Beef Jerky Dehydrating Time

While traveling or going out on some trip, lots of people find it convenient to carry beef jerky along with them. You can quickly prepare it at your home in a dehydrator and fact; it’s quite lightweight to carry as well. There are lots of delicious recipes of beef jerky that you can make quickly.

It is true that beef jerky is a fantastic survival food that comes with longer shelf life. But have you any idea that what is beef jerky dehydrator time?

The total time taken for dehydrating the beef jerky in the dehydrator is different. It depends on the type of machine you are using as well as the weather conditions.

To know more detail about beef jerky dehydrator time, you need to read the below info. You will not only get the answer to your question, but we will also share with you some useful info on the same topic.

What is Beef jerky dehydrator time?

The very first question that hit our mind before drying the beef jerky is that what beef jerky dehydrator time is.

Well! The beef jerky dehydrator time depends on the thickness of the meat, humidity and the amount of jerky that you are going to dry in the machine. It usually takes 4 to 15 hours to dehydrate beef jerky in the food dehydrator. You have to marinate the meat of the beef at least 6 to 8 hours and keep it overnight.

It is essential that while drying the beef jerky in the dehydrator, it should dry completely. The improperly dried beef jerky will not last for a long time and can get spoil easily.

How drying beef jerky in the dehydrator saves more time than drying in the oven?

When the beef jerky dried completely, there is no moisture left out in the food. But if you use an oven, there are high chances to over-drying and under-drying the jerky. You can’t be sure that the oven will cook all the sides of the entire jerky perfectly and evenly.

If you dry the beef jerky in the dehydrator, it will not saves your precious time more but also provides the beef jerky a perfect texture after dehydrating. Moreover, the food dehydrator designed in such a way that it influences the total time taken for dehydrating the jerky. You might check the drying status of the jerky after some period in between the process.

Some people set the temperature of the food dehydrator at the higher range for drying the jerky quickly. But that’s not right!

The right and the best way to dehydrate the beef jerky in the dehydrator is to set the temperature at medium range with ample time. It will not only provide you with the delicious jerky in the end but also saves the food from the issue of cracking, crumbling, over-drying and under-drying. Therefore, drying at the right temperature is more significant than the quick dehydrating process.

Advantages of Dehydrated beef Jerky

Beef jerky is one of the lip-smacking appetizers that can make your children overlook the oily and junk food. The beef jerky provides you lots of nutrients that are beneficial for the health of human. There is no need to use any harmful preservatives and chemicals for preserving the dried beef jerky for a long time.

Furthermore, you may easily carry the beef jerky during the camping or foxhunting trip. You will get a good quantity of energy that you can utilize for doing any physical work. It is the much-loved and tasty food option for the number of lazy persons.

How to Set the Temperature of the Food Dehydrators While Dehydrating Beef Jerky?

The below are some ways to set the temperature of the food dehydrators for dehydrating beef jerky properly:

While dehydrating the beef jerky in the food dehydrator, you should set the temperature at 135 degrees F. While placing the strips of the jerky; you should not forget to put them with the proper space in between each piece. They should not overlap each other.

If you set the temperature at 135 degrees F then, you have to check the color of the jerky after 8 hours that whether it has transformed into the brown or black or color. It is not compulsory that you have to set the temperature at 135 degrees of the food dehydrator; you might also fix it to 125 degrees F to 155 degrees F.

You should not forget that you cannot dehydrate the beef jerky more than 8 hours period if the temperature of the machine set at 135 degrees F. After the process of drying, check the texture of the food and cool it down before keeping in the airtight box or Ziploc bag.

The below is the table that will make you clear regarding the diverse temperature settings accompanied by the appropriate dehydrating time for the beef jerky:

Set Drying Temperature in the dehydrator	Minimum Dehydrating Time
Temperature at 125 degrees F	10 hours
Temperature at 135 degrees F	8 hours
Temperature at 145 degrees F	7 hours
Temperature at 155 degrees F	4 hours

List of Factors That Influences the Time Taken for Dehydrating Beef Jerky

The below is the list of few essential factors that impact the overall time taken for dehydrating beef jerky:

1) Load of jerky in the Dehydrator

Before drying the beef jerky in the dehydrator, it is essential to ascertain that how much amount of beef jerky you want to dehydrate. Some people fill the machine with lots of jerkies that makes the machine to use more time for drying all the prices of meat entirely. But, if there is less amount of meat in the dryer machine then, the jerky will require much less time for drying.

The right drying of the beef jerky can only be completed correctly if you place it on the drying trays with plenty of space. Filling the food dehydrator with lots of beef jerky will affects the outcomes of the drying eventually.

2) The thickness of beef’s meat

Certain people love to consume ticker slices of jerky, and some of them like to have thicker slices of the meat. Thus, it is essential that what is the thickness of your beef slices before placing them inside the machine. The thin pieces will require much less time than the thicker slices.

3) Humidity level

The humidity or the moistness also has an integral part while dehydrating beef jerky inside the machine. The pieces of beef jerky that already have some amount of water content in them will need extra time for full drying. However, if the water content inside the jerky is already in the smaller amount, then it will take less time for dehydrating. For instance, the freeze-beef jerky possesses more content of water content in comparison to the fresh slices of beef jerky.

4) Temperature Control

The food dehydrator that does not have the feature of temperature control may impact the time required for dehydrating the beef jerky. The accessibility of changing the temperature of the dryer machine let you upsurge or reduce the hotness according to your need. On the other hand, the food dehydrator that has the feature of static temperature takes extra dehydrating time for beef jerky.

How Will You Know When dehydration process of beef Jerky Is Completed?

It is effortless to know that the dehydration process of beef jerky is completed or not with the help of the following ways:

• You can do an easy bend test for checking the drying status of your food.
• You have to set the anticipated temperature of the dehydrator machine first and dry the strips of beef jerky inside it till the pieces turn brown or black.
• As soon as the color of the meat changes, remove a strip from the machine and cool it down.
• The next step is to bend the strip of beef jerky. If it bends rapidly with the cracking sound, then it shows that your beef jerky prepared.
• But, if your beef jerky breaks down without bending, then this shows that the beef jerky is over-dried. It also states that whole beef jerky is waste now and you need to start the dehydrating procedure again with a fresh piece of beef jerky.
• If you desire to have the right texture as well as the flexibility of your beef jerky, then just place it in the two pieces of the fresh bread in the dehydrator. It will provide you with relief from the problem of over-drying.

What Is the Shelf-life of the Dry Beef Jerky?

The shelf-life of the dry beef jerky influenced by the method of storing it. The best way to store the dehydrated beef jerky is at the room temperature however locked in the Ziploc bags. It is beneficial to evade storing them in the airtight jar. The dried beef jerky may last from 1 month to 2 months period. However, with the help of freezing process, you can store them up to the time of six months.

Beef jerky which you store un-frozen will begin to spoil at the room temperature after the period of 2 weeks to 4 weeks. You should freeze or refrigerate it to keep for a long time with full freshness. The beef jerky that is dehydrated thoroughly will last for numerous weeks during traveling or outdoor activity.

Useful Tips for Saving Your Time While Dehydrating Beef Jerky

The following are a few methods that you can follow for saving some amount of time that  needed for dehydrating the beef jerky in a food dehydrator, for example:

• You should set the correct temperature of the food dryer machine while turning it ON before putting the food in it. It is useful if you don’t entirely depend on the settings of the food dryer for controlling the temperature.
• You might check the temperature of the food dehydrator with the help of a pocket read meat thermometer that can keep inside the food dryer. If the food dehydrator has a steady temperature, then it means that the beef jerky will get dehydrated quickly.
• It is valuable to use those food dryer machines that have the feature of temperature control. Under no circumstances, you should use the food dehydrators that have the function of temperature settings with the factory pre-set that you cannot control.

All the above tips will surely help you in saving your valuable time while dehydrating beef jerky.

Final Words!

We hope that after reading the above info now, you know the beef jerky dehydrator time. Lastly, the time of drying the beef jerky fluctuates with the settings of the temperature of different food dehydrators machines. Therefore, you should always check the temperature range of your dryer machine so that you can dehydrate your beef jerky properly.

To conclude everything here, the beef jerky will generally take 4 to 15 hours to dehydrate in the food dehydrator. You have to marinate the meat of the beef at least 6 to 8 hours and keep it overnight.

Is there still any confusion in your mind about the above information? If yes then, please let us know in the below comment box. You can also share your experience regarding the time that your beef jerky takes while drying out.