The USDA’s current recommendation for making jerky safely is to heat meat to 160 °F. You probably already know that if you’ve ever attempted making any type of jerky (including ground-meat jerky in your oven), but what you probably didn’t know is that a preponderance of store-bought dehydrators do not heat up to those specifications.
I’ve tried numerous dehydrators over the years and, although I had some OK results, I was never really satisfied with their performance. Until now.
This past fall I tested the new Chard 8-tray stainless steel dehydrator, and found it to perform not only to expectations, but SAFE expectations. To me, that’s everything.
First glance at this unit indicates a solidly built machine with an advertised maximum drying temperature of 176°F. Way plenty for the job, right? Yes, but that comes with a caveat. More on that later.
Slab Jerky from Venison
It took me less than an hour to unbox the dehydrator, read the instructions, wash the trays and have it ready for its maiden voyage — a hearty batch of whole-muscle “slab” jerky from a wild axis buck I shot last year with Keith Miller near Sonora, Texas.
The meat was almost too beautiful to make into jerky, but I had a lot left over, and, well, I love axis venison no matter how it’s prepared.
I started by slicing a partially frozen round roast into 1/8-inch slabs. A Weston cutting board that I bought nearly 5 years ago for this very occasion served me well. The pieces were perfectly uniform and not too thick to hinder the dehydration process.
Next, I soaked the meat in the proper recipe of cure and seasoning (High Mountain). I stored the meat in a plastic, zip bag in the fridge for 24 hours. They were then ready for the dehydration process. Instructions usually call for spraying the racks with nonstick spray and placing foil on the bottom of the unit to catch drippings, but I made sure my jerky was as ready as it could be (not “wet”). The more moisture you have, the longer it’s going to take, plus you run the risk of essentially crusting the meat and trapping potential problems in the meat (that will make you sick). It just takes some common sense and slowing your roll to make sure the jerky comes out perfect every time.
Easy to Use Jerky Dehydrator
I would like to impart special wisdom on what happened next, but I’d be lying. These Chard units are darn-near idiot proof. The unit has an LED display, adjustable time and temperature setting. In other words, make sure your heat is correct, set it, nearly forget it for however many hours you’ll need.
For a full 8 trays, the unit did labor some to keep up the temperature above 160. That’s an important note for those who go with lesser dehydrators. Remember, this one has a max temp of 176 °F. A full tray of raw meat is going to zap some of the capacity. On a lesser dehydrator, you would surely need to finish it off in a regular oven. I don’t want to do that, because it affects the flavor of the finished product. In this case, my jerky was done in relatively short fashion (in time for the night’s games on TV), and I didn’t have to babysit it too much. I did place some of the bits and pieces of leftover jerky near the top of the unit, and pulled those out first.
The result was a nice cache of venison jerky that lasted, well, two weeks for this venison addict. Yeah, I did overindulge on several occasions. It was simply that good!
Closer Look at Chard Dehydrator
A few more of the nicer features of the Chard unit:
Powerful fan circulation. No need to rotate trays.
Smart Save function allows you to program settings for future reference.
Easy-to-clean stainless trays that provide a total of 1,300 square inches of drying area (that’s a lot).
Clear glass window. Allows you to check on the progress without opening the door and losing the heat.
The Chard dehydrator retails for around $239 from several popular retailers (including Mill’s Fleet Farm, Sportsman’s Guide and Blain’s).
For more information on the unit itself, check out the company’s website.
