# I'm not good at this dehydrating thing. :(



## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

I'm disappointed. So far I've dehydrated sweet potato and beef liver, and I can't tell when they're all finished. The smaller/thinner pieces are of course finished faster than the larger/thicker pieces. I get that. The beef livers were still a bit spongy when I stopped them, but I just thought for sure they must be done. I know now--they weren't.


----------



## jan896 (Dec 9, 2009)

it takes practice.... but hang in there..... the doggies will appreciate it....


----------



## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

Thanks for the vote of confidence! Oh, the dogs are loving them and don't care it they're spongy. lol I tend to be one of the people that doesn't do well without 1..2..3 instructions and know exactly how to do something and exactly how it should look when it's finished.


----------



## jan896 (Dec 9, 2009)

I went thru the same things you are now going thru when I got my dehydrator.... but after using it once a week for their 'treats', I found what works and doesn't work... for me and the doggies... Last week I did Bananas.... doggies weren't crazy about them but I was


----------



## Jayda (Jun 15, 2012)

I'm trying my dehydrator for the first time today. This morning, I made jerky with ground beef adding the seasoning that came with the dehydrator and using the little "gun" to pump it into strips. Fur kids got grass fed, free range lean ground beef!!!!!! It is drying right now and it sure smells good. They give a range of 6-14 hours. I can see how your frustrated. I'm hoping it will be around 10 hours or I'll be getting up in the middle of the night to check on it. I bought sweet potatoes too....going to try those next. I have bought sweet potato chews before and my crew loves them.


----------



## Jayda (Jun 15, 2012)

Here's our process so far....

Getting ready! Prince and Sapphire giving their approval.



Sapphire checking out the raw jerky (before drying)



Pumping it out!


----------



## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

Looks great!! I want to try that too. I let you be the guinea pig for the jerky! Hahaha. Don't worry about one thing...if the pups love sweet potatoes, even if you don't feel like it's "quite right" the first time, they will love them anyway, and you can keep trying. Trust me!! LOL

Jan made me feel better about persevering.


----------



## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

The next thing I think I'm going to try is some stew meat. There was a way to cook that in the book.


----------



## jan896 (Dec 9, 2009)

the key is to try and get the strips the same thickness.... I will sometimes buy ordinary Chicken breasts.... cut them in widths I want, then take a meat Tenderizer and pound them until they are all the same thickness...... they will cook the same then...
























.


----------



## Jayda (Jun 15, 2012)

I just checked my jerky, I think it will be done in a couple hours. I can't believe how good it smells. I want to try some of the recipies that require you to roll out the dough and use the cute little bone shaped cookie cutters. I feel some Christmas presents coming on for my dog owning friends.


----------



## Jayda (Jun 15, 2012)

jan896 said:


> the key is to try and get the strips the same thickness.... I will sometimes buy ordinary Chicken breasts.... cut them in widths I want, then take a meat Tenderizer and pound them until they are all the same thickness...... they will cook the same then...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

I ruined a fair bit of food when I started too! The trick is making sure things are a consistent thickness and experimenting a lot. With the organ meats for the dogs if something goes wrong you can always stick the not done ones in the freezer and feed them as frozen treats so they don't go to waste.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Jayda (Jun 15, 2012)

Here's our jerky on the back end....took right at 6 hours. The manual said humidity could effect drying times. I left the dehydrator in the house. I had thought about putting it on the screen porch but SC is very humid this time of year.



Taste tested and approved! All three loved it!


----------



## Jayda (Jun 15, 2012)

LULU's mom- How long did your sweet potatoes take?


----------



## Jayda (Jun 15, 2012)

doginthedesert said:


> I ruined a fair bit of food when I started too! The trick is making sure things are a consistent thickness and experimenting a lot. With the organ meats for the dogs if something goes wrong you can always stick the not done ones in the freezer and feed them as frozen treats so they don't go to waste.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Great idea about putting the "not done" ones in the freezer!


----------



## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

I really don't know because I left them dehydrating for like 6 hours, and they were done! Some of the small ones were sweet potato chips. lol I didn't check in between turning it on and finally stopping it. I think if I had they would have been done earlier.


----------



## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

Your jerky looks fantastic!!! I can't wait to try that.  More than that I bet Lulu will be thrilled!


----------



## jan896 (Dec 9, 2009)

ohhh... I like that jerky.... looks GREAT.... I have the Jerkygun "somewhere" around here but never tried it.... I certainly will try after seeing those pics....... WELL DONE!!


----------



## Jayda (Jun 15, 2012)

Tried sweet potatoes tonight, I took half them out early (about 3 1/2 hours). The bigger, thicker ones took about 4 1/2 hours. They love them. I don't see myself buying treats again. Chicken breast is next.....after we get through the jerky.


----------



## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

Oh, I like how you did peeling and all! I never thought about that, and I cut long ways which made for a lot more uneven, smaller pieces. Your's look way better! I'm gonna try your way next.  You are right about seriously cutting down or stopping buying treats, but I did just buy the dogs some Himalayan dog chews I've been dying to try.


----------



## Jayda (Jun 15, 2012)

lulu'smom said:


> Oh, I like how you did peeling and all! I never thought about that, and I cut long ways which made for a lot more uneven, smaller pieces. Your's look way better! I'm gonna try your way next.  You are right about seriously cutting down or stopping buying treats, but I did just buy the dogs some Himalayan dog chews I've been dying to try.


I sliced them very thin, probably under a quarter of an inch. I dried them to the point of still being a little pliable. I didn't want them super crispy. Hopefully, I dried them enough. I didn't see any moisture when I break/tear them. Do you know if you wash the plastic trays on the dishwasher? I'm lazy!!!!


----------



## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

If you use the dishwasher, take them out before the drying cycle.

Haha! You're not as lazy as me. I didn't even wash mine after the sweet potatoes. There wasn't anything on them, but I did wash after the beef livers.


----------



## None505 (Jan 10, 2013)

I tried dehydrating liver but it never got hard so I trashed it but after reading through this thread and seeing everyone's creations i think I will try dehydrating again.


----------

