of the other uses the box-and-shelf models can claim.
Box-and-Shelf Dehydrator Units TestedI tested two rigid box designs with removable shelves that can be adapted for other warming or drying uses in addition to food dehydration: Excalibur's nine-tray large Garden model, with 15 square feet of drying space, and Living Foods' Jumbo model, with nine trays and 31 square feet of space.
Excalibur's dehydrator designs position the heat source and fan at the back of the shelves instead of beneath them. Hot air blowing across the shelves eliminates the bothersome need for tray rotation. And the Large Garden model is big enough, with some shelves removed, to allow other uses, such as leavening bread, culturing yogurt or drying bulky items.
Instead of using a fan, Living Foods' dehydrators rely on convection drying. Heat, generated by a heating element mounted at the base of the box, rises through the trays. Living Foods' founder Jen MacManiman says a benefit of convection drying is that it eliminates the possibility of contaminating foods with dirt that fans can suck into a dehydrator. However, placing the fan-powered dehydrator in a clean space remedies that potential problem.
Convection heating allows silent operation and less use of electricity but it also takes twice as long to dry bulky, moisture-laden foods like tomatoes and peaches. The longer the drying time (especially during periods of high humidity), the more the dried product's flavor and keeping quality are reduced.
Despite their slower drying time in humid conditions, Living Foods' dehydrators may be the most versatile on the market. Besides making yogurt and leavening bread, these dehydrators also can soften honey or butter, re-crisp crackers or popcorn, sprout seeds or hatch chicks. The company claims its machines have been used to dry not only fruits, vegetables and meats, but also flowers, paper mache crafts, fine lingerie, rain-soaked boots and gloves, pasta, freshly glued items, children's artwork, tie-dyed clothing and water-damaged books or papers.
As long as I avoided overloading the Living Foods' Jumbo with wet items during extremely humid conditions, I successfully produced an abundance of dried food. And the quiet, fan-free operation was an added bonus.
Choosing a Food Dehydrator: Tips Before You BuyIf you're considering drying specialty items, investigate which models can accommodate your needs. Stick-proof fruitleather sheets, tray screens, jerky spices or kits, and very good handbooks, including recipe books, are sold by most dehydrator dealers. Besides these accessories, Excalibur also sells a variety of peelers and slicers, and a 156-page, illustrated book, Preserve It Naturally II: The Complete Guide to Food Dehydrating, which contains many unique recipes. Living Foods markets a heavy-duty tray to support weightier jobs like yogurt-making; a grow box for starting seeds; a sprouting tube kit; and their food dehydrating handbook, Dry It — You'll Like It!
All of the dehydrators I tested have their appropriate applications, and all performed well under most conditions. Determine your needs, space limitations and budget before you buy. When it comes down to preserving food flavors and quickly drying fruits, vegetables and meats, especially when fully loaded and under humid conditions, the Excalibur Large Garden model won my highest praise. Its rear-mounted fan, in my experience, simply did the best job.
The Metropolis Beef Jerky Company of Chicago claims that the Excalibur far out paced other models for making jerky. Five machines with eight trays each produced 3 1/2 pounds of jerky in four hours, while the three Excalibur models tested produced 8 pounds in five hours, with a fraction of tray-cleaning time afterward. (Note: Making meat jerky is not as straightforward as drying fruits and vegetables. New, safer recipes for producing homemade jerky have been established following tests at Colorado State University that showed traditional methods may not destroy salmonella and E. Coli bacteria in the meat.
Mechanical dehydration has restored the blessings of dried foods to my house. Jars of "un-sun" dried tomatoes and my very own Hungarian paprika now line my shelves, along with all sorts of dried fruits and other vegetables. Besides the satisfaction of having a full pantry, my family and I also benefit from the nutrition dehydrating preserves. And, calculating all the attendant costs, using a mechanical dehydrator costs half as much as canning and is almost seven times cheaper than freezing. Certainly, it's not as cheap as the sun, but, hey, we can't all live in California!
Need a Really Big Dehydrator?If you need a very large-capacity dehydrator, check out the wood-fired chimney-convection model developed by an international research team and refined at the Aprovecho Research Center in Cottage Grove, Oregon. This 4-foot-by-10 foot dehydrator can dry up to 250 pounds of fruit at a time, and costs only a few hundred dollars to construct from sheet metal, insulation and a few other materials. For details, contact Aprovecho Research Center at www.Aprovecho.Org.
More on Food Dehydration:How to Build a Food DehydratorSave Money By Drying Fruits and Vegetables at HomeHome Food Preservation HeadquartersHow to Preserve Food Using Sun Drying and Natural Methods
Highly recommended by the MOTHER EARTH NEWS editors: The Beginner's Guide To Dehydrating Foodbook, by Teresa Marrone. If you are thinking of building a solar food dryer, or you just want to learn the basics of how to preserve food by dehydrating, this is the best book available. Includes full details on how to build a very effective solar-powered dehydrator. Order now.
The Best Dehydrators For Jerky Of 2025
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Jerky is one of my go-to snacks anytime I hit the outdoors. It's easy to pack and lasts forever. It can be expensive at the store and it's so easy to make at home, where your customization options are endless. The best way to make your own delicious jerky is with a dehydrator. Sure, you can make it in the oven, or over a fire, or in a smoker—but for optimum control and consistency, a dehydrator with a precise temperature control thermostat is the way to go. If you're looking for the best dehydrators for jerky, these options are worth considering.
I tested them by making venison jerky and dehydrated apple slices at 150 degrees while using an accurate thermometer to verify the dehydrator's thermostat and temperature consistency. The test allowed me to see how efficiently they dehydrated, their ease of use, and their cooking consistency. Here are the results of my testing.
How We Picked the Best Dehydrators for JerkyI picked the best dehydrators for jerky that I thought fit various kitchen and budget scenarios. To test the dehydrators, I dried two trays of jerky and one tray of apple slices per unit at 150 degrees, or as near as the temperature controls allowed. I placed the jerky trays on the lowest rack and center rack of each unit, and the apple trays on the top-rack position.
During the test, I used a digital thermometer on a center rack the temperature accuracy. While a few degrees won't make a difference in the finished jerky, some meats like wild hog or bear require hotter temperatures for parasite control and need accurate temperature readings.
Best Dehydrators for Jerky: Reviews & Recommendations Best Overall: Meat! 10-Tray See It ProsThe MEAT! 10-Tray Dehydrator's large capacity, powerful fan, and accurate thermostat quietly turned out evenly finished jerky in a short amount of time and required little tray movement. With a large drying space, fast drying time, quiet fan, and most consistent top to bottom drying rates, this dehydrator is the best dehydrator for the serious jerky maker. The jerky and apple slices dried in the shortest amount of time. During the test, the MEAT! 10-Tray Dehydrator held a consistent temperature but rose and fell on an even cycle. The digital thermostat presets don't rise one degree at a time but skip up or down with each push of the button. With the thermostat reading 149 degrees (the closest I could get to 150 degrees) the actual temperature inside the unit would rise to 149-150 degrees.
The temperature then slowly fell to 142 before rising again to within a degree or two of the preset, which is more than accurate enough for any jerky making or drying task. Total time from loading the trays to finished jerky was a speedy 4 hours and 15 minutes, and the jerky on the meat unit finished about 30 minutes faster than the sliced apples. While this unit is a beast to move around and store, if you love jerky and make it often, this dehydrator will get the job done in a hurry. If you don't want to spend this much on a dehydrator, go in with your hunting buddies and share this one. It cranks out jerky so efficiently that you can do enough for the entire camp in just a few batches.
Best Value: Cabela's Deluxe 10-Tray DehydratorCabela's
ProsI used the Cabela's Deluxe 10-Tray dehydrator to make swan jerky. After marinating and thinly slicing the breast, I laid out the strips on the spacious plastic trays. This cabinet style dehydrator has a large capacity for tons of food, with plenty of room in between. All of the meat pieces dried evenly, no rotating required. The 900W heater and 6.5-inch fan mounted in the center rear of the machine keep air flow consistent throughout.
The. Swan jerky had a great texture, and I didn't have to rotate the trays. Ashley ThessI followed the included instruction book, and it listed a very accurate dry time of four hours on high (160-degrees) and another four to eight hours on medium (130 degrees). It took my swan five hours on medium to complete. While the trays are plastic and not machine-washable, they keep the unit a bit lighter at 20 pounds. The footprint is 20.5 inches long by 14.4 inches wide and 16.2 inches tall, so I'm glad it isn't too heavy to hoist on top of my cabinets for storage.
The removable drip tray and drying trays make it easy to clean with soap and water. This dehydrator has 1,409 square inches of usable drying space and it's only $150. If you're trying to save money on jerky, dried fruits, preserving herbs, and snacks that hit the spot on trail or at home, you'll make up the cost of this easy-to-use and spacious dehydrator pretty quickly. —Ashley Thess
Best for Big Batches: Weston 6-Tray See It ProsIf you are looking for a mid-range unit with capabilities of drying large batches of jerky, the Weston 6-Tray unit is the way to go. This powerful yet quiet fan and 800-watt heater dried thick jerky relatively quickly. The Weston 6-Tray maximizes the amount of jerky you can dry, while minimalizing storage space. Make sure you get the 75-0450 model with the 800-watt heater, because Weston makes similar units with smaller heaters that don't dry as quickly.
With a small footprint and attractive appearance, the Weston is a dehydrator you can leave on the counter all season. While the Weston 6-Tray held the most consistent temperature, it did run roughly six-degrees below the preset temperature. Jerky at the rear of both trays dried noticeably slower than that at the front, necessitating a 180-degree rotation when we swapped the lower and middle trays midway through the drying time. Total time from loading trays to dry jerky was five hours, 45 minutes, with jerky and apples finishing at the same time.
Best Cabinet-Style: LEM Mighty Bite 5-Tray Countertop See It ProsThe cabinet-style design dries evenly front to back and top to bottom without tray adjustments during the drying cycle. LEM's cost is comparable to the stackable tray designs with cabinet style features. The Mighty Bite 5-Tray is a cabinet style with trays that slide in and out for easy loading and unloading without having to move any of the other trays for the process. The rear mounted fan allows air to move evenly from top to bottom, but trays may need to be rotated for even drying. This unit has a 550-watt heater with temperature ranges of 95-155 degrees, and the temperature is controlled by a dial style thermostat. The Mighty Bite has a 30-hour timer with an automatic shutoff, and the clear, snap-on door helps hold in heat and speed the drying process.
Things to Consider Before Purchasing the Best Dehydrator for Jerky Chipotle venison jerky is spicy and savory, perfect for a trail snack. Wade TruongIf you plan to use the dehydrator often and make large amounts of jerky at a time, then a larger 10-tray model might be the best choice. The downside to large dehydrators is weight and storage space, so if you only make a small amount of jerky at a time or if storage space is at a premium, the smaller, stacking tray style models might be the best option for you.
FAQs Q: At what temp should I dehydrate jerky?You should dehydrate your jerky at a temp between 150-160 degrees. The key to making good jerky is low and slow. Dehydrating the meat at this temperature for an extended period ensures that all you remove all the moisture and any chance of bacteria growth. Of course, the time you dry the meat at this temperature will depend on which unit you use and the size of batch you make—but you should expect to spend anywhere from 4-8 hours drying the meat.
Q: Can you dehydrate meat too long?Depending on how you prefer your jerky, you can dehydrate the meat too long. The longer you dehydrate the meat, the drier it becomes, so it largely depends on what you plan to do with the jerky. If you're planning to store the jerky for an extended period, you might want to dehydrate it longer. But if you're making jerky to take camp for the weekend, you (and your friends) might prefer a tastier and easier-to-eat batch that doesn't require as much drying time.
Q: Do you need curing salt for jerky?While there are different opinions on whether you need curing salt for jerky or not, there are benefits to using it. Curing salt (sodium nitrite) helps combat some bacteria that may thrive in jerky making conditions. While you can get sick from eating too much curing salt, using the proper amount is a great way to make sure you and your friends don't get any foodborne illnesses. Check out this article, How to Make Deer Jerky, in an Oven, Smoker, and Dehydrator, to see how to use curing salt.
Final ThoughtsI've made a lot of jerky over the years. I've tried low temperatures for longer drying times, and higher temps for shorter periods. Now, I've settled on 150 degrees as the best option for safely and efficiently making jerky. Having an accurate thermostat on a dehydrator makes maintaining the correct temperature easy, and depending on your storage situation, any of these dehydrators will make a great option.
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