I have to be honest here – a large part of what I enjoy about being in the kitchen is the virtually endless supply of gadgets, appliances, and tools that contribute to preparing recipes. I wanted to take some time here to start a series where I highlight some of my favorites, pointing out how invaluable I consider each as a kitchen staple.

(By the way, you can conveniently browse and buy gadgets that I personally use from the Shop)

As most of you are probably aware, I’ve been on an extreme ‘broadening my horizons’ kick and have taken deep dives into many different cuisines and techniques, which has resulted in the welcoming of many new toys into our home. Gotta have the right tool for the job, is what I always say! We even have a few uni-taskers! {gasp!}

In this post, I’ll highlight a few of those that you probably won’t find in every kitchen that help you to achieve legitimate chops in new directions.

Dehydrator

• Jerky – Since I have an entire section and numerous jerky recipes here on BiteSeeing, it goes without saying that the primary use I’ve gotten out of my dehydrator is for making jerky. You don’t need a dehydrator to make jerky, but it helps with the efficiency of the whole process. This is absolutely one of those ‘right tool for the job’ moments I’ve mentioned. You can alternately use your oven to dry meat, however, you’ll have a few challenges that may give you a negative experience and hinder you from doing it again.
  • For best results, the jerky should be exposed to as much heat as possible from a surface area standpoint, so unless you want to flip every piece on a regular basis throughout your 4-7 hour cook, a standard sheet pan isn’t going to cut it. You can lay the meat strips across your oven racks (and make sure you put a pan or foil at the bottom to catch all of the drippings!), hang them vertically (use a toothpick or skewer for the suspension), or if making smaller/quick batches you could use a cooling rack as you would with bacon (again, put something underneath to avoid a mess or fire!) 
  • Jerky does best when dried at 160 degrees. Take a look at your oven settings. The lowest my oven goes is 170, which I believe is typical of most home ovens. Getting into this range, if you aren’t careful, can cause the meat to cook as opposed to dry, which isn’t what you are looking for. You could prop the oven door open and use a remote thermometer to monitor temperature, but it’s another check you have to stay on top of.  

If you aren’t sure that you’ll enjoy making (eating, and sharing!) jerky, then by no means would I recommend that you buy a dehydrator as a first step. Try a small batch or two in your oven first. Keep in mind that a dehydrator can take time-consuming steps and aggravation out of the process for you, which will make for a better experience and one that you’ll enjoy over and over again. Add meat to the dehydrator, set the time and temp, come back when the alarm goes off, enjoy! Cleanup consists of either wiping down your racks or putting them in the dishwasher if you use moist strips to start. I make jerky about once a month and my fanbase has been growing, so my batch sizes are increasing. What I love about the Nesco SnackMaster is that you can keep adding racks to increase capacity to 12 trays without losing efficiency and you won’t need a second unit until you are up to doing about 10 lbs. of jerky at a time.  The right tool for the job!

• Pet Treats – What?! Yes, you read that correctly! The recipe book that came with my dehydrator outlined several recipes for pet treats, so I simply had to try them out for Abigail and Franklin to enjoy! Because we were near Thanksgiving, I made the Turkey, Sweet Potato and Cranberry treats for them. They go NUTS over them. Abigail actually drools like Pavlov’s dog when I pull them out. 
  
• Fruit roll-ups, Dried Herbs, Fruit, & Vegetables – I haven’t eaten a fruit roll-up since elementary school and we don’t have children, so I’ve had no reason to try these in the dehydrator. Similar story with the dried fruit and vegetable options, but I plan to dry banana chips for hiking snacks. My friend that bought a dehydrator first got his because their farm was producing so many herbs that they started drying them out and making their own seasonings. Our small porch doesn’t yield more herbs than we can consume in a given season, so I’ve not had a reason to dry herbs out – but I could if I wanted to! 🙂

Check back for my next gadget highlight – The Instant Pot!

More to come….

• InstantPot
• Ice Cream Maker
• Deep Fryer
• Kitchen Scale