# Table top dehydrator: Dry time and temp to make jerky?



## Greyhound

I have a counter top dehydrator. I have marinated strips of venison and want to make jerky. I've read varying suggestions on what temperature and how long to dehydrate. I don't want to get the jerky too dry and I don't want to have to check it every 10 minutes. What tempertature do you use and for how long for venison strips? Also, I will be making jerky from ground venison so what temp and time do you use for ground meat as well? Thanks.


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## bigrackHack

I don't know about the ground meat, but I do strips about 4 hours on high in my dehydrator, which is about 130-150.


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## Ohiohntr

I have some Deer Burger Jerky marinating as I type but I am use to doing whole muscle jerky. I pulled out the dehydrator last night and it showed 10-14 hours:thumbs_do vs. I can do a batch in the oven on 200 degrees in about 2 hours.:thumbs_up 

My problem with our dehydrator is it would be done about the time I had to go to work the next day and then what to do if it isn't.


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## dreamweaver0930

I can't speak to the temp because mine does not have a regulator. Just plug it in and go. The times mentioned above sound right. One note, if you dry your jerky too long and it gets too done, just put it in a sealable contrainer and add a quarter of apple. I had some jerky that was about as crisp as bacon and I did this. The jerky absorbed alot of moisture from the apple and it turned out exactly as I had originally planned.


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## Hoyt Havoc

I have one that doesn't have a temp setting. I'd guess it to get around 150. It takes a lot longer than in the oven which is the way I preffer to make it now. My only trouble is a 10 pound batch lasts maybe 2 weeks with my 4 rugrats.


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## madarchery

Well I have the Am. harvest dehydrater and it says it goes 165 with no adj. 

I have played with the time and I thought I had it done in 4-6 hrs at 1/8" thick. But I found some got real brittle and I was unable to get consistent jerky. Now I found that 1/4" to 3/8 is best. It still seemed dry at 4-6 but the center on some was raw and gritty(not good). Well the last batch I went 10 and it seemed the same as the shorter times. Seems once the outside drys and crusts the center is a no go. But i fell asleep on the last batch and it went 12 and that was perfect. So now I know the time and I just time it so its done when I wake up.


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## breakaleg

My dehydrator just has a on and off switch. I cut my jerky about 3/8ths thick. I dryed it around 9 to 12 hours. It will also depend how many layers you use. I used every shelf which is 5 I believe. I would rotate the shelfs every 1 1/2 to 2 hours. That will keep the drying more consistent.


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## Whitefeather

I once made a 15 lb batch of ground style and put the finished batch in a container on top of the fridge. I took one piece with me for on my way to work, but when I came home to grab more...I noticed that there was nothing but CRUMBS in the container. When I asked the wife what happened to it all, she replied, "the kids and I were hungry so we ate it all". I said (very angrily) "you mean out of the 3 deer worth of meat down in the freezer, you ate MY jerky"? She said, "yeah sorry".

I'll never do that again!

JP


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## upbowhunter

i have a dehydrater that has multiple settings that go up to 155 i believe. It usually takes 3-4 hours doing 2lbs, which is about all it holds. This is for the flat type of jerky if its round it may take longer.


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## JPE

I use the ground meat & set my dehydrator at 150 degrees. Usually takes about 7-8 hours for about 2 lbs. I usually set it right before I go to bed and take it out when I get up in the morning.


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## SHANE(WA)

Oven hands down, 2 hours and done and chewable.


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## CDay

Ground meat jerky, Temp set at 145 degrees and takes about 8 to 9 hours to dry. Mine has a timer on it so I set it at 8 hours. If that is not enough then set it up for a hour of 2. The thing to remember is the humidity in the air will effect drying time. Really anything over 150 degrees is no longer drying it, it is actually cooking. When this happens you will get a hard outside and moist/undone inside.


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## RickH78

Hoyt Havoc said:


> I have one that doesn't have a temp setting. I'd guess it to get around 150. It takes a lot longer than in the oven which is the way I preffer to make it now. My only trouble is a 10 pound batch lasts maybe 2 weeks with my 4 rugrats.


two weeks! that long? it doesnt even last that long around my house.


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## SDC

*Another idea*



rsh_25 said:


> two weeks! that long? it doesnt even last that long around my house.


 I hear that!

The times listed above sound accurate to me, but one thing I have found that nobody has mentioned yet is to use a timer that you pick up from the local mart.
This time of year look for them around the Christmas light area,they are resonably priced and you dont have to babysit the dehydrator too much, although as metioned above I have had better luck by rotating the trays every 1 1/2 to 2 hours.


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