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I thought for sure there'd be a Dehydrator thread on here already but I haven't seen one so here it goes...


If you use a dehydrator, whats the best stuff you've dried or the best recipe using your dried ingredients? Any horror stories on things you've tried and won't do again?

I have talked to people who get really elaborate with that. I have a dehydrator. Someone got a recipe? (Of course, as everyone knows, I hate to cook...)

A friend used to dehydrate the spaghetti sauce for his trips.

Check out Sirena's Saguaro Fruit Harvest

joe bartels wrote:Check out Sirena's Saguaro Fruit Harvest

Saguaro Fruit Roll-ups! Yummy! Though i'm not sure where i'd get the fruit.

te-wa wrote:http://www.trailcooking.com

Thanks! In all of my dehy-googling, i've got no idea how I haven't come across this site before.

azbackpackr wrote:A friend used to dehydrate the spaghetti sauce for his trips.

I've done the spaghetti sauce, but have yet to try the sauce and noodles cooked and then dehydrated together.

So far i've done a boatload of vegetables: broccoli, onion, pepper, mushroom, carrot, celery, tomato, zuchini, squash, potato, eggplant,
a boatload of fruits: mango, bananas, kiwi, melon, apples, pears, blueberries, pineapple
Sweet Potato Bark (reconstituted as mashed it was delcious),
cream of mushroom soup (rehydrated and mixed with TVP and dehy veggies for Stroganoff)
Sour cream (for use in the stroganoff)
apple roll-ups
apple & cheddar bark(crumbled into oatmeal or on icecream is damn tasty)
hummus last night (haven't tried it re-hydrated yet)
Eggs (made them using the wet / raw method and dry/cooked and definitely prefer the wet method)
First batch of jerky is going right now.

In still in the experimental phase having only had the dehydrator for a few weeks now.

joe bartels wrote:Check out Sirena's Saguaro Fruit Harvest

you gotta bug Sirena about her dehydrated yogurt! Fantastic!

Tough_Boots wrote:you gotta bug Sirena about her dehydrated yogurt!

I second that! Tried some on our GC trek last October! Sirena and Wendy (writelots) are Divas of the Dehydrator! :worthy:

back when i had the privilege of even being in the same kitchen as Wendy, i had many a day of mouth watering over her good, old school cookin'. hard to find a woman who throws it down like that. and Sarae also makes some great camp dinners too.. y'all have to try her stroganoff.

Yup, stroganoff on the trail is pretty awesome, though I have to admit that my recipe originated in Writelots' kitchen, too. Other things that I like to dehydrate...

Any type of noodles.... Cook to just before al dente (they cook a little more when you rehydrate them). Drain well. Spread on dehydrator trays and dry at lowest setting. Overnight usually does it. Store the noodles in a freezer bag. At camp, cover with almost boiling water and let sit until noodles are re-hydrated. Drain and add whatever sauce you wish(usually some form of dehydrated marinara with whatever meat mix-ins I have around). I also like noodles with pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan cheese, ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste. Simple and very yummy.

I like to have some different dehydrated proteins on hand to mix-in with meals that are protein light. Canned chicken dehydrates/re-hydrates really well. Low fat ground beef and turkey don't do too bad either, just get the crumbles REALLY small when you cook them. I've also dried the meatless crumbles that Morning Star or other companies make.

Dehydrated tomatoes are an awesome snack!

I think my favorite meal that results from various dehydrator-related efforts is chicken tortilla soup. YUM! Chicken, various veggies including green and red peppers, tomatoes, corn, jalapenos, garlic, onions, celery, cilantro, black beans, and rice with a chicken bouillon base. Add in a bit of True Lime, Tabasco sauce, cinnamon, black pepper, corn chips, and cheese(freeze dried or whatever you can pack in) and you can't miss!

http://www.packitgourmet.com/
http://www.minimus.biz/
http://www.wildernesscooking.com/
http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/freezedriedfruits.aspx
http://www.harmonyhousefoods.com/

@rae-rae
Thanks for the great ideas! I haven't done pasta yet and your tips will be most helpful! The pesto sounds delicious!

If canned chicken dehydrates well then I'm thinking that freshly cooked chicken would as well?

Googling around I read some undesirable results. This one seems to be a worth try

http://www.viewsfromthetop.com/ wrote:The trick is to cook it (grilling is the best!) then put it through a cheese grater. If you have a food processor, this helps speed the process up.

Then, you dehydrate it overnight at like 150*F and you will have a "popcorn" textured result. The chicken gratings tend to fall through the grates, so remember to put separators between different things you dont want chicken in.

For rehydration, it will take a while. Your best bet is to put it in a plastic baggie with some water about 2 hours before you cook it. This will save A TON of fuel. Make sure the baggie is bigger than the amount of chicken you put in there as it will expand considerably.

@joe bartels

Seems like the chicken might be one thats easier to just buy in the pouch and pack out the trash.

We do frozen chicken quite a bit for the first night. Cook it and freeze it solid then pack it in the insulated camelbak and its just about thawed by dinner time. Would not do it in the summer time, but for winter hikes in AZ it works alright.

kate wrote:Seems like the chicken might be one thats easier to just buy in the pouch and pack out the trash.

several brands of freeze dried chicken can be had. check into the above links i offered.

If canned chicken dehydrates well then I'm thinking that freshly cooked chicken would as well?

I tried baking chicken in the oven and dehydrated it afterward, didn't come out well, WAY too dry. I think if you cook the chicken by boiling it in water then it may work, you might even be able to do pork that way. Very lean ground beef, turkey and buffalo come out great, I wouldn't go lower then 90% lean on those.
I used to dehydrate my veggies and beans but found a place in N.Carolina that sells them for less then I can do it for; harmonyhousefoods.com However I occassionally dehydrate frozen vegtable mixes that you can buy in the Fry's freezer section, I really like their soup mix, it has okra and potatoes in it. Avoid cauliflower, it turns brown, corn takes a little too long to rehydrate and if you overcook brocolli after rehydrating it'll smell like horse pee.
My favorite veggies; tomatoes, string beans and jalepeno's
My favorite concotion is chili (tomatoes, beans, onion, jalepeno's, a little instant potato too thicken, cheese, seasoning mix)

My favorite stuff to dehydrate:

refried beans
shredded beef
spaghetti sauce
cooked ground beef (seasoned or not)
beef stew
cooked pasta
cooked rice

kate wrote:@rae-rae
Thanks for the great ideas! I haven't done pasta yet and your tips will be most helpful! The pesto sounds delicious!

If canned chicken dehydrates well then I'm thinking that freshly cooked chicken would as well?

I've definitely found, through research and trial and error, that canned chicken rehydrates best out of all of it. If you can find ground chicken, then that works, too.

Everything dehydrates...the downfall is usually trying to rehydrate it to a palatable consistency ;)

Happy trail cookin'!

All this sounds absolutely great. Maybe I will just leave the Mountain House, Lipton Noodles and MRE's at home, and mooch off you guys!