There are outstanding threads here in OTP with delicious recipes for making jerky, and smoking meats (&cheese!) and dehydrator reviews and great advice! This thread is not one of those, as will become quickly apparent, lol.
What I want to do, learn to do, through trial & error - is how to preserve, through drying, meat that Tom & I have hunted ourselves. Our freezer has been emptied of all game - so I'll be buying cuts of beef and poultry to learn/practice on this summer - so by next season, I'm good to go. The idea is to be able to provide us with protein for survival, on a year round basis, if/when it ever comes to that.
Starting points.
~ I have stocked up more Salt (non-iodized), Black Pepper, Apple Cider Vinegar and Liquid Smoke than most people would use in a lifetime. These will be all I use for preserving/flavoring.
~ Our solar system provides us with more electricity than we come close to using. Because of that, I (intentionally) bought the cheapest stripped down model round plastic dehydrator made. It doesn't even have an on/off switch. Plug it in, it heats (165F) & blows from the bottom up. I bought extra trays to raise things up from the heat in case I want to try drying some fruit or whatever; I'll spend the summer figuring it out. The reason I didn't choose a much better model was because if the solar system ever goes tits up, or EMP, or whatever - and all I have is a campfire to work with - I don't want to learn about drying using all the digital automated 'advantages'. I'm not dissing anyone's choices & methods here; this is something different.
~ I'll also be experimenting over an open fire - but progress/pics on that I'll put on:
https://theoutdoortradingpost.com/sh...ky-the-old-way
This thread will be used for doing it this way.