My dehydrator just arrived

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Yay! I have not even unpacked it yet and I'm making a list of yummies for my doodles: sweet potatoes, chicken jerky, bananas, apples... What else do you dehydrate? I'm sure there is a recipe book in the box, but I just wanted to check with our DK dehydrator experts.

As for the jerky, some say pre-cook the meat and some say don't. Which way do you prefer?

I used to buy duck jerky for Monty at Costco until I realized it was made in China. He loved it. I hope my home-made jerky will taste so much better to him. I know it will be healthier!

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

I made chicken jerky and Monty loved it. I'm making beef jerky for the second time as we speak. It has been in the dehydrator since yesterday and it's almost done. I've got pics of Auggie on my page. Yes, he is getting bigger.

[Hazel & Chester Wayte]

I made the Chicken strips- as per your directions. Chester and his buddies loved them. Thanks for the tips..Now that the humidity has broken I will bring the dehydrator out more..

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

A dehydrator is definitely on my list when I get the new puppy.  I think they are fantastic and to know that the treats are totally safe is the best thing of all.

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Exactly! Monty could eat the beef jerky all at once. I will need to buy more meat again and dry it. And I guess I should buy more trays for the dehydrator so that I can do double batches at one time. The last batch is almost gone. Monty is a picky eater so I just break a couple of these treats into smaller pieces and mix them with Monty's food. He loves it. It just seems that the beef took a long time to dry, I had it in the dehydrator for over a day. But I think it was because there was some fat in between. I just wanted to make sure the fat is gone so the jerky is a bit crunchy.

[Sue & Lily Grace]

Jarka, I a still sitting on the edge and have not yet bought the dehydrator.  How many trays do you have and how much meet are you doing at once?  I have to make the leap soon or I am not going to have training treats.

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Sue, the dehydrator came with 4 trays, but you can use up to 8 trays at once. The last time I just bought some beef steaks at Sam's Club, I don't even remember what they were. There were maybe 8 slices and I tried to still slice them a bit thinner by hand. Then I cut them into 1-2 inch wide pieces. They filled up all 4 trays. But like I said, there was a bit of fat in the meat, so next time I'm going to buy a regular roast and have the butcher slice it into 1/4 inch slices. I think roast will have less fat so the drying time will be faster.

[Sue & Lily Grace]

I think that you helped me make up my mind to get the one with more trays.  Thanks

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I've saved this discussion. I would love to someday have a dehydrator. Even for some of my own foods besides dog treats. I want to start making my own yogurt too.  Mom used to make it and I hated the looks back then, but now I would love to make up a batch each week.  Put fruit in it for me and give the rest to Spud

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It would be wonderful for making your own dried fruit, and so much cheaper!

[Tante & Jordan & now Annie!]

I've been making Jordan's treats for ages with our dehydrator. You will use it more for the dogs then your self :) Sweet Potatoes are Jordan's favorite

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

I don't think I will be making sweet potatoes anymore. Monty is not too excited about them (knows I've got something better) and Auggie would eat anything, but they come out in pieces in their poop. I received the additional trays for the dehydrator so now I'm at the maximum of 8 trays. All the meat (sliced roast and some thinly cut strip steak) fit nicely so now the boys have a bag of jerky. They love it! I'll have to make sure my DH is not stealing any from the bag...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That looks wonderful! I love beef jerky!

If you want to give the sweet potatoes one more try, can you cut them into "fries"?

JD cannot have anything except plain chicken or sweet potatoes, so finding any kind of treat for him has been challenging. I had bought a bag of Sam's Yams "fries" and he loved them and did fine with them. I then bought a bag of Sam's yams big dehydrated sweet potato slices; he had one, and woke me that night vomiting. It was all hunks of sweet potatoes, and what didn't come up came out the other end the next morning. The moral to the story is, it was simply too much plant fiber for him to process at one time. So if there's a way to cut the sweet potatoes into crinkle cut fries before dehydrating them, that might help.