dehydrator?
- Thread starter hrcarol
- Start date
OntarioSheltie
Forums Celebrity
I've thought about getting one, but I don't know if I'd use it often enough to get my money's worth unless I bought one used.
The only thing that I'd want to dehydrate would be sweet potatoes, but those can be dehydrated in an oven.
The only thing that I'd want to dehydrate would be sweet potatoes, but those can be dehydrated in an oven.
Emmasmom
Forums Sage
I have one and plan on using it - probably trying it when I am off on holidays in August.
I could kick myself 500x for leaving mine in NY when I left. I had 2 of them. I used them nearly year round,depending on hunting season. I made my own venison jerky,and fruit roll ups for the boys when they were young.Not to mention dried fruit..yummy banana chips!
I know I would use it almost non stop here,if I had one. They are easy pessy to use,and could save a bundle doing our own jerky treats.
I tried sweet potato chews in oven,and the dogs liked them but they looked nasty. In a dehydrator,they would look better & the drying process would be better.
I may try to find one later on amazon I think. They are not nearly as popular as they once were.
Shelby's mom
Forums Enthusiast
We just bought one for drying some of our garden veggies and herbs. The user manual had recipes in it for dog treats. I was thinking about trying it.
romeosangiovese
Forums Enthusiast
I dry meats and make my own doggy treats - healthy without preservatives!
I take lean meats and pound them into a flat sheet and lay them on the dehydrator racks. Then when dry cut the dried meat into small bite sized pieces for training.
For chew treats, I don't pound the meat flat (takes longer to dry tho). I also dry my own pigs ears (not oily like the ones from petshops) and started making my own "raw hide" treats - I take pig skin, cut them into 6in squares or rectangles and roll them up then place them in the dehydrator.
I freeze whatever I make so they last longer.
I would stay away from drying anything that is high in fat or with obvious fatty deposits as the fat takes forever to dry and gets rancid faster (especially if you don't freeze). And of course everything gets abit oily!
Never thought about drying sweet potato. Will go get some to try out!
I take lean meats and pound them into a flat sheet and lay them on the dehydrator racks. Then when dry cut the dried meat into small bite sized pieces for training.
For chew treats, I don't pound the meat flat (takes longer to dry tho). I also dry my own pigs ears (not oily like the ones from petshops) and started making my own "raw hide" treats - I take pig skin, cut them into 6in squares or rectangles and roll them up then place them in the dehydrator.
I freeze whatever I make so they last longer.
I would stay away from drying anything that is high in fat or with obvious fatty deposits as the fat takes forever to dry and gets rancid faster (especially if you don't freeze). And of course everything gets abit oily!
Never thought about drying sweet potato. Will go get some to try out!
romeosangiovese
Forums Enthusiast
My dehydrator looks something like this.
I have tried liver but find they take longer to dry, so I don't do them very often. I try to slice them thin to help reduce the drying time.
I have tried liver but find they take longer to dry, so I don't do them very often. I try to slice them thin to help reduce the drying time.
k9kreationz
Forums Celebrity
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=14099344
I forget where I read this, probably FB, but the dehydrator above is the one that got rave reviews from a ton of people.
My biggest concern is debating which uses more energy. A gas or electric oven running for 4 hours, or a dehydrator for up to 8.
I forget where I read this, probably FB, but the dehydrator above is the one that got rave reviews from a ton of people.
My biggest concern is debating which uses more energy. A gas or electric oven running for 4 hours, or a dehydrator for up to 8.
Shelby's mom
Forums Enthusiast
That is the one we just bought (with the 20% coupon of course). We only dried hot peppers so far and it worked well. One suggestion it does release the odor of what you are drying so if you don't want that smell in your house move it somewhere else. We put it in the garage and thank goodness because the hot pepper smell was pretty stong.