Erin and I bought a Nesco electric food dehydrator with some of our wedding gift cards.  So far we have dried mostly fruits (pineapple, apples, cranberries, bananas).

Since I’m going away on a mountaineering trip this weekend, I decided to try making my own beef jerky.  I had picked up some curing seasonings a few weeks ago at Bass Pro Shops on our way up to Bear Valley.  The flavor I’ve used here is Mesquite.  I chose a cheap round steak, which I cut into 1/4″ strips.  You then mix the flavoring spices with the curing powder and sprinkly it over the meat.  Then the meat is kept in the refrigerator for 24 hours in a tupperware or ziplok bag.

One pound of meat only filled up 2 of the 4 trays I have, so next time I’ll double the recipe and make 2 pounds. I’m planning to purchase more trays sometime in the future. You can use up to 12 trays, and really need them when making something like dried apples.

I dried the jerky over night and tried some this morning. Delicious!