Home Dehydration and Shelf Life

it isnt safe to dry meat in a dehydrator unless you are making jerkey.
i dry spaghetti sauce but only if it has no meat in it.
what i have done with my excalibur is i have dried veggies and fruits, and put them in mason jars and sealed with my vacuumsealer. I also have put them in vacuumsealer bags. I have put dried fruit in mylar bags. I am still experimenting, but I like the mason jars for the veggies, I keep a jar of each veggie in my cupboard which I use for daily use, taking some out, resealing the jar, so the vacuumsealed bags are for longer storage, the mason jars more for daily use. I have dried tomatoes that I then ground up in the blender and put 2 tbsp each in a small foodsaver baggie, individual serving size, since the tomato powder is very concentrated it doenst take much to flavor a soup. that way I am not opening a jar constantly.
again I will say, I have asked over and over and gotten the same answer from all the food experts, do not dehydrate meat or fish and expect it to stay safe for any length of time, only jerkey is considered safe.

 

I love mylar bags. I am using them for more long term storage. you can cut them down makign small bags of any size, sealing the edges with an iron. I label each bag with date and food. I am using mylar for powdered milk, oatmeal, and dried fruit, using oxygen absorbers.

 

First of all, you are proactive and thinking ahead. My compliments! I am not an expert, but I just want to throw in my opinion as it applies to me. I like feedback too. I am not perfect, just ask anybody.

It seems like a lot of work. Also a single focus.
All your eggs may be in one basket (rodent proof? flood proof in the basement? All one type of container/process?)
Prepacked meals are quick, but….boring? Would you tire of them? Maybe only do a 30 day supply of prepacked items.
I am practicing dehydrating but also putting direct effort into the supply pipeline of the dehydrator i.e. apple trees, nuts, gardening, grapes, etc.

I can my dry goods in #10 can and rotate those into my pantry. Up to 30-year shelf life.
I keep three months store bought goods in my pantry.

Basically I have:
72 hour kits
Min 2 weeks goods in the freezer (bread, cheese, meats, yeast, jellies etc)
3 months in the pantry
Home canned fruit and veggies
1 yr in #10 cans
Fruit trees, nut trees, grapes vines, berries
Vegetable Garden
Chickens

Breaking into the food storage is not a big deal because we rotate and use it constantly.

From day one of an event, I would begin planning on replenishing and rebuilding the storage. My kids and relatives have fruit trees planted at their homes and I have planted Oak (acorn bearing) and fruit and nut trees at out of the way properties and lands around the area to prepare some “go to” areas. I visit them periodically to maintain them. In the meantime the wildlife is happy with them.

I am just not secure unless I have a backup of a backup that is backed up

 

I have a buddy who makes "meat nuggets" in his dehydrator, basically cooked ground beef and sausage that he dehydrates and then uses for camping and storage. The shelf life is not measured in tens of years, but it does last over a year. The problem is the high fat content in the meat which eventually makes it rancid. The process involves lots of paper bags as well to help draw as much of the fat out as you can after cooking and before drying.

 

I've been looking for bulk grains locally myself, so far the Amish-oriented stores are the best way to go. Lehemans and stores like that. I look for the smaller, local ones myself, sometimes they have better prices. If you go to Lehemans, be ready to spend the day if you haven't been there already.

I get all my mylar on line at https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/. They are a GREAT company. I have only good things to say abou them. They sent me replacement O2 absorbers for FREE when they found out the ones they had been selling didn't work as advertised. When a company treats me right, I spread the news! I've never bothered to look for mylar locally because of the great service I get from them.

 

I would get a variety of Food Preservation books, including one specifically on dried foods. I believe that you can dry some meats. My Food Saver works very well and I have never (in 5 years) had any leakage.

 

You can only safely dehydrate properly salted and prepared jerky. No other meats since they sit in the danger zone for too long before they dry. They will grow too much bacteria before they dry. The salt helps remove water, so they dry faster. It is called water activity.
( I teach food preservation methods and safety. ) You can get a free online booklet here on drying fruits and veggies.
http://info.ag.uidaho.edu/Resources/PDFs/PNW0397.pdf

 

Lucy, nice booklet, thanks for the info. Sailaway

 

What do you mean by "sitting in the danger zone for too long before they dry"? Immediately after cooking my meats (primarily chicken), I dice them and put them in the dehydrator and then the meat is totally dry 12-16 hours later. The meat isn't sitting out, so there's no chance for bacteria to grow. Here are videos of my preparation process:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkvMScLWtZ4"]YouTube- Dehydrating chicken for long-term food storage[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W19vibwGSo8"]YouTube- Dehydrating chicken for long-term food storage, part 2[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGWSYooCHzo"]YouTube- Dehydrating chicken for long-term food storage -- part 3[/ame]


Here's the chicken after dehydration...you can see the texture and varied size of pieces:



Could you elaborate more on this "danger zone"? I'm really not seeing how it would be an issue if meats are moved directly from the cooking stage to being dehydrated.

 

i agree most jerky that you buy from a butcher or grocery store as a salt content.I make jerky from several different meats beef,chicken,turkey,and game meat. I don't add any salt to it just place in the oven at 150F for 24 hrs no spices or flavoring either. now i am not sure exactly how long it will last without being frozen just due to the fact that we love jerky and eat quickly but if placed in freezer it will be good to use 1yr later with no flavor lose from meat. store bought canned foods are good 2yrs beyond stated shelf life on the can

 

dehydrating meat

i was on u tub and many people cook up ground meat and cook chicken and put it in their dehydrator, if you use very lean meat and then cook till done the put in dehydrator till its very dry -like gravel, put in a oxygen absorber and then seal with a vacuum sealer there is no reason the meat should last. As long as you can keep the moisture out your good.

 

KBur55, after you do all that, do you keep it on a shelf or in the freezer? In a root cellar or other dark, cool place?

 

Does anyone know how "freeze dried" differs from "dehydrated"? I have #10 cans of freeze dried meats, purchased commercially. I wonder if that's a process that can be done at home?

And does anyone know if milk, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt and the like can be dried at home?

 

I read that dehydrated meat should be eaten within 2 months but if vacuum sealed, it is good up to a year.
http://www.backpackingchef.com/dehydrating-meat.html