Alright, I made my first attempt at dehydrating a meal to bring to
Quetico in a couple of weeks. I attempted some Jambalaya, nothing fancy it is a box of Zatarains mix and I added in some chicken and smoked sausage. After cooking I spread it thinly on to some wax paper and put it in the dehydrator for around 12 hours. The question is when I took it out it seems dry and brittle but there is some greasy residue still around the cut up sausage pieces. Not a puddle or anything like that just after handling it there is a residue of greasiness on your fingers. Is this what it should be like? Or should it be completely dry like the mix was before I cooked it? Did I miss something in the process? Again, my first ever try at this and not sure what is normal or not. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

I have had some light "touch" greasiness in some stuff I have put up, It was fine for last years trips. I have only had one "serving" go bad out of 30-40 so far and luckily we were eating it at home to use it up. It was a mexican spiced alfredo with butter and lots of goat cheese ~8 months after I made it. 2 months earlier different servings of that were fine.

Store it in the freezer until you are ready to go to decrease the odds of the fat going rancid. I normally vacuum seal and freezer store all of mine. I did most of this years food Dec-Feb. Some of the recipes were new to us so we are going to have a taste test gathering in the next week or so (trip on 6-4) to see that none of it became obviously "off" during 4-6 months of storage.

If you are worried about it dry it some more. I believe the general consensus is that it really only costs you extra electricity to run the dehydrator. I normally dry my meals longer than 12 hours just because it is convenient. I put it in after supper and dont take it out until after work next day. Though I will often check it in the morning and flip it if it is dry enough to turn over.

Thanks so much for the reply. I took it out this morning and put it in a freezer bag then the refrigerator. I will go home at lunch and put back in dehydrator for a few more hours then I will vacuum seal.

I think for a couple of weeks a freezer bag would be fine, but if you have the sealer it couldnt hurt anything. I have some snack type stuff I am putting up right now that I will probly not seal all of, but none of it includes meat.

I was told not to use wax paper in the dehydrator, as it will melt. Do you guys use wax paper?

I am pretty sure I have with no problems but it may have been parchement paper instead of wax... I did that exactly 2 times before I started searching for permanent solid sheets to use. I HATE cutting paper to fit my dehydrator. It seems so time consuming and hassely, it would roll back up to the shape of the roll during cutting and while you were placing it on trays and corners would curl while putting on food. I found some off brand silicone dehy sheets on amazon that were a fraction of the cost of the excalibur ones. They were a bit too big for my model but I cut them down so they fit and have been using them since.

I use parchment.

quote K2: "Alright, I made my first attempt at dehydrating a meal to bring to
Quetico in a couple of weeks. I attempted some Jambalaya, nothing fancy it is a box of Zatarains mix and I added in some chicken and smoked sausage. After cooking I spread it thinly on to some wax paper and put it in the dehydrator for around 12 hours. The question is when I took it out it seems dry and brittle but there is some greasy residue still around the cut up sausage pieces. Not a puddle or anything like that just after handling it there is a residue of greasiness on your fingers. Is this what it should be like? Or should it be completely dry like the mix was before I cooked it? Did I miss something in the process? Again, my first ever try at this and not sure what is normal or not. Any input would be greatly appreciated. "

It's going to be greasey since there is sausage in it, unless you really cooked, drained and rinsed it well. Next time I suggest you dry the ingredients seperately.

I use parchment paper as well. It seems to absorb any left over oils. I also use Zip-lock vacuum bags to store the finished product in. This keeps the air away from it which gives it a longer shelf life.

Wax paper gets really brittle and sticks to the food. Learned that the hard way the first time I made leather.

Parchment paper is the next best thing to silicone tray inserts.

I don't think sausage is a good choice for dehydrating. Too much fat added and anything with pork in it is a no-no. Pork generally has to much fat content too. Stick to ground beef and chicken. Also with ground beef, after you brown it, strain it with boiling water and you will end up with almost zero fat content, the main cause of spoilage.
IRG

I never thought drying bulk ground sausage was that bad. Been doing if for years. browning in skillet
unrinsed sausage above beef
after drying about 5 hours
beef on left sausage on right, 1 1/2 lbs before drying, bagged ready to store in freezer till needed.
I buy sausage at a local store, either Italian spiced or breakfast seasoned. After browning in the skillet very little grease is present about as much as the lean ground beef had, I do not rinse after browning just straight into oven set at 200 and watched (temp stays around 175).

I don't know if it is the type of sausage available by me, but it always cooks up with very little grease, the ground beef shown is 96% lean sirloin.

butthead

So, I've never really dehydrated meats before, but I figured I'd try.

I took some sausage, fried it up really good......then into the oven at 150 for 8 hrs.....It didn't leave any greasy residue on the paper after setting it out for a few hours, so I think I'm good.

I vacuum sealed it and threw it in the fridge........Hopefully it works OK.

So, how should I rehydrate it. I was thinking 1 cup water, bring to a boil, add the sausage, let sit about 10 minutes.....

Here is a pic....

quote GeoFisher: "So, I've never really dehydrated meats before, but I figured I'd try.


I took some sausage, fried it up really good......then into the oven at 150 for 8 hrs.....It didn't leave any greasy residue on the paper after setting it out for a few hours, so I think I'm good.


I vacuum sealed it and threw it in the fridge........Hopefully it works OK.


So, how should I rehydrate it. I was thinking 1 cup water, bring to a boil, add the sausage, let sit about 10 minutes.....


Here is a pic....



"

Sounds pretty good, that should wrok out OK for you for rehydrating it. You can always pour off any excess water unlike things like sauces.

Because I use sausage in a gravy or sauce, I just add it to the amount of water needed (for gravy or sauce), when it's softened up mix up the rest and add extra water as needed.

butthead

So after last year, I'm trying this again. Nothing wrong with my attempt last year, as it worked GREAT.

It took a long , long time to rehydrate, and I think my oven actually dried too "hot" if that makes sense.

I just purchased a food dehydrator, and will try again. I just fried some sausage, and now am getting ready to dry it.

I'm thinking setting the dehydrator on 120 or so and drying for 12 hrs or so.

What do you guys think?

Later,

Geo

The food dehydrator should work better then your oven and give you better results. That said, sausage can be a bit tough to dehydrate because of the grease/oil involved. Try to soak as much of it up as possible with paper towels or something before you dehydrate it. How hot does it get? I've found that for meats it should be in the 140 range. Let us know how it comes out!

Anyone dehydrating sausage adding bread crumbs like ground beef?

I don't rinse the ground beef either - but use 96% lean so not much to rinse.

How about a different method of cooking? I brown my beef in boiling water, instead of frying it. It looks like a pot of sick before it cooks, but you end up with uniform, fine pieces afterwards (think Taco Bell).

Then, into the dehydrator to create the gravel. It does rehydrate well, although not much fatty flavor, as expected.

I have taken to rinsing my ground-beef jerky under hot water after drying to increase the shelf life.

I dehydrate meats at 145' or better according to a few notes I have read regarding food safe temps. I have done shrimp, canned crab, kielbasa, sausage, canned chicken, regular chicken, ham, beef -both ground and chunked in stew. Yes, you can over dry elements where the rehydrated version tastes burnt. I use a simple lamp timer and sometimes set my dehydrator for 1- 4 hr intervals so I can break up, fluff up & check what's happening. Tomato based sauces can taste burnt if overdried. Some proteins, depending on what you are using, take a long time and need added heat to properly rehydrate (shrimp, chicken) Also, sometimes the rest of your meal doesn't need the extra dehydration or rehydration that is necessary for the protein alone. As I progress along in my experimentation, I've found drying elements separately can be beneficial. Reworking regular meals into camping meals has been a learning experience I enjoy. I want meals to be nutritious, delicious and safe to eat. Meals are vacuum sealed and placed into the freezer till trip time. They then have to last up to 10 days in my barrel for a trip.

To the OP...zatarains rice contains spices & veggies that are already dehydrated. Why not dehydrate proteins separately to go along with it and make the rice mix as is in camp? Simmer, turn off the heat & cover, let sit. Simmer again.

quote ManBehindThePlan: "How about a different method of cooking? I brown my beef in boiling water, instead of frying it. It looks like a pot of sick before it cooks, but you end up with uniform, fine pieces afterwards (think Taco Bell).


Then, into the dehydrator to create the gravel. It does rehydrate well, although not much fatty flavor, as expected.


I have taken to rinsing my ground-beef jerky under hot water after drying to increase the shelf life."

Ever think about adding some of the instant beef gravy to the gravel? It help bring some of that "fatty" flavor back.

quote HammerII: "Ever think about adding some of the instant beef gravy to the gravel? It help bring some of that "fatty" flavor back.
"

Now that's a tip - _'ll take you up on that one!

Plus, it probably adds back some salt - another flavor enhancer.

Hmm - maybe some MSG would help too...

quote ManBehindThePlan: "

quote HammerII: "Ever think about adding some of the instant beef gravy to the gravel? It help bring some of that "fatty" flavor back.
"

Now that's a tip - _'ll take you up on that one!


Plus, it probably adds back some salt - another flavor enhancer.


Hmm - maybe some MSG would help too..."

I hear my cardiologist calling......