[at-l] Dehydrating/Rehydrating

[Delita *drae* Wright <delita@mindspring.com>]

Okay, I just dehydrated (last night) and rehydrated (tonight) my first
ground beef.  I mean - this is an experiment.

I haven't read any books or anything (what a concept) but I did see
instructions somewhere and followed them.

My question is - is this texture right??  It is somewhere between crunchy
and chewy - edible but questionable.  It does have a good taste (I used
Worcestershire at the appropriate moment).

What I did was (lacking rehydrating instructions) boiled a little bit of
water in a pot, sprinkled in my deydrated beef, waited a few minutes, added
some rich potato soup I also made last night (ummm, yum) and stirred.

It tastes - like rich potato soup with not bad flavored beef added.  But
the meat didn't ever seem to rehydrate, like I am thinking it should have.
(I have only eaten *store-boughten* dehydrated foods after rehydrating, so
that is what I am comparing it to.)  It is a leeetle chewy (tough).

Any clues?   Suggestions?  Tips?  Is my oven too hot??  I left it in
overnight on *warm* which is the only setting lower than 200.  Hmmmmm.  Was
it because I bought the *good* ground beef (no hormones or antibiotics)?  I
don't mind having a learning curve, but prefer to have my investments in
food turn out edible and somewhat tasty, if possible. ;-)

I know I should buy a dehydrator - it's on the list.  Oh - and here were
the directions I followed (with apologies to the original poster whose name
escaped me):

------------
Fast recipe for dehydrated burger: Get ground chuck. Fry at medium heat,
drain all meat juices. When meat is fully cooked, add 1 tbsp. soy or
worcestershire sauce per pound, then drain on paper towels for 1-2 hours.
Place in oven at 150 degrees on cookie sheet, overnight (8 hours). Bag in
ziploc bag.
------------

BTW, I am sure it would seem *wonderful* sitting in a shelter after hiking
all day. ;-)  Thanks for the help...

Delita


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