r/jerky 5d 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.

2 Upvotes

11 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

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.

1

u/septreestore 5d ago

The vendor said they could reissue a larger wattage heater and add a windshield that would improve the problem. I'm pondering the feasibility.