# Does anyone know how a professional meat dehydrator works?



## theswede (Jul 12, 2014)

Hi, I'm new here and I've read a good deal of nice advices on the forum, thanks!

I'm playing with the idea of making jerky on a larger scale. So about the oven, how does it heat? Is it with fans, or heat elements similar to a regular oven? Anyone got any first hand experience?


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## theswede (Jul 12, 2014)

After some research I found that Excalibur uses a heating element and fans as depicted in this photo:

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__ theswede
__ Jul 12, 2014






So for a bigger tray you'll need two fans next to each other. and multiple fans if your oven is big. One big fan 2m diameter might be a bit hefty 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Any other design ideas?


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## rob sicc (Jul 22, 2014)

Hi,

I've been making jerky for years and the number of friend I have usually increases when words gets out that I mad a batch. I've been told I should sell it at farmers markets but that's to much work.  lol

I have made as much as 20-30 pounds in one batch.  to be specific, there are normally 3 or 4 different recipes but I can dehydrate them all in one bacth.

When you say professional dehydrator how many pounds of meat are you thinking of dehydrating?

I used the blackndecker models when I first started out.  They were terrible.  They took 3 -4 times as long and they didn't hold much.

Here is a link to the unit I have.

http://www.meatprocessingproducts.com/negaprodefd.html?gclid=CKa85Yma2b8CFUNgMgodt2gAZQ

My unit came with 4 trays and is expandable to 20.  I believe I have 20 trays and have never filled them all.  My unit is electric and works with a fan and a heat element.  It has a thermostat that adjust from 95 degrees up to 155 (or 160 can't remember) degrees.  What I do is shift the trays around every hour or 2.  Some trays will finish cooking before others.  you have to monitor it.  I could recommend this unit more.  It's 20 years old and still works great.

I hope this helps.  please feel free to ask anything you like if you have more questions.

You will love your jerky.

Good luck,

Rob


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## rob sicc (Jul 22, 2014)

Hi,

I've been making jerky for years and the number of friend I have usually increases when words gets out that I mad a batch. I've been told I should sell it at farmers markets but thats to much work.  lol

I have made as much as 20-30 pounds in one batch.  to be specific, there are normally 3 or 4 different recipes but I can dehydrate them all in one bacth.

When you say professional dehydrator how many pounds of meat are you thinking of?

I used the blackndecker models when I first started out.  They were terrible.  They took 3 -4 times as long and they didn't hold much.

Here is a link to the unit I have.

http://www.meatprocessingproducts.com/negaprodefd.html?gclid=CKa85Yma2b8CFUNgMgodt2gAZQ

My unit came with 4 trays and is expnadable to 30.  I believe I have 20 trays and have never filled them all.  My unit is electric and works with a fan and a heat element.  The fan is on the bottom.  It has a themostat that adjust from 95 degrees up to 155 (or 160 can't remember) degrees.  What I do is shift the trays around every hour or 2.  Some trays will finsh cooking before others.  you have to monitor it.  I could recommend this unit more.  It's 20 years old and still works great.

I hope this helps.  please feel free to ask anything you like if you have more questions.

You will love your jerky.

Good luck,

Rob


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## theswede (Jul 22, 2014)

Thanks for the reply! 

I was thinking more like the Excalibur with the trays as the picture down below. Your cylinder-dryer looks good with nice setting for temperature! What I've seen has the excalibur 4 fans on the back and a heat coil running in front of them. I'll try to build something similar! If I only want it to 140F the heat source could come from a simple indoor floor heater.













9-Tray-Excalibur-Food-Dehydrator.jpg



__ theswede
__ Jul 22, 2014


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## jeepdiver (Jul 22, 2014)

IMHO The optimal way to make jerky would be blowing dehydrated cooled air over the meat. Heat changes the texture.  You don't want to cook the meat, you just want to remove the moisture. 

I would cold smoke for flavor then dehydrate it.

Now the food police will jump all over this and I doubt you could do it commercially, but if the meat is cured you really don't want warm moist air going over it, you want cool dry air that will suck all of the moisture from the meat.


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## theswede (Jul 22, 2014)

Yeah,  I would agree. It's a time fact thing I guess.  What you think about drying it cold and then heating it in an oven 270F for 10mins to kill the germs?  I'll experiment.


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## jeepdiver (Jul 22, 2014)

deleted


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## theswede (Jul 22, 2014)

Sweden has a limit of 150mg nitrit/1kg meat that doesn't kill [EDIT: some of the] pathogens, only botulism and some other possible bacteria grows. 

How would you cure it to be safe about e-coli and salmonella? I've red vinegar could be a way, but I'm afraid it will infuse in the flavour.


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## rob sicc (Jul 22, 2014)

OH, I didn't realize you were planning to build a dehydrator.  That is pretty cool.  With that said, the Excalibur style is definitely the way I would go.  Good luck and please post pictures as you build.


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## jeepdiver (Jul 22, 2014)

JeepDiver said:


> If the meat is properly handled and cured you do not have to heat it to a certain temp.


Let me restate this.  The FDA suggest that meat be heated to 160 degrees before dehydrating the meat to make it safe.  This is the only way to make "safe" Jerky.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/co...13aad1e/Jerky_and_Food_Safety.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

Now my opinion which will not produce safe jerky is that meat that has been properly handled,  e-coli and salmonella are a very minor risk.  Of course this is assuming that the place the meat was originally processed it handled it properly and the place that sold it to you handled it properly.

Originally jerky was dried in the sun, and maybe next to the fire.  There are still Forts and Camps out here in the West where they make it this way and use it in the re-enactments.


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## theswede (Jul 22, 2014)

The risk of salmonella and E-coli are small in Swedish meat. And if buying it from a trusted source the risk is minimal. 

Though I rather be safe then sorry, if I go commercial.

What way to you think is best to get it to 160? In my head it's a speedy one, so the cooking process doesn't start. 400F oven for 5min with 5mm slaps of meat?

This is easily tested of course, but always good to hear other opinions.  

Yeah, the Samis here in Sweden have been making jerky for ages. Though it it very tough an they haven't understood the idea of adding spices except salt :)


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## rob sicc (Jul 22, 2014)

Swede,  The dehydrator that I use goes up to 160 on the thermostat.  I've been doing beef and venison only and have never had a problem.  If you can find out the heat element in that unit I think it would work great for your box design since the unit I use can be extended to 30 trays which is about 3 feet high.  It must use a strong heating unit to be able to dry that far away from the source.  Did I make sense?


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## theswede (Jul 23, 2014)

Rob Sicc said:


> Swede,  The dehydrator that I use goes up to 160 on the thermostat.  I've been doing beef and venison only and have never had a problem.  If you can find out the heat element in that unit I think it would work great for your box design since the unit I use can be extended to 30 trays which is about 3 feet high.  It must use a strong heating unit to be able to dry that far away from the source.  Did I make sense?



Yeah I get you.  The inner temperature of the jerky need to be 160F to kill it all. Keeping the heater on 160, the meat,  at least in the higher trays, will have a hard time reaching internal 160 degrees. At least in a quick way.  But this is just morning speculations :) I'll have to try it out when I get back home.


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## rob sicc (Jul 23, 2014)

Your comment goes back to wht I mentioned about how I use my vertical dehydrator.  I switch the rays around as the meat i cooked.  If you did that with your design that might work.  I'm still ery impressed that you are building your own dehydrator.  Very cool.


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## theswede (Jul 23, 2014)

I'll post some updates. It might take time as I need to find the scrap on the way :D


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## theswede (Jul 23, 2014)

Btw, I've been wondering who the beef jerky costumers are? I've never been to the states, so I haven't understood the culture. I imagine it being eaten by a big middle-aged man, drinking beer and going on hunting trips. Am I correct? ;)


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## canadianbacon (Jul 23, 2014)

Have you looked at the big cheif smoker? There cheap and made for jerky, decent size, I have 2 now and have been smoking and drying salmon and fish for 7 years in them, I also cold smoke in them. I would imagin once you buy the racks for making one it would be pretty expensive unless you can find free oven racks, Youll want stainless steel so they last and are easy to clean. Also you need to controlle the temperature so it dosen't cook the meat or you wont have jerky, youll need a thermo probe and probaly a controller. Then make sure you have proper ventilation.


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## theswede (Jul 23, 2014)

A smoker would be awesome. But at the moment I don't have the facilities for it (room mate would go bananas). So a Excalibur-style dehydrator is what I'm making. This is mostly for experimenting with different heat settings, spices, moisture etc.


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## rob sicc (Jul 23, 2014)

Swede,

I have been shocked by people that have eaten my jerky and told me they love jerky.  I think middle aged men are a primary group of people that would by this but my 7 and 10 year old daughters love it as do their friends.  My doctor, a middle age woman told me that she loved beef jerky.  I'ver had almost as many women like it as men.  You will be surprised.


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## canadianbacon (Jul 24, 2014)

Ahh, so you want to make an indoor type of deal. I'm not to sure of how to go about building a dehydrator but.... I you had a square fan at lets say one end of some sort of box for intake and one for outtake and racks inside,  and you have enough air flow you could make jerky by making a good stream of air go through the box. The concept works, I know that. The exact build would have to be worked on because it would depend on fan power and size of box used for drying.

If I had to make one I would use 2 high RPM drum fans and a SS barrel with racks tig welded in or hooks to hang meat.


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## theswede (Jul 24, 2014)

Yeah, I plan putting this and then making a custom metal extension box with trays inside. It'll be small but very controllable...I hope :P













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__ theswede
__ Jul 24, 2014


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## canadianbacon (Jul 24, 2014)

That could work, make sure there's a fan to move the hot air tho ( a metal blade one ), also you will need a temp prob in front of the fan and at the end of the box to make sure it stays under 200. That would most likely have to be attached to a controller to cycle power off and on unless you want to watch it for 8-12 hrs.

I would do... Heater, drum fan, thermo probe, box, another prob at the end of box and another fan for outtake. Keep in mind it would be allot of trial and error since you have no idea what temps the heater puts out.

Have you considerd using a little of big chief smoker with no wood. it would heat it the same way but no smoke, you don't need to put wood in a smoker to dehydrate the meat. The heating element on the bottom will do all the work.


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## superstar3000 (Aug 5, 2014)

TheSwede said:


> Btw, I've been wondering who the beef jerky costumers are? I've never been to the states, so I haven't understood the culture. I imagine it being eaten by a big middle-aged man, drinking beer and going on hunting trips. Am I correct? ;)


Hi, Swede:

This is my first post on this fascinating forum (I have only started making jerky tonight - keeping a close eye on the dehydrator, as I don't want to screw up the first batch).

To answer your question about who the buyers of beef jerky are:  In the USA, there are many companies selling pre-packaged jerky (primarily in convenience stores, liquor stores, and gas stations - as the product is considered a quick and convenient snack food).

The buyers of jerky in this form, are predominately male.  The ground and highly spiced jerky (which tends to be lower-priced) is extremely popular with teen-agers.

Jerky is also gaining huge market share with the middle-aged guys, who are concerned with controlling their weight, as jerky fits well with the popular low-carb (Atkins) diet - as the jerky products deliver a satisfying "flavor-fix", while helping curb appetite...

I believe that this segment of the market will provide great opportunities for the development of more interesting and exotic flavors (which is what led to my interest in experimenting with jerky, in the first place).

I am looking forward to learning more about the art and science of Jerky and Smoking, and am glad that I have found this great group.


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## padronman (Aug 5, 2014)

My Bosch convection oven has a dehydrating setting on it.......haven't used it as of yet but reviews say it works well.   Hmmmmmm gonna have to try it out


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## rob sicc (Aug 6, 2014)

PadronMan said:


> My Bosch convection oven has a dehydrating setting on it.......haven't used it as of yet but reviews say it works well.   Hmmmmmm gonna have to try it out


Definitely try it.  I just redid my kitchen and had a double oven installed.  If I knew there was a convection oven out there with a dehydrator setting I would have went with that one.  I do a lot of dehydrating.  When I make jerky I see family memebers that I have seen in a while.  lol


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## padronman (Aug 6, 2014)

Rob Sicc said:


> Definitely try it.  I just redid my kitchen and had a double oven installed.  If I knew there was a convection oven out there with a dehydrator setting I would have went with that one.  I do a lot of dehydrating.  When I make jerky I see family memebers that I have seen in a while.  lol


We re-did our kitchen and went with ALL Bosch appliances.  I will definitely try that dehydrator setting out and see what happens


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## rob sicc (Aug 6, 2014)

PadronMan said:


> We re-did our kitchen and went with ALL Bosch appliances.  I will definitely try that dehydrator setting out and see what happens


Padron man,

Do you know what temp range your stove has for dehydrating?  My stove has a warming temp.  I should look into that further.  It might be an option for me.

Please let me know how the jerky turns out.  Sorry, I just assumed jerky.  lol


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## padronman (Aug 6, 2014)

I know my oven has a warming temp as well which is pre-set at 170F.  I just pushed the De-hydrate setting and it auto sets at 140F.......and not knowing too much about de-hydrating temps would assume is good enough?  I'll have took into it further. 

Scott


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## rob sicc (Aug 7, 2014)

PadronMan said:


> I know my oven has a warming temp as well which is pre-set at 170F.  I just pushed the De-hydrate setting and it auto sets at 140F.......and not knowing too much about de-hydrating temps would assume is good enough?  I'll have took into it further.
> 
> Scott


Scott,

What are you drying?  I just started a batch of beef and moose jerky last night.  I prefer my meat very rare so 140F should be fine.

I have a sime professional dehydrator which has a thermostat that ranges between 90 - 160.  That works great but if I knew that I could have got an over with the dehydrator setting I would have just for the principal of it.  lol


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## padronman (Aug 7, 2014)

Rob Sicc said:


> Scott,
> 
> What are you drying?  I just started a batch of beef and moose jerky last night.  I prefer my meat very rare so 140F should be fine.
> 
> I have a sime professional dehydrator which has a thermostat that ranges between 90 - 160.  That works great but if I knew that I could have got an over with the dehydrator setting I would have just for the principal of it.  lol


Nothing at the moment.....haven't tried jerky yet but following threads and may in the near future, 

Scott


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## kinkothecarp (Oct 1, 2014)

When you say 'professional smoker' what exactly do you mean? We have six commercial smokers/dehydrators, and each costs somewhere around $35,000. 

There's a huge learning curve to using commercial smokers, though, because once you get so big you have to start worrying about draining fat and other cleaning issues, as well as just keeping the bills payed (they are extremely expensive to run!). Our smallest smoker can do about 150lbs of fresh beef, and it's a monster to clean. After about a week of running jerky, we literally scoop out fat in snow shovels and fill up trash cans. Remember, jerky isn't even cut from fat-intensive pieces of meat. The other things you'll have to deal with are humidity control, timing issues, cooling and heating over large spaces to prevent bacterial growth and lowering water activity fast enough. 

How much jerky are you trying to produce?


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## setrakian2014 (Jan 30, 2015)

I was going through the food forums and saw your topic which really aroused interest. I was not very familiar with it so I tried searching some meat dehydrators  but I got meat grinders instead.


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## Chef John (Feb 27, 2018)

I found some best reviews about meat grinders on this website. You can check and find your query there.


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## paddy80 (Mar 3, 2018)

I have been making jerky with a box fan and some furnace filters for the better part of a year now, and everyone loves it.  No heat, only a marinade and 8-12 hours on the fan. Google 'Alton Brown jerky' for a good starter recipe and instructions.


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