I have a food dehydrator and was wonder if I could effectively dehydrate venison/beef burger? We've done jerky before but I was wondering about burger. Cook it first? Season it? How long will it keep? Our jerky didn't keep as long as I thought it would. Once dehydrated soaking it in water then using it would be the plan? Reason I'm asking is I have a couple of deer in the freezer, mostly burger and my wife wants more room in the freezer for "normal" (her words not mine...LOL) foods.
there is a really neat little gizmo that can be found, much like the old cookie shooters that can squeeze your burger into a jerkey with all the spices etc and then can be dehydrated in a dehydrator. It is some of the best most tender jerkey one can make. One can also dehydrate burger in patties although i find it rather yuckity... here is one link to a video, there are plenty out there though Dehydrated Burger Show | Boundary Waters Canoe Area Video Podcast
I have the biggest part of two deer turning into jerky as fast as I can run it through the dehydrator right now! Dehydrate it, vacuum pack it in bags. I've even taken to sectioning the bags, putting rice, beans, noodles, dried vegetables & bullion cubes on one side, Jerky on the other so it's all ready to make soup or stew out of when you cut the top off! Separate meat, vegetables, noodles and bullion cubes/seasonings into their own compartments and seal them up along the top! Some water and a pan and I'm cooking away in no time!
One thing to note about meat and bacteria... the bugs can only live on the surface of meat, so solid strips which are dried can then be washed, cooked, etc, and as long as the surface is "germ free" the rest will be too. Not so with ground meat, which introduces the 3-dimensional labyrinth of possibilities for harmful bacteria to enter, breed, and introduce sickness. It's also why you can buy a rare steak, but most resturants won't do anything other than medium-well burgers... you just can't get rid of e-coli in ground meat without thoroughly cooking. Dehydrate with care, and happy eating.
