Dehydrating Meats, Veggies, and Easy Entrees for Outdoor Adventures

Want to cut back on weight in your pack while increasing the nutrition and protein in your trail meals over that of store bought freeze dried foods? Dehydrating your own foods at home can be the solution you are looking for. In this post I'll provide you a list of tips for success and three videos on how to dehydrate meats, veggies, sauces and entrees for the trail. Once you understand the system, you can put together many of your own great meals for outdoor adventures!

Part 1: How to dehydrate meats:

Part 2: How to dehydrate veggies and applesauce:

Part 3: Easy to prepare dehydrated entrees:

A few tips for dehydrating trail food at home:

1. Chop meats and vegetables into very small pieces. This will ensure the meal will dehydrate and later hydrate more quickly and thoroughly. 
2. Remove fat from meat prior to cooking. Rinse ground beef with water in a strainer before adding wet ingredients during the cooking process. Removing fat helps prevent dehydrated meals from quickly going rancid. Store these dehydrated foods in the freezer for food safety reasons.
3. In the past I've dehyrated entrees such as casseroles all together. I've learned from experience that foods taste best when meats are dehydrated separately from fruits, vegetables, and their sauces. These can get a burnt taste when dehydrated at meat temperatures.
4. Always wash hands and follow safe food hygiene practices.
5. Read and follow the dehydrator manufacturer's instructions.
6. Do not package moist foods. Food must be fully dried for food safety reasons. If you open a package of dehydrated food at see mold or discover a foul smell, do not eat it.
7. Packaging in vacuum sealed bags (I use a Food Saver system) helps preserve dehydrated meals. Sharp, dry foods can puncture vacuum seal bags. Double bagging the food in less expensive sandwich bags before vacuum sealing helps alleviate this problem.
8. Moisture, air, and light will degrade your dehydrated food. Storing the dehydrated meals in the freezer helps preserve dehydrated meals. If there is fat in your dehydrated food it can go rancid quickly.
9. Always follow safe and hygienic cooking practices. Did I say this before? It's really, really important! 
10. Label and date your packages and store in the freezer to prevent spoilage.

That's all for now. Let's get outdoors and keep our wild places wild!