Dehydrator mats

[Sack1971]

Will silicone or teflon mats, on top of your steel trays, take the jerky longer to dry?
Or should I not bother with mats. Will still clean the trays.

 

[Fueling Around]

Mats are better for ground meat jerky.
Whole meat can go directly on the trays

 

[ifitsdeadsmokeit]

I used the solid mats to dry some habs and they took forever. Ended up moving them directly onto the trays to finish.

 

[Culinary Otter]

Anything that reduces air flow around the food will increase drying time.

If I'm worried about cleanup or have something that will fall through the basic trays I'll use parchment paper.

 

[Fueling Around]

The mats I have are similar to Frogmats. They are an open grid similar to hardware cloth

https://www.amazon.com/Frogmats-Non-Stick-Grill-Mat/dp/B00LBH7TZK

 

[02ebz06]

I have a bunch from way back when Frogmats were Frogmats and they made customer sizes for you.
I use them for smoking cheese, jerky, fish, veggies...