Beef Jerky Disaster

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Sven Svensson

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My big fancy LEM dehydrator has been glitching on me and it finally went out on me as I started big batch # 2. I’ll be calling LEM tomorrow but I’m not sure what to do with all these 1/4” slabs I so beautifully cut and seasoned and now are about 25% dry.

Do I freeze it and wait for LEM to help me fix it? The issue is the electronic controls. It could be a couple weeks at least.

Do I cube it and make chili? Grind it into jerky sausage? I’m certain there’s a good reason none of us have ever heard of jerky sausage.
 

Sven Svensson

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Thanks for the advice. I’ll give it a shot. My door won’t stay on if open but I’ll see how it does on a small tray first.
 

tbern

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You can monitor your oven temp with a grill thermometer and if its higher then you would like( and your oven won't work with the door open) , shut down your oven for short periods of time and let the temp drift lower, then restart it when it starts getting a little too low. More work for you, but it should finish your jerky ok this time.
 
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Sven Svensson

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Not sure why I didn’t think of the oven myself. I have a one-track mind, I guess. Glad I checked in here and did my complaining. There’s always a better solution than my solution. Although, it might have made good chili. But I’d rather have jerky. This stuff is beautiful.
 

kuroki

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Dec 27, 2022
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On my oven at least, the switch that cuts it if the door is open has a little play before it engages. Roughly 1" on mine. You could try just barely propping it open with something like the handle of a metal ladle or a grill spatula. I'd be surprised if it wouldn't run like that
 

chopsaw

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Late to seeing this , but after my dehydrator quit I bought a set of jerky racks for the oven . They work great . I do all mine in the oven at 170 ( or whatever it really is ) and just pull the pieces as they finish .
jerky.jpg
 

JLeonard

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Not a jerky maker....But I love to see everyone chiming in with work arounds. Thats why this forum is the BEST!

Jim
 

Sven Svensson

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My oven has a frame around it which makes cracking the door open very difficult. After much trial and error, using the door handle and a wooden spoon, I cracked the door open without turning off the oven. It took a while. It was worth the work. The jerky was saved. I usually dry mine at 140-145 so 170 was a concern. It was just fine and I learned a lot. 760A2420-9A44-4E25-9F1C-F28CCA59E9A4.jpeg

There’s a lot more to dry. I love the oven rack option, chopsaw chopsaw and had I known it would have worked this well I never would have invested $$$ in the big LEM dehydrator.

Thanks for the help everyone.
 
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