Excalibur

[Lulav]

Anyone here own one?

I've recently purchased a Nesco but lifting the fan top off and placing it somewhere so I can check on the trays , adding and taking away is getting tedious. I've read and heard a lot about them, that they're the best but I hear that about the Nesco too.

I don't know if it's the humidity lately but things are taking so long to dry fully. I still have parsley in mine that I put in yesterday, some was dried but others weren't and I stripped off most of the stems. I am following the temp per the booklet but I'm wondering if it may be off? How can you tell if the temp is being reached or not?

 

[SavedByGrace3]

We have had 2 Nescos and they worked fine. That is WAY to long for a leafy veggie. Should only take parsley a couple hours tops. We put frozen corn and frozen mixed vegetables in ours... 7 racks full, and it takes 5 or 6 hours. We pretty much leave ours on about 135. Ya... have it looked at if it is taking that long. Maybe put a thermometer in it and see "whats cooking."
Of course get an Excalibur if you can afford it. We are working up a way to Solar Dehydrate. If you can solar cook you should be able to solar dehydrate.

 

[Lulav]

Thanks! I've watched many videos on dehydrating and thought it was too long, I'll have to get a thermometer to test with, all I have is probe thermometers now and I'm not sure if they will work.

I wish I could use the power of the sun but I live in a very shaded lot, can't even have a garden, huge Oak trees, and I don't lack for acorns

Have you ever done meat in yours? I'm hesitant to try that, not jerky , but cooked meat, like chicken.

Do you just do this for storage or do you cook out of your supply too?

 

[SavedByGrace3]

Never tried meat yet. Some people do the jerky thing. Really have to trim the fat and soak it in salt to preserve it. Even then I would be hesitant. Just a coward I guess.
We mainly store. We are in our 4th year now so it is time for us to start breaking open some buckets and checking out the condition of the preps.

 

[Lulav]

I think I figured out what I was doing wrong. I followed the temp guide for each food but forgot it said to start it higher the first couple of hours. It went a lot quicker when I did that, my beet greens didn't take all day.

I'm going to try ground beef next. Doing the jerky I don't know about, it uses raw meat and I'd rather play it safe.
I understand the trick is to get as much fat off as possible. So you would brown it and then rinse it and then put back in the pan and cook off the excess moisture, then put on your tray and dry for about 4-5 hours.

I'm going to try it and then reconstitute to see how the texture and flavor hold up.