Im so excited....I finally found a used one on Craigslist. I pick it up on Friday.

Woo!

Have fun!

NO kidding? Have wanted to get one for quite some time, friends use that one and LOVE it. Lucky you, hope ya got a sweet deal on it.

About 45% off retail. I'm a little nervous because I haven't seen it yet, but there were lots of pictures. It's just the economy 4-tray model with an adjustable thermostat but no timer. I can add a timer on if I really need it. There are some around here somewhere.

I should have gotten her down lower than 50% off but she said someone else was interested...hope she wasn't lying.

I'm sure I won't care once I start using it. I have two of the world's crappiest dehydrators right now. They both run too hot and there's just the one temp: too hot. And they are round...I think I will like the square trays so much better.

Soon to be seen on Madison Craigslist: two crappy round dehydrators. But hey...it'll be a deal. :)

Good job, Nola! Let us know what you think of it.

You are going to LOVE it Nola! the quality is so good and the mechanics are so simle I am sure youare getting a good deal!

I have the big one - lots of trays- but I almost never use more than the 4 trays. The timer isn't really necessary.

Ah, Good dehydrating times ahead for you! Enjoy!
We have found it to be a blast to dehydrate tons of stuff since upgrading to a larger model last christmas.

Hey Nola, great find on the Excalibur! I've been using a borrowed round Mr Coffee one for the past several months and my wife & kids picked up a convection only dehydrator at a garage sale in June.... If your round crappy ones have a fan I'd probably be interested in one. Will be passing thru Madison on Sunday, then again on Tuesday while to/from Devils Lake.

I'm using it right now. Drying cherry tomatoes. Good times.

quote nojobro: "I'm using it right now. Drying cherry tomatoes. Good times. "

Lucky you. We were in the bw last month for close to 2 weeks. When we came back, it hadn't rained once and temps in the high 90's. All my tomato plants died 48 of them......Hell, my whole damn garden died.
Ran out to Fleet Farm and bought what they had left, hope I get something before the season ends.

I especially like them little cherry maters. Luckily I still have quite a few dehydrated from last year.

Curious, what do you do with yours after you dehydrate them? How do you store them?

I have never dried them before! What do you do? I was thinking I would put them in pint jars and vacuum seal. I have a vacuum sealer with a jar attachment. That is....if I can find it. I'm not sure what I'll do with them. Pizza, recipes that use sun dried tomatoes....I will see if my husband likes them for a snack. I only like cooked tomatoes so I doubt that I will. Also, I read about someone drying them extra well and then grinding them up in a food processor, and storing that, and then making tomato paste by adding water until you get the consistency you want. I want to try that. .

I'm sorry about your garden. Very sad. :(

That foodsaver canning jar sucker thing is what I was going to mention. A buddy turned me onto that a while back. What an awesome accessory. I used to use the foodsaver bags. Expensive, once open you have to reseal provided you have enough bag left to do it and they always got small holes in them from being shuffled around.

I use either quart or 1/2 gallon jars for storing everything. Dried tomatoes, peppers, wild shrooms, whole herbs heck, anything that I can dry from the garden. Perfect for making refrigerator dill pickles too.

Back to the the tomatoes. The last batch I cut in half and dusted each slice with Kosher salt and equal parts of Thyme and Oregano (not too much, just enough to impart their flavor ) then into the dehydrator. Rehydrate in olive oil and use on pizza or any pasta dish.

And yes, you can grind them up and add to sauce to thicken it or make your own paste.

Thanks, meat hunter.

Wow, is this thing ever a pleasure to use! Checking trays and turning them around if needed is just so easy compared to the round kind. It's nice and quiet. But I can alread tell...the four tray is just too small for me. LOL

I will keep checking craigslist. :)

I'm jealous! Drying blueberries in my round dehydrator. Taking forever! You got me thinking I need a new one!

It's perhaps not any faster, but just sliding out a tray to check it rather than taking the lid off, taking off each tray, finding a place to set checked trays.....

I've been using the dehydrator almost constantly since I got it. LOL. Right now, I'm making croutons and Melba toasts from homemade bread that was going stale. I have a quart jar full of cherry tomatoes already. Dried some herbs. Did Melba toasts one other time, too. Mostly I've been doing cherry tomatoes. I've decided it's better to remove their seeds before dehydrating them. It takes far less time and I think the end result is better, too.

Just used my 9 tray yesterday. Had 8 trays full of 9 lbs of flank steak marinade over night in my favorite marinade and sliced for jerky. Couldn't keep from eating all the little pieces when suck bagging for my trip in September. Looking forward to lunches in BWCA in Sept. Dehydrator worked great. Also have dehydrated fettuccine Alfredo with chicken, dried chicken, Alfredo sauce, noodles, served with instant mashed potatoes, stuffing, dried corn and turkey gravy. Also dried spaghetti sauce with ground beef and noodles. One more dried meal for the trip, home made sloppy joes dried, served in pita bread. One meal of fish and that's my 5 day trip supper menu. Can't wait. I love my dehydrator.

canoepaddle

quote canoepaddle: "Just used my 9 tray yesterday. Had 8 trays full of 9 lbs of flank steak marinade over night in my favorite marinade and sliced for jerky. Couldn't keep from eating all the little pieces when suck bagging for my trip in September. Looking forward to lunches in BWCA in Sept. Dehydrator worked great. Also have dehydrated fettuccine Alfredo with chicken, dried chicken, Alfredo sauce, noodles, served with instant mashed potatoes, stuffing, dried corn and turkey gravy. Also dried spaghetti sauce with ground beef and noodles. One more dried meal for the trip, home made sloppy joes dried, served in pita bread. One meal of fish and that's my 5 day trip supper menu. Can't wait. I love my dehydrator.


canoepaddle"

Yum!

quote canoepaddle: "Just used my 9 tray yesterday. Had 8 trays full of 9 lbs of flank steak marinade over night in my favorite marinade and sliced for jerky. Couldn't keep from eating all the little pieces when suck bagging for my trip in September.

canoepaddle"

What is your secret for your favorite marinade?

Not much of a secret but one I've found to be my favorite. I found it on allrecipes.com
8-10 LBS boneless venison or beef steak
2 cups soy sauce
2 cups Worcestershire sauce
1 cup liquid smoke flavoring
1/2 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons pepper (I like a little more)
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon salt.

I usually make half the marinade and put in half the meat cut in 1/8 to 1/4 inch slices in a gallon freezer zip lock and then make the other half with the rest of the meet in another gallon freezer zip lock. Marinade overnight and then put in my excalibur dehydrator. This last batch was over 9 LBS of sliced steak and it fit on 8 of my dehydrator trays.

canoepaddle