Since so many seem to dehydrate your own "MRE"s would you mind sharing your technique

[ladyhk13]

In my search for advice on what kind of prepping things I could put on my Christmas list for my DH to get me, the concensus seemed to be a dehydrator. Many of you say you couldn't live without it and use it to make everything from jerkey to MRE's.
Well I did put it on my list but even if we just end up buying it after Christmas I was awed at the amount of things everyone uses it for and thought it would be great if all of you could put your techniques down for me to cut and paste onto a document to make a little recipe book for myself (all of you would benefit as well) to learn what to do with the thing. I am especially interested in the meals, how wonderful that would be to make!
I tried scrambled eggs once on my mom's old dehydrator and they came out yukky....something I really wanted to make. Maybe someone has a good way to do them?
I look forward to all the wonderful foods you guys make for your preps.

[TroubleShooter]

I tried scrambled eggs once on my mom's old dehydrator and they came out yukky....something I really wanted to make. Maybe someone has a good way to do them?

Scrambled eggs is the process for making dried egg powder.....You scramble and cook your eggs, then dehydrate, then grind them up into powder.....Then you use the powder to cook with


How to Make Powdered Eggs | eHow.com

Link on E-how

Powdered eggs are not only easy to make from home, they can also be used in many different recipes. Having them handy can also save time if you are baking in a hurry. Follow these simple steps to making your own powdered eggs

[ladyhk13]

Scrambled eggs is the process for making dried egg powder.....You scramble and cook your eggs, then dehydrate, then grind them up into powder.....Then you use the powder to cook with


How to Make Powdered Eggs | eHow.com

Link on E-how

Troubleshooter that is a wonderful site not only how to powder them (even though it's not in a dehydrator) but instructions how to reconstitute and cook with them! Thank you so much and I am going to put this on my very first page of my "prepping" dehydrating food cookbook collection. How wonderful to start off with this one!!! Thank you again.

[izzyscout21]

Ah....... powdered eggs......takes me back

[TroubleShooter]

(even though it's not in a dehydrator) .

I do most my drying and making jerky with the oven , I have a 8 tray dehydrator , just don't use it ...........The oven has more capacity, in winter the heat does double duty(I leave it cracked open to allow moisture out), Most food is dried by morning instead of days, I can keep temp more regulated around 170F to kill most food borne bacteria...Clean up is easier , Depending on your situtation I would look around for cheap stove and modify it for drying food....That is my plan.......You can buy drying racks, I get mine from basspro.............I just hang jerky from toothpicks over a drippan or aluminum foil lined in the bottom.....

Of course the wife doesn't mind too much, But I have been on the receiving end of her finding a intake mainfold in her dishwasher.........

My main reason for using oven, such a small thing to do.....when done drying, just close door turn heat up and the Spores are destroyed after about 6mins...........Key word is spores, toxins will be killed around 185F making it safe to eat...........But in my opinion killing the spores prior to storage is the way to go......Right or wrong, who knows??

When home canning, use a pressure cooker that can reach temperatures adequate to kill botulism spores. Preserved food should be heated above 248 degrees Fahrenheit (120 degrees Centigrade) for at least 5 minutes during the canning process. Some foods, such as jams and jellies, do not require a pressure cooker because their high sugar level makes it difficult for Clostridium botulinum bacteria to grow.

[mollypup]

Try and buy an EXCALIBUR dehydrator. They cost a little bit more but are sooooooo worth it! I've had mine for about 2+ years now and have dehydrated many, many pounds of veggies and fruits. I can't believe you don't already have a dehydrator ladyhk13! lol! It has been used by far for the bulk of my food preservation supplies. I have stored a lot of water to use to rehydrate all that previously dehydrated food. I've canned a lot too, but using the dehydrator is so much easier and it's simply amazing how much you can dehydrate in one full load. There's loads of "how to" videos on U-tube. My favorite and the one I learned how to dehydrate from was this series of videos: How to dehydrate and store food PART 1 - YouTube

I must have watched them all at least 3 times now. She's very good at explaining it all and got me into dehydrating. I use the type of dehydrator she uses and love it.

[Sniper-T]

You can dehydrate anything that you would normally make to eat. Whenever possible, I just make extra of whatever and dehydrate what's left over after our lunches are packed.

So, for instance, One day I made lasagne... with meat, cheese, veggies, in a tomato sauce over homemade pasta. I cook the meat first, and drain it VERY well, make the pasta, and give it just a quick boil to keep it together, layer my lasagne and then bake it until done.

I'll blot the oil, and let it cool a bit, and then dice the whole pan up into bite size pieces. Then I put them onto the fruit rollup trays and dehydrate at about 150 degrees.

lasagne:



and some more:



lasagne: (almost done)



like anything else for long term storage, I dehydrate it until it is dry dry dry. Crumble everything except the noodles up and fill bags.

It is the same procedure for everything else too. as long as you cook it first, you're killing anything that might harm you or spoil the food.

I follow the same procedure for other meals, like:
Beef stroghanoff
chili
turkey pot pie (without the crust)
chicken pot pie
spaghetti sauce (with meat and or cheese)
etc

[izzyscout21]

how do those taste after you reconstitute them?

[Sniper-T]

We tried the taste test on some friends, and they couldn't taste the difference between some freshly made vs year old off the shelf. Even the pasta rehydrates beautifully.

I really prefer fresh pasta over the store bought stuff (catelli, etc). and have found that my own homemade, and dehydrated re-hydrates excellent on it's own, So whenever I make a batch of pasta for something, I make a huge batch, and dry a bunch for the cannisters, and I'll freeze a bunch of dough cubes. (like a standard dough ball, but I shape them into cubes for better freezer utilization).

this way, when my wife calls and says she's bringing someone home for dinner, I can thaw it out quick, and whip up a fresh pasta meal. without the muss, fuss, or flour all over the place
lol

here's a shot of some dried pasta, and a pile of cheese:

[/quote]

I ground up the cheese, and used it to shake over top like a parmessian.

I've also done the same with my own smoked cheeses (cheddar, mozza, swiss)

[Sniper-T]

Since I posted the pic of the cheese, I may as well get into that technique too, since it is a little more involved than anything else.

When you cook with cheese, like on a lasagne... the oil cooks out, and puddles on top. I blot this off a couple times while it is cooking, and then again when it comes out of the oven for good. This will remove most of the fat from the dish. The rest will end up on the drip tray of the dehydrator within the first couple hours.

but when doing plain cheese, it seems to be too much to evaporate out without taking too long, so this is what I do.

I prefer to dehydrate cheese that has previously been frozen, as it has a lower moisture content (better for smoking too)

shred fairly large, ie, don't use that really fine part of the grater, otherwise it just bunches up and sticks together. Spread a fairly thick layer on each try (3/4") and begin dehydrating at a low-medium heat. The cheese should start 'sweating' but not melting. Once it has a good sweat layer on it (read fat), take it out and place in a shallow bowl with a couple of crumpled up paper towels. toss and shake it around until the paper towels have absorbed all the moisture (refresh towels as necessary).

Place back on the hehydrator and repeat with the other trays... continue to do this about every hour, until the cheese starts to get hard, and has a shiny appearance. Then put a couple of paper towels down, pile the cheese on top, and a couple more towels on top. pat down hard, press firmly, mix it around, and continue to do this until the shinyness is now a dull gloss. put back on the dehydrator, and let it go for a couple more hours. dump into a large tupperware with a lid, toss in a few crumpled paper towels, and shake the stuffing out of it.

The shiny/gloss finish should be gone, and replaced with a dull matte.

test a couple pcs, ensure that they are brittle dry, should shatter when hit with something hard. and your cheese is now ready for long term storage

Cheese in this manner, will NOT melt in the microwave. It will not melt on it's own in the oven. But if you mix it into a sauce, or spread it out on top of spaghetti sauce and wait a couple minutes, it is ooey gooey good!

I'm fairly new to doing cheese, and after x-mas, my wife will be testing a package that will have hit the 1 year mark, sitting on the shelf. (9 month test passed with flying colours)