Well I finally snagged one of the LEM 10 tray dehydrators at the Gander Mountain sale. Got it for $128 including taxes (used a $10 off $100 code to knock it down to $119 plus tax).
I made a batch of the dehydrator beef snack sticks using the recipe that NEPAS posted in this thread:
http://www.letstalkbbq.com/index.php?topic=9164.0I must have messed up my measured of the mace as that is the only flavor I get in the sticks. I thought I double checked everything, but like I said all I can taste is the mace. The only thing I changed was to add 1/3 cup of water as a carrier for the cure & spice mixture for more even distribution of the cure.
The dehydrator worked as advertised. I set it for the 145* range and using my thermopen to check the temps. Heating element cut off at 152 and cut back on at 143, which I presume is about as good as it will get with a analog dial setting temp control like the stock LEM unit has. I did not notice any uneven drying and did not rotate or switch around the trays. I used some LEM 17mm casings which I have had for a while, so there was some shrinkage.
I may pick up a small bag of the LEM snack stick mix from the local Gander Mtn store and give it another try this coming weekend (the 5 pound mix set).
I really need to get started on converting the commercial warmer I picked up a while back, into a cabinet smoker. This one is a little different as it has the heating element box on the top and dual convection fans that blow air across the element and down a slotted side channel. Little chance of a grease fire with the element up top like that. I just don't have anywhere to set it up and it's too tall to move in and out of the garage (does not clear the door). And there is the dreaded task of ripping a perfectly good cabinet apart to get the foam insulation out. But it is a really nice cabinet...... decisions decisions decisions.....
