A Very Jerky New Years!

This afternoon I decided to test out the new dehydrator I got for Christmas. Chris (13) really loves beef jerky so I thought I’d try it out. I mixed 2 lbs. of ground beef, squeezed it out through the handy little tube and plugged it in. It said to check it every hour, soaking up the grease and turning. So I set the timer. An hour later I went down stairs and looked at the dehydrator.  It wasn’t on. I knew when I plugged it in I heard it turn on and felt the heat, but no heat, no motor churning.

So I changed plugs thinking maybe the outlet wasn’t working and looked through all the information which said to switch it on. But there was no switch. I called the company. They were off for the holiday and the website was no help. With no where else to turn and 2 lbs of raw meet waiting, I called a dehydrating friend. But she’s never made beef jerky and has one of those $200 dollar machines. Not the Nesco $40 Walmart brand I bought. But she said I could put it in the oven at 120 degrees. Mine would only let me set it as low as 170.

I transfered all the strips to the oven pans and everything looks great. I’ve been turning them and patting them every hour, and I’m hoping they’ll be ready before midnight.

Has anyone else had experience with dehydrating beef jerky in the oven. Did I do it right and is it safe to eat? I sure don’t want my family waking up sick on New Years Day because I made some bad jerky!