Best Dehydrators For Jerky

Dehydrating is an effective form of preserving food. If you plan on trying an alternative to the store bought preserved foods, then you can do that at your home. Dehydrators come in handy when you have an abundance of homegrown produce, or you want to dehydrate jerky. Nowadays, electric dehydrators are the most popular form of dehydrators as they can provide proper air circulation and maintain the temperature, making the dehydration of foods nearly perfect.

If you are looking for dehydrators for your jerky, here are the five best dehydrators that are readily available on Amazon:

At a Glance

NESCO Gardenmaster Pro Dehydrator

  • It has a quiet motor.
  • The temperature settings can be customized.

Nesco FD-75A Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator

  • Can be easily stored in a cabinet.
  • It comes with a lot of accessories.
  • It is affordable.

Tribest SDE-S6780-B Sedona Express Dehydrator:

  • Helps to prevent overcooking
  • It operates quietly

COSORI Premium Food Dehydrator Machine

  • Made up of food-grade stainless steel.
  • Comes with six stainless steel trays that are free from BPA.

Excalibur Electric Food Dehydrator

  • Provides a lot of surface area
  • Can also be used to proof dough

NESCO Gardenmaster Pro Dehydrator

This 1000 watt dehydrator comes with eight trays. However, a total of 30 trays can be added to provide more space for dehydrating. It features a digital temperature control panel and offers temperatures of 90 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. The package also includes eight roll-up sheets, eight screens, a spice packet for jerky and one recipe book.

Pros

  • This product has a digital panel that is easy to use.
  • It has a quiet motor.
  • The temperature settings can be customized.

Cons

  • It is costly.

Nesco FD-75A Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator

This dehydrator is perfect if you are using it for yourself or your family. It can easily handle medium batches of food. Although this model has five trays, it has a capacity for up to 12 trays. It features an adjustable temperature control setting, and the heat is evenly distributed throughout the dehydrator.

Pros

  • It can be easily stored in a cabinet.
  • It has an opaque exterior which makes the dehydration process more efficient.
  • It comes with a lot of accessories.
  • It is affordable.

Cons

  • It has to be turned off manually.
  • It does not have a timer.

Tribest SDE-S6780-B Sedona Express Dehydrator

This professional-level dehydrator comes with 11 stainless steel trays containing a lot of food for even dehydration. This dehydrator features an adjustable temperature ranging from 77 to 167 degrees Fahrenheit. Since it has a glass door, the contents are visible. This product offers many different modes for your dehydration.

Pros

  • It has a ten-year warranty.
  • It helps to prevent overcooking by reducing the temperature when a high temperature is attained.
  • It operates quietly.

Cons

  • It was a bit expensive.

COSORI Premium Food Dehydrator Machine

COSORI’s dehydrator comes with a glass door that helps you look inside the product while your food is dehydrated. This product can be controlled with the help of a temperature controller where the temperature can be varied from 95 to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. This product has an inbuilt timer for up to 48 hours, and it is quite efficient because of its auto-shutoff feature.

Pros

  • It operates very quietly.
  • It is made up of food-grade stainless steel.
  • It comes with six stainless steel trays that are free from BPA.

Cons

  • It is pretty expensive.

Excalibur Electric Food Dehydrator

This is by far the giant dehydrator. It has two exterior colours: black and white. It provides nine large trays that span a total area of 15 square feet. The trays also have a non-stick sheet fitted with them. However, you can use different types of sheets for other purposes. The timer works for a total time of 26 hours. The temperature can be regulated from 105 to 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pros

  • It is straightforward to clean.
  • It provides a lot of surface area to hold a lot of food for dehydrating.
  • It can also be used to proof dough.

Cons

  • This product has a large footprint.

Things To Consider While Buying A Dehydrator For Jerky

Certain specific features make a dehydrator a good quality product. Depending on your requirement, you should look out for certain features before making your purchase. These features will not only make your job easy but also will make the dehydrating process very efficient. Here are the features that you might want to consider before buying a dehydrator:

Airflow: Checking the airflow of your product is essential. There are two types of airflow present in a dehydrator: horizontal and vertical. A flat airflow model has an added advantage over the vertical airflow model. It helps to preserve the flavour of different food that is being dehydrated together. Moreover, the vertical airflow models are challenging to clean. So a better choice will be a horizontal airflow model.

The capacity of the model: Dehydrating can take a lot of time. So it is essential to be able to drain large batches of food to save time as well as make the process economical. However, if you have a small kitchen, then you can go for a small-capacity model.

Temperature range: An optimum temperature range varies from anywhere between 70 degrees to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. This high temperature will ensure that you can dehydrate a wide variety of food, including jerky. Buying a dehydrator for your jerky can be difficult. However, the above five products are of the best quality, and you can buy any of them depending on your requirement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: How long does jerky take in a dehydrator?
Answer: Beef jerky can take around 5 to 15 hours to dehydrate in a dehydrator. It depends on the variety of meat you are using. The time also varies among different meat types. For example, a chicken can take anywhere between 6 to 8 hours.

Question: Is a dehydrator good for jerky?
Answer: A dehydrator can be one of the best pieces of equipment that you can get if you love eating homemade jerky. It efficiently dehydrates the jerky, making it like store style.

Question: Can you leave jerky in the dehydrator too long?
Answer: Depending on the texture of the jerky that you want, you can leave the jerky inside the dehydrator. While moist jerky is easier and tastier to eat, dry jerky is more long-lasting

Bottom Line

Buying a dehydrator for your jerky can be difficult. However, the above five products are of the best quality, and you can buy any of them depending on your requirement.