# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Gardening >  Dehydrator Recipies

## ditchmedic

I'm looking for some good dehydrator recipies. I have a dehydrator cookbook, so I am looking at more camping/survival type food, as the cookbook has all the normal fruit leathers, dried fruits and whatnot. 


I was going to put this on the backwoods menu sticky, however my deydrator will not work in the woods so this is more of a preparedness type food.

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## Rick

Google that bad boy. "Dehydrator recipes" will return site after site after site. :Big Grin: 

I will tell you I've dehydrated spaghetti sauce. Just use whatever kind of jar sauce you like. It's turns into a rubbery fruit roll up kind of thing. Add some dehydrated hamburger and some spaghetti and you'll have an instant meal.

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## ditchmedic

I have googled it. But i was looking for input of people who may have actually tried some of them and if they are fieldworthy.

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## Assassin Pilot

hmmm, I've never tried bringing dehydrated food. Seems like a good idea to try though.

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## Rick

Oops. Sorry. I misunderstood your post.

Here's a link to a post on build your own and I'll see what I have on recipes. We did a bunch of stuff when my son did the AT. 

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ight=dehydrate

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## Smok

For a fast easy one I get the mix frozen veg. and dry them to use in soup or stew, if it is frozen it has been blanched and it's all cut up just right

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## Rick

I found my recipes and I'll type some in tomorrow. I should have added on the spaghetti sauce...my dehydrator had a plastic dish like contraption that fit in one of the trays to hold liquids. We used that for the sauce. 

We dehydrated shrimp and it was difficult to reconstitute and a bit chewy. Still, it wasn't THAT bad and made a nice diversion from ground beef or jerky. Fruits, of course, although I've gone to commercial dehydrated fruits from: 

http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/

I have a can of diced apples from them open as we speak. 

I'll go through and get you some recipes tomorrow.

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## canid

original recipe i stand behind:


in the dehydrator:
slice small node of ginger thinly and place on rack
take sprig and sweet basil and lay next to ginger
slice and blanch 3 large carrots and place on rack
peel a small orange, saving the peel. half and slice the orange and lay on rack with the peel
slice thinly your choice of foul [i recommend pheasant] or rabbit/hare, salt well and lay on rack
quarter and slice 3 large tomatoes and place on rack.

dehydrate 6 hours. chop basil

place in bag along with:
1/4lb pearled barley
1/4lb lentils or other legume
1/4 cup brown sugar

when ready to use, mix well and add 1 cup mixture to a quart pot. add 2 cups water and a piece of peel from orange. bring to boil, cover and simmer, stiring and adding water if needed untill lentils and barley are done. discard peel and serve. soup is thick and hearty.

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## canid

root vegetables dehydrate nicely and the starchier ones reconstitute to a nice 'done' texture with simmering.

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## ditchmedic

the stew sounds good, that is the kind of recipe i was thinking of. How long can it stay out? 

And with the starchy vegetables can you cube them or does it have to be sliced thin?


Thanks for all the replies.

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## canid

sliced thin just dehydrates faster and reconstitutes faster is all. as i do a lot of my trail cooking in california these days i use my white-gas stove a lot. otherwise; cube away.

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## canid

nutritional content aside it will keep as long as it's dry. what vitamins are in the carrots, the orange, the meat and the basil will break down over time and with temperature and uv exposure. same for the aminos in the meat, lentils and barley. also, the amount of most herbs you will need will increase after dehydration and further over time. ginger, like garlic, looses it's flavor quickly as it dries and ages.

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## RBB

Dehydrated vegetables hold their vitamin content for about six months to varying degrees.  This can be stretched out to a couple of years by drying - then freezing the product.  About 1/4 of our freezer space is given over to dried vegetables.  Another method to prolong food value is vacuum packing.

Dried carrots are tasteless, but add color value to dishes.  Dried sweet onions, especially Vidalias, are a favorite.  Dried tomatoes, especially those that are home grown, are like candy.   Dried tomatoes are high in licopene and anti-oxidants plus one medium tomato (fresh or dried) has 40% of your daily vitamin C requirements. 

In my opinion, taste-wise at least, meats are better off smoked than dried.

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## canid

and in mine, are better off fresh than either, but stored food is better than no food.

btw: do you cold smoke at home? i love it, but i never take the time.

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## Smok

If you soak red meat in water to remove the blood all the blood and then dry it . The meat is not jerky now that the blood has been removed . The meat will rehydrate much better now , blood stops re hydration in meat

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## Rick

For your dried herbs, crush them between finger and thumb before adding them into your food. It will provide access to the oils inside and add some additional flavor. As canid said, they tend to lose flavor when dried. No different than dried  store bought herbs vs. fresh.

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## Rick

Here is some general information on dehydrated foods for those that might not know. 

1. The higher the water content the longer it will take to dry (Duh!). 
2. The more sugar a food contains, the longer it will take to dry.
3. The thicker the piece of food, the longer it will take to dry.
4. The higher the humidity in the room, the longer it will take to dry.
5. The lower the temp inside the dehydrator, the longer it will take to dry. 
6. The amount of air circulating inside the dehydrator and the make of the dehydrator will all affect drying time. 

Drying temperatures: 

Meats and Fish................145 F and above
Fruits and Vegetables.......130 F to 140 F
Herbs and Flowers............100 F to 110 F

Some comparative weights fresh vs. dried: 

Weight Fresh.............................................  ..Weight Dried

4 pounds (about 10) bell peppers.....................4 ounces
3 1/2 pounds onions......................................4 ounces
2 pounds apples peeled and cored....................4 ounces (dried crisp)
1 3/4 pounds (about 3) zucchini.......................4 ounces
1 pound strawberries......................................  2 ounces
One 30 oz. bag frozen vegetables.....................5 ounces

Recipes I've used: 

*Dried Pickles*

You can use homemade or commercial sweet or dill as you like. Remove them from the liquid and slice about 1/2 inch thick. Place them on the drying tray and dry about 8 hours.

*Apple Sauce Leather*

One 24-ounce jar unsweetened applesauce

Rub the dehydrator sheet with vegetable oil of spray it with Pam and wipe away any excess. Spread a 1/4 inch layer of applesauce over the oiled sheet and dry. It can take from 8-20 hours depending on how thick you get the applesauce. It will be a paper thin sheet that you can just peel off the tray. If there are any sticky or tacky areas then dry it a little longer. 

You can stack the sheets on top of each other. If you want, you can sprinkle the fruit sheets with cornstarch or arrowroot to keep them from sticking together (that's true of any leather, vegetable or fruit, by the way). Roll them up and wrap them in plastic wrap and put them in an airtight container. Leathers will last at room temperature for 1 year or more. If you freeze or refrigerate them, they will last forever, I guess. I've never had leathers go bad no matter what I used. 

*Jerky Stew*

3 cups water
1 cup dried tomato pieces (about 20 slices, broken)
1 cup beef jerky pieces (1/2 inch size)
1 cup dried peeled potato slices
1 tablespoon dried bell pepper pieces
1 tablespoon dried onion pieces
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried garlic
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, combine 3 cups of the water and all the remaining ingredients. Let sit for 30 minutes to rehydrate. 

Place the pot over medium coals and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer the stew for 30 minutes to 1 hour or until the jerky is tender. 

*Trail Pudding*

2 cups water
1 cup powdered milk
one 3.4 -ounce box vanilla instant pudding
2 tablespoons dried fruit powder (strawberry, apricot, peach or banana).

In a pot, combine all the ingredients and stir until completely blended. Let stand for 10 minutes or until thickened. 

You can make fruit or vegetable powders by dehydrating the item then crushing it into a powder.  

*Beef Jerky*

3 teaspoons salt
9 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 teaspoons onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
3 teaspoons dry mustard
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
3 lbs london broil beef or flank steaks, sliced into very thin strips

Combine all ingredients (except the meat) and stir to mix.
Add meat that has been thinly sliced (about 1/4 inch. If the meat is about half frozen, it's much easier to cut) and marinade 24-48 hours, refrigerated. The longer you marinate the more flavor the meat will have. 
Remove from marinade and discard the excess.
Place onto food dehydrator trays, you'll know its done when it cracks when bent but does not break. Somewhere around 24 - 36 hours.

You can mix your dry food (like the stew) in a baggy at home and carry with you. Then just dump the contents into your pot when time to cook.

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## Beo

I've used my RONCO dehydrater to make jerky but that's about all dehydrated.
Now I do make a mean Ranger Pudding:1 MRE packet of cocoa beverage powder
1 MRE packet of coffee creamer, 1 MRE packet of sugar (optional), water. 
Mix together creamer, powder and sugar. Add water and stir. Yum!

Ranger Bread Pudding: 1 batch Ranger Pudding (see recipe) 
1 half MRE pound cake, Crumble pound cake (if you're lucky enough to find one) into Ranger Pudding for a thicker, more delicious dessert.

Ranger Cookie:1 coffee creamer packet, 1 packet of sugar
Open both sugar and creamer packet. Add the sugar into the creamer packet, shake it thoroughly, and then fold it up together. Heat the packet over the book of matches or with a pinky size ball of C-4(just don't stomp on it) until the contents have melted. Let it cool. You should have a caramelized cookie.

Mmm mmm good!

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## ws3445

Put:1/2 cup sliced carrots
      1/2 cup meat strips
      1/2 cup sliced potato
dehydrate and put in can when ready add water to make a soup.

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## BruceZed

Try Dehydrating tomato sauce, place it on a sheet of plastic wrap in the dehydrator and when it looks like shoe leather rip it up and place in a plastic bag.

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## Beo

Jalapeno Deer Jerky
2  lbs deer, sliced thick  
1/4  cup soy sauce  
1/4  cup honey  
1/4  cup maple syrup  
6  tablespoons lemon juice  
1/4  cup pickled jalapeno peppers, minced  
2  tablespoons garlic, minced  
1  teaspoon salt  
1  teaspoon pepper  
Rub salt into meat. Make marinade, add meat and place in glass container in fridge overnight. Dehydrate for 8 hours - don't overcook.

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## Beo

Dehydrated Sliced Potatoes (Dried)

This is a recipe I came up with when I had an excess of potatoes. These are sooooooo much cheaper than buying premade mixes. It takes a bit of effort, but it's worth it! Something I also like is the fact that it doesn't have the sulfites that some products include. I don't bother peeling the potatoes before I make these, but then again I don't normally ever peel potatoes...I cook them with the skins on. You could do either. I used a corkscrew slicer (looks like a screw with a piece of metal attached) because that's what I had. It created a hole in the middle, which I wasn't sure I liked, but it probably helped the potatoes dry faster in the long run. If you use the corkscrew slicer, the potatoes will come out looking kind of like a big slinky. Set the potato on it's end and cut through all the slices...it will separate them into individual slices. If desired, you could use a mandoline, but I think I like the corkscrew slicer better due to decreased drying time. Drying time not included in recipe, as it will vary from model to model.
5  lbs potatoes, scrubbed clean (peeled, if desired) water.
 Put a large pot (12 quart?) of water on to boil. A water bath canner works well, or you could do smaller batches in a smaller pot. In my book, it's quicker and much easier to use a large pot. 
Have a sinkful of cold water ready. 
Slice potatoes using either a corkscrew slicer or a mandoline. 
Rinse potatoes with cold water, making sure all slices are separated from each other. 
Gently put the potatoes in boiling water (don't get burnt!) and stir well to make sure potatoes are separated. 
Let cook 3 minutes. 
Drain potatoes and plunge them into the cold water to stop the cooking; stir to make sure they are cooled. 
Dehydrate according to your dehydrator's directions/time -- they should be dry to the point of snapping when done. 
Store in a cool, dry place.

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