Lay food pieces evenly on trays. Dont overlap food pieces, as this will inhibit drying time. As each tray is loaded, place it on the dehydrator to begin drying. Because of the unique design of the patented Converga-Flow system of your Open Country dehydrator, youll be surprised at how quickly most foods dry.
Make your own beef jerky or trail snacks with the Open Country 500-Watt Food Dehydrator and Jerky Kit. Constructed of durable ABS, this electric dehydrator comes with four trays and a thermostat that is adjustable from 95°F to 155°F. Thanks to the top-mounted fan with Patented Converga-Flow drying action, there’s no need to rotate the trays. Great for hunters, campers, and backpackers. 1.36 cu. ft. drying capacity. Includes two Clean-A-Screens, two fruit roll sheets, jumbo jerky gun with three tips, jerky spice, cure packets, and instruction/recipe booklet. 14″H x 12″W x 14″D. One-year limited warranty.
I do toy around with drying things using the heat from the sun as well as smoke from a small fire but this is just a modern convenience that I love using, especially during hunting season. Here are two places where you can purchase your very own Open Country Dehydrators.
I use ground venison that I grind myself, for all of the jerky I make. The Jerky Gun that comes with the dehydrator works wonderfully. Once your meat is ground up, all you have to do is add the seasoning and cure and let it sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours. This kit does come with some sample seasoning and cure as well as different size jerky tips. These samples had some really good flavors. When you’re ready, all you do is spoon some of your seasoned meat into the jerky gun until it is full. Then close the jerky gun up and squeeze strips out onto the dehydrator trays until all the trays are full. Set the dehydrator to the recommended temperature and you’re good to go. Your house will smell wonderful well the jerky is drying. For me it generally only took 3 ½ – 4 hours until the venison jerky was done. Everybody that has tried my jerky can’t say enough about how much they love it. My kids eat it like candy. The nice thing about making jerky with ground meat instead of solid pieces of meat is that it dehydrates much quicker and it is much easier to chew. It almost melts in your mouth.
So far we have not had any mechanical problems. I also love that this dehydrator is made right here in the U.S.A. You can’t beat that! If you’re looking for a good simple dehydrator and don’t want to spend too much money, then I recommend that you look into buying one of these dehydrators.
I purchased my Open Country 500-watt food dehydrator and jerky kit a little over a year ago from my local Gander Mountain store. I will start out by saying I love this dehydrator. I use it mostly to make venison jerky and to dry fruits and vegetables. My wife did try making the fruit rollup recipe and it didn’t work. She said she may have messed something up though, and we haven’t tried to make it again. Since the dehydrator works excellently for everything else I am not going to hold it responsible for the outcome of the fruit rollup recipe until we try it again.
Homemade Beef Jerky using the Open Country Dehydrator
FAQ
How many trays can you use with the Open Country Dehydrator?
How do you know when jerky is done in a dehydrator?
How does an open country food dehydrator work?
Unlike some other Open Country food dehydrators, this one features the Converga-Flow system – the 4.5” fan makes the hot air circulate all around the dehydrator, bringing the same amount of it to all the trays. This feature shortens the drying process from days to hours – for example, it will only take 3 to 6 hours to dry the fruit rolls.
How many trays does the open country food dehydrator have?
The Open Country food dehydrator comes with four trays, but the user can easily increase their number to 30, creating a vast area of 30 square feet of drying space.
Is open country a good dehydrator?
The manufacturer of this dehydrator, Open Country, provides a 1-year limited warranty to purchasers. The patented fan (that rotates at 2400 RPM) is very powerful and easily dries any food, like jerky or fish. The Open Country Gardenmaster 1000 Watt Dehydrator is a great device, and there a lot of things we like about it.
How do you use a food dehydrator?
Using a food dehydrator is easy! Simply prepare the food by cleaning and slicing it into thin, even pieces. Arrange the food into a single even layer on the dehydrator trays, making sure there’s enough space for air to circulate. This ensures everything dehydrates evenly and at the same time.