Bacon Jerky - Try it in a Food Dehydrator

Bacon lovers rejoice! A company has started selling bacon jerky. In a hurry? Don't have time to fry up some bacon? Don't want to mess with the bacon grease? Open up a package of bacon jerky, breathe deeply and enjoy.

Alternatively, try making bacon jerky at home experimenting with a food dehydrator. Take raw bacon, cut off all or almost all of the fat, season with pepper, dry rubs or other spices and place it in a food dehydrator. Dry at 155 degrees until crisp.

Food Safety - Locavore and Food Dehydrator Answers

S.T.O.P., (Safe Tables Our Priority) a nonprofit public health organization, recently quoted the following foodborne illness statistics in a July 22, 2009 letter to various members of the U.S. House of Representatives: "Each year, 76 million Americans are sickened from eating contaminated food; more than 325,000 are hospitalized, and 5,000 die. On average, that is one death every two hours. Young children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable".

Reduce your chances of becoming a foodborne illness statistic. Become more of a locavore, grow your own food and use a food dehydrator to preserve and extend the shelf life of fresh food obtained from farmers' markets and your garden.

Jerky Made With a Food Dehydrator - It is Gourmet Food!

A food and restaurant critic in South Florida recently wrote a review of some jerky that is being made by a local entrepreneur. The entrepreneur developed his interest in jerky by experimenting with a food dehydrator he purchased. To the critic's surprise, the jerky was very good. The critic compared the entrepreneur's jerky to meat snacks made at a popular Miami Beach steakhouse.

Jerky is a great tasting, healthy homemade snack. By choosing lean cuts of meat and limiting the amount of salt or sugar that is added to any sauces or marinades that are used, you can control the the taste and nutrition of the dehydrated jerky. Jerky is low fat and full of protein. Compared to store bought jerky, homemade jerky has substantially less salt and sugar. In fact, one serving of store bought jerky can equal 40% plus of the recommended daily sodium intake.

Make gourmet jerky with a food dehydrator.

Survival Without Food - Why Try? Use a Food Dehydrator

A British backpacker was recently rescued from the Australian bush after spending 12 days lost without any food. The wayward backpacker was not carrying any of the common hiking foods, including jerky or dried fruit. The Brit was only able to survive due to recent rains in the Australian bush area which left some usable drinking water.

A typical person can survive relatively long periods of time without any food, however, survival without any water is extremely short, typically just a few days. A pound of fat represents about 3,600 calories, and most people, excluding elite athletes, have some amount of fat on their body. Thus, a person can survive, without food, for days or weeks as the body draws down existing fat.

But why take that chance? Dried food is lightweight, nutritious and easy to make with a food dehydrator. Dehydrating various foods can reduce their weight by up to 80%, as the food's water weight is removed, which makes jerky, dried fruit and or dried vegetables ideal to transport while hiking, camping, biking or enjoying other outdoor activities. Use a food dehydrator to make dried food and pack it for your activities. You won't starve and have live to off your stored fat.

Another Omnivore's Dilemma - How a Food Dehydrator Can Help

Most everyone knows the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Cooking and eating meat has some similarities to this children's story, in terms of getting the meat "just right". Eating raw or undercooked meat raises the risk of encountering e. coli, listeria, salmonella or other pathogens. Most recently, during late June 2009, 380,000 pounds of contaminated meat was recalled due to e. coli that was present in the meat. On the other hand, per the National Cancer Institute, cooking meat at very high temperatures (usually greater than 400 degrees Fahrenheit), can cause a buildup of cancer causing chemical toxins in meat (think charred, or blackened well done meat). Cooking the meat just right is tougher than it appears.

One answer to this dilemma is making jerky in a food dehydrator. Dehydrating meat removes moisture from it by subjecting the meat to constant temperatures and air circulation. Properly prepared and dehydrated jerky should not be raw or undercooked and will not have the toxin buildup that comes from very high temperature cooking.

Slim Jim Shortage and Panic - Make Your Own Jerky

Do you have an insatiable craving for mechanically separated chicken? Or an irresistible urge to eat some beef seasoned with dextrose, hydrolyzed corn gluten and soy and wheat gluten proteins? If so, sorry, you might have some difficulties in satisfying those hunger pangs due to a June 9th plant explosion that has shut down the only manufacturing plant that produced the Slim Jim brand meat product. ConAgra, the manufacturer of Slim Jims, does not expect supply levels of the product to be back to normal until November 2009.

Here is a Slim Jim withdrawal plan. Buy a food dehydrator and make your own jerky. With homemade jerky you control the type of meat dehydrated and the amount of marinades, sauces, glazes or liquids and salt, pepper or spices used to season the meat. Homemade jerky is easy to make, delicious, much healthier for you (one serving of store bought jerky can contain 40%-50% of the recommended daily sodium intake) and (most likely) will not include mechanically separated chicken.

In case you are interested, here is what mechanically separated chicken looks like.