Everthing You Need to Know About Nesco Dehydrators

Monday, February 16, 2009

Nesco Clean-a-Screen for Dehydrator Item# 168605, Model# LM-2-6

Screen flexes to remove sticky fruits and jerky quickly and easily. Herbs and spices wont fall through tray spokes. Includes 2 screens. Dishwasher safe. U.S.A.


Beef jerky is one of the most preferred American foods but sometimes buying this in the local grocery store can be quite costly. There are also risks in buying commercially and artificially prepared beef jerky products because of their rich preservative and chemical contents, which are proven to be harmful to the human body.

So what can we do to remedy the cost as well as the content problem of beef jerky products found in the grocery? The answer is simple, don't buy them. Instead, make your own beef jerky in the comforts of your kitchen. The process is pretty simple once you get the hang of it. Today, you will be able to learn the proper way of making your very own home made beef jerky. We'll teach you how.

How Is It Done

The most basic ingredient is obviously the meat. You can choose from a wide variety of meat choices like lamb, pork, but the most common and original choice is the beef meat. You should choose a cut of meat that will save you more time in preparation. Some of the choice cuts are mostly the lean cut portions such as sirloin, top round, eye round, and a few others more. Lean cuts are basically the meat portions with the least fat content. If you are quite unsure which part of the meat to choose, you can always ask the help of the butcher or the attendant.

The next step in the preparation process is the slicing of thin meat strips. There are some butchers who will do this freely for you - all you have to do is ask. There are actually two ways of slicing the meat. One is by following the thread lines of the meat and the other one is by slicing across the thread lines. You must trim any fat included in the meat because the fat contents will not dry out. If you do not do this, the beef jerky won't taste as good. If you are having problems slicing the soft meat, you can always refrigerate it for about thirty minutes prior to slicing. This process freezes the meat a little, making the slicing process a bit easier.

Now that you have prepared the meat slices, you can start marinating it. The most common recipe for marinating is the mixture of cider vinegar and rock sea salt. There are also other recipes you can use in marinating your beef jerky. The whole idea here is to allow the meat to absorb the flavor of the marinade.

If you want your beef jerky a bit stickier, you can put the soaked meat inside the refrigerator in about four up to twenty four hours. If otherwise, just lay it down on the kitchen table where air circulates constantly. After soaking, you can now coat the meat with a variety of seasonings you like.

The final step in the preparation of beef jerky is the dehydration process. You can either use a dehydrator or an oven for this. You must make sure that you lay down your meat in an orderly manner so that you can avoid any meat touching one other. When you're using the oven, you should preheat it first and then set the temperature to 150 degrees Fahrenheit, that's about 65 degrees Celsius.

The dehydration process allows the meat moisture to evaporate gradually. This may take about six to twelve hours, depending on the temperature, the level of humidity, and the thickness of your meat slices. You should regularly check the jerky slices if it's dry enough to your preference, but not too dry. To ensure that it is not raw, you may need to cut into it. The final color of each beef jerky must turn into deep brown or burgundy.

When all of the beef jerky slices are ready, you can place them inside plastic bags and store them in the freezer or refrigerator. You can then enjoy your home made beef jerky after a week.

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