The dehydrator fits perfectly on top and this little table fit perfectly into a small space by our back door where there was also an outlet. And the amazing part is that we tested out if we could have the dehydrator and the microwave on at the same time and we could! Doesn't work with the toaster and microwave-- old circuits don't like that combo!
THIS is the dehydrator I got from Amazon: (Excalibur)
I wanted to be able to make my own beef jerkey from good (grass-fed) beef and without preservatives and soy sauce. That way I could limit the amount of sugars and salts in it as well and just be able to make smaller batches as needed. So I am experimenting today.
I got a lovely 2 pound London Broil from Winterport Farms at the Farmer's Market last weekend. I am only using half of it to start with as my first experiment. So I sliced it very thin, then made my marinade, got the meat all juicy with marinade... (easy peasy: coconut aminos, maple syrup, salt, pepper, a little garlic and onion powders based on THIS recipe.)
then into a ziploc bag and into the fridge overnight. I will start the dehydrating part in the morning.
Meanwhile I started in on the apricots from our tree. I soaked them
in a citric acid-water bath (so they hopefully won't get too brown)
before putting them into the dehydrator...
On the dehydrator rack. Just making one rack to start with so I can see how they do overnight... lots more apricots to follow!
Tomorrow I will be adding the some pineapple and maybe an apple to the fruit trays, then when they are done, up the temp to 165 for the beef jerky. The nice thing about this dehydrator is that there are two controls: one for temperature and one a timer. AND it is square with top air flow from the back so all rows dry evenly. My funky old one was on-off and air from the bottom so you constantly had to change the rows around and there wasn't as much surface area since it had a big hole in the center. This one has already won me over!
Now that I am retired I have plans to do a lot more homemade foods and really focus on healthy eating. I usually eat pretty well anyway but now I have no excuses! And it's fun anyway... sort of Little House on the Prairie meets City Life. Without the dresses!
So you found a spare 24 square inches in your kitchen to put a little stand? I'll be curious to see how the apricots turn out. Used to love them. Good luck with it all.
ReplyDeleteActually it is not technically IN the kitchen, it is to the side... but now we have decided to try to use it outside on these hot summer days since it heated up the whole kitchen area terribly! Made nice beef jerky and dried fruits though!
Delete