If jerky , dehydrated fruit , and dried vegetables are n’t dietary staples for you , they should be . abiding victual are equally ready to hand on camping trips , in an situation , or on your couch in your underclothing . For 20 years , theRonco Food Dehydratorhas been my personal jerky go - to . It would take a killer dehydrator to dethrone it . The Excalibur did just that .
https://gizmodo.com/the-ronco-food-dehydrator-was-my-gateway-gadget-5982733
What Is It?
It ’s a mellow - end , gamy - capacity galvanic food dehydrator .
Who’s It For?
base jerky enthusiasts . People who daydream of a in effect yield roll . People who opine paying nine sawhorse for half British pound of dried mango is highway looting .
Design
It ’s a big orthogonal loge ( 12.5 inches tall x 17 in wide x 19 inch deep ) , made of stainless steel and charge card panels . The front room access comes off completely , unwrap slots for nine trays ( or five trays in the lower - oddment social unit ) . In the back of the unit is the heating component and powerful seven - inch fan to circulate the hot air .
The straight trays are fall stock as a arduous plastic gridiron with a conciliatory plastic interlocking laid on top , or you may level - up for unstained steel trays for $ 100 more . On top of the unit you have mastery to adapt the temperature between 95 and 155 degrees F , and a timer that can go up to 26 hour and mechanically shuts the whole down when time pass away .
Using It
If you ’re making jerky , simply marinade your meat using whatever recipe you care ( there are thousands ) , then lie the strips in a unmarried level onto one of the trays . Once your tray are stretch , pop the lid back on , set it to the appropriate temperature ( 155 degrees F for meat ) , and set the timer for more or less how long the recipe calls for . Check the inwardness every now and then to make certain it is n’t over - drying ( Tip : allow it cool down first . Warm meat will be softer and more flexible , give the feeling that it needs more time , when it may not . )
Dried fruit is even easier . Slice it up , put it on the tray , limit it to 135 arcdegree and walk away ( the higher the weewee content , the longer it ’ll take ) . If you favor yield leather or yield roll to slices , puree fruit and spread it thinly onto some sheepskin paper . The dehydrator can also be used for making yoghurt , dry herbs ( use the lowest temp to keep look intact ) . When you ’re done , put your dried goods in ziplock bag or tupperware to save them .
The Best Part
Frankly , it ’s hard to peck just one , but we ’re going with the powerful lover . It does an splendid job of circulating the heated up air throughout the DoI of the dehydrator . As a result , all of the trays dry out evenly , at the same speed . This means you do n’t have to shamble them around throughout the dry out physical process . It makes everything very loose .
Tragic Flaw
That would have to be the toll . Coming in at $ 400 for the untainted steel adaptation with the plastic tray , the Excalibur is 10 times as expensive as the perfectly capable $ 40 Ronco Food Dehydrator . It ’s $ 500 if you desire the stainless brand trays . It ’s also big and heavy . Yes , get your own jerky and dried fruit save money , but you need to be naturalistic about how much you ’re really pass to expend it . How many batches will it take for it to bear for itself ?
This Is Weird…
The Excalibur ’s promotional fabric promises quiet mathematical operation . Whoops ! It sound like a badly maturate melodic phrase conditioner . Quiet , it is not , especially when you put it next to the Ronco Food Dehydrator , which is in reality still .
Test Notes
We decided to test the eminent - end role model , which has the stainless steel dead body . Do n’t bother . Inside , it ’s the same polycarbonate as the down in the mouth - end plastic adaptation . In other actor’s line , the unsullied steel body is just for looks . It adds no functionality , but it does tot up a lot of weight . The stainless steel version with unsullied steel trays comes in at 40 pound . you could get the same capacity and functionality in plastic for $ 200 less , and it weighs just 22 pound .
For testing we made several varieties of bitch and chicken jerky , dried apples , Carica papaya , kiwi , and blueberries , and made five dissimilar types of fruit leather . All of it was delectable .
We tested both the plastic and the stainless steel trays . The stainless sword tray are in fact , a little scrap easier to cleanse . Not a lot , but a slight . The fact that each fictile tray is basically in two pieces ( a stiff charge plate grid with a elastic credit card mesh topology on top ) is somewhat more clumsy . However , the shaping tray have one major reward : deal . The stainless steel trays get very hot in the dehydrator ( up to 155 degrees ) , which mean you probably want gloves if you ’re pull a tray out to check it . In contrast , you’re able to bare - hand the plastic trays , no problem , and they ’re a lot lightsome . Advantage : charge plate .
The electrical capacity of this matter is fantastic . With nine 15 - inch by 15 - inch tray , it has a amount of 15.3 square feet of space for dry stuff . you could do ten pounds of meat at a time , no trouble .
The metre with automatic shut - off is awe-inspiring . You never have to care about bury it ( or being out of the house ) and over - drying your nutrient . Combined with the even heating , you’re able to just set it and walk out . extremely convenient .
Since it cost literally a ten percent of the Excalibur , it ’s not the good bench mark . But it ’s deserving noting that the Ronco Dehydrator has lasted me more than 20 geezerhood and it still work out fine . This is mostly because there are no displace parts , so there ’s not much that can break-dance . You might worry about the fan on the Excalibur , but the unit comes with a 10 - year guarantee , which should be enough time to get your money ’s worth .
Should I Buy It?
The $ 300 , all - plastic , nine - tray version with the timekeeper and variable heat is a unanimous steal , bring home the bacon you ’ll actually use it . The stainless steel does n’t bring enough economic value to justify the extra $ 200 and 18 pound .
In 20 + years of jerky - making , the Excalibur makes the best dried food of any equipment I ’ve used , and it does it faster and more handily . The big downsides are the amount of space it film up ( it ’s a unspoiled garage gadget than a kitchen gadget ) and somewhat pestering noise of the fan . Three hundred bucks is still steep when you compare it with a $ 40 alternative , but if you ’re really going to use it , the timber and simpleness of manipulation make it worth it . [ Amazon ]
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