[jenjen]

I had the same experience with beef jerkey that marylou did. It didn't seem so bad when it first came out of the dehydrator, but went rancid when I pulled it out of the freezer and went backpacking. Kiwi fruit dehydrates really well, as do pears. I also like to dehydrate sweetened yogurt on the fruit rollup tray. If you dehydrate bananas whole you get a yummy chewy stick .

[kiliki]

I wonder if being in the freezer contributed to the rancidity. It would have absorbed moisure in there and then gone unrefrigerated while you hiked. I spent some time looking up dehydrating meat today, since I really do want to make good jerky. It seems that some people's dehydrators make terrible jerky while others' do really well. Of course no one bothered to say what brands they had. One thing I did learn was always use the leanest possible London Broil.

[jenjen]

That could be. I put it in the freezer because I wanted to be extra sure the meat didn't spoil. I might have to try the jerky thing again.

[pianodirt]

Buffalo makes some excellent jerky. I have bought buffalo (top or bottom round, can't remember which, either would be fine) at Whole Foods and it has always come out delicious, not greasy. Beef flank steak is also good. The point is to have as little fat as possible in the meat. Fat=quicker spoilage. Buffalo is generally naturally lower fat than beef.

[stieg]

I love jerky from a london broil, but find it takes too much time to marinate (it's hard for me to schedule when to take it out, etc). I just use ground beef. The trick to get really lean beef, I usually get the organic one, I think it's Annies. It's 4% fat. Trader Joes also has 5% hamburger. Just put the hamburger in a bowl, add spices (I use pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder and a little paprika), mix well. Then I flatten it out on a cutting board, "slice" it into small pieces (it doesn't really slice, but it helps to run a knife across it) and put in my dryer. It's usually done in about 7-8 hours in my Snackmaster. It takes about 10 minutes to make 2 pounds (wet weight). I've never had it go bad, but it doesn't sit around much. My kids and I love it!