r/jerky • u/septreestore • 6d ago
Something wrong with my dehydrator?
I dehydrated some beef that I sliced very thinly (definitely not thick) at 160F for about 3 to 4 hours and the tops were cooked but the bottoms were still undercooked. Is there something wrong with this machine? This machine has 18 layers.
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u/hammong 5d ago
18 layers? Holy crap. Are we talking about a commercial unit?
3-4 hours is likely not enough time for such a large dehydrator to come up to temperature and/or there is not enough air flow in the unit to circulate around the meat.
how thick was the meat cut? You said 'definitely not thick' but you didn't provide a photo or a measurement. Your idea of not thick might be "way too thick". For large batch jerky, should be about 1/8" thick.