Dehydrator Temperature

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canadianjerky

Newbie
Original poster
Aug 17, 2010
2
10
Hi,

So I'm sure this is brought up often, but I'll bring it up again for discussion.

I have been dehydrating in my Nesco dehydrator since Christmas.

I've finally got something that's working, but I want to keep tweaking. Of course, I want to keep things safe as well. 

Originally when I started I used the suggested safety heat of 160 degrees.. The jerky would finish fast, in about 3 hours but it remained crispy and tough.

I started to experiment with 20 minutes or so at 160 and then  dropping down to 140 for the remainder. The jerky got better.

Now I am wondering if I even need that time at 160? 

I use Flank Steak and will eat a pink flank steak, so I am trying to learn the difference when I do jerky.

Thanks
 
I use a dehydrator also.  When I am using a cure in my jerky recipe I usually set it about 140.  The key is to pull the jerky out at just the right time.  You don't want to cook the jerky, just dry it out.  Do a bend test, it should be tough to bend, but not at the point of cracking.
 
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