Professional Multi-Tier Food Dehydrator for Jerky, Fruits, and Vegetables – Adjustable Temperature Control & Quiet Operation – High Capacity

My first ever dehydrator. I usually use my electric oven for making beef jerky but I wanted to try a dehydrator after watching instructional you tube videos. I'm confident that the more elaborate stainless steel models work great for active enthusiasts but I didn't want to spend much money as a beginner. I purchased this Nesco unit based on positive Amazon reviews for ease of use and operational satisfaction. I disregarded negative reviews regarding packaging issues or disappointments unrelated to product performance. I knew beforehand that a basic model like this would need to be handled with some consideration for fewer bells and whistles and plastic trays instead of stainless steel. Overall, I am very happy with the performance and finished jerky, especially for the price. It takes a little more time than the oven method but I didn't have to flip the beef pieces during the drying process. I have no issue with the lack of an onboard timer or on/off switch. I can read a clock or set my smartphone timer and I can reach the plug to turn the unit off. It's not rocket science. I would recommend this unit for anyone interested in trying dehydrating without a large monetary investment.

I bought this dehydrator mainly to make beef jerky, and after seven months of use we have not been disappointed. So far we have made the following: - beef jerky - orange slices - grapefruit slices - apple slices - banana slices - green beans There are many recipes for beef jerky, but I would recommend the one on allrecipes.com which is a good, hearty, all-around tasty jerky. The Nesco came with packets of jerky spices, but I haven't used them, nor have I used the Nesco recipe. Just slice your beef (an electric knife is best), marinate overnight in a mixture of Worcester, soy sauce, pepper, garlic, onion, cayenne, and pepper flakes, then dehydrate them on high for 8-10 hours. Delicious! The jerky can be tough to chew. They recommend slicing against the grain, to minimize the length of fibers, which does help a bit. I've tried pounding the beef with a 48-blade tenderizer to make the jerky less tough, but it doesn't really make much difference for all of that work, though it does help with marinading more thoroughly. The best solution I've found is simply to take smaller bites, and it's just easier to chew up! Lasts longer, too. The other success story is apple slices. I don't bother with their special fruit tray. Just core and slice the apples (we have one of these old fashioned "Johnny Apple Peeler" hand cranked models that does a whole apple in 10 seconds, a must-have if you do a lot of apples), stick them on the regular trays, and give it about 8 hours on the fruit setting. I freeze the slices afterwards to maximize longevity. I bought a 6-pack of mealy, mediocre apples off the local supermarket discount cart for $1.29 and dehydrated them -- and they turned out sweet and delicious. Then, after a month or two in the freezer, in a freezer bag, they became apple crisps! I would also recommend trying orange slices. Give it a good 12 hours because there's a lot of liquid to evaporate. They come out sort of like orange crackers. They're crunchy and delicious, peel and all. It's not for everyone, perhaps, but a great trail food along with dried apples and beef jerky. The green beans came out unappetizing. Note that one side effect of dehydration is to concentrate the flavor. The grapefruit came out rather bitter. Still not too bad but don't expect it to be a hit with the kids. Some people use it to dehydrate herbs and spices from the garden. We haven't tried this yet but for this, you probably do want to use the provided special tray that has smaller gaps. The product is assembled in the U.S. from domestic and foreign components. That's OK with me; a little is better than nothing. At least they have a factory here. The important thing is that the company make a good quality product that lasts a long time, and so far, there have been zero problems with this unit. If anything goes wrong, I'll update this review. One deficit is the lack of a built-in timer. However, this problem is easily solved with a $5 lamp timer you can get from the hardware store or online. You just set it to turn off at a certain time, and then you can go to bed or go to work with no worries. It's handy when you have prepared a 10-hour batch of beef jerky and it's only 4pm; you can rest assured it will run the required amount of time and shut off at 2am. Jerky is designed to last for weeks at room temperature, so it will be fine to leave it in the machine for a few hours. The salt is a preservative, but without sulfites or other preservatives, it's a good idea to freeze the jerky and it will last you for weeks or months. This is a great appliance that is very easy to use. We love using it, it's not too noisy, and the main problem has been finding a spot to keep it in between uses, in our crowded kitchen. I have just ordered two more trays, to be able to make larger quantities; they just stack right in and add a couple of inches to the height of the unit, no big deal.