Can I dehydrate homemade sausage with a dehydrator?
Is it safe to dry homemade sausages that have been cured with Cure #1 in a dehydrator instead of hanging them out to slowly dry? The dehydrator I have goes from 90F to 190F.
Best Answer
Safety concerns aside (although this is related), the issue with this approach is case hardening. That is, the sausage, salumi, or whole muscle dries too quickly and unevenly. The exterior becomes too dry, while the interior is not dry enough. The hardening of the exterior, then further limits the drying of the interior. Hanging meat to dry, in the appropriate environmental conditions, leads to an evenly and appropriately dried final product. I would not recommend a dehydrator in this situation. With a constant warm airflow, case hardening is inevitable.
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Quick Answer about "Can I dehydrate homemade sausage with a dehydrator?"
Dehydrators wick the moisture out of sausage by cooking the meat at a low temperature in a dry environment for an extended period of time. Although a lengthy process, dehydrating sausages in a dehydrator is simple and easy to do.How do you dry homemade sausage?
Dry the sausages. Hang the sausages in the chamber and slowly allow them to dry. The ideal temperature and humidity varies from source to source, but we generally set our chamber at 55F and 70% humidity.How do you make semi dry sausage?
Generally for semi-dry sausage, the fermentation temperatures would be in the range of 80\xb0F to 110\xb0F (27-43\xb0C) with a 95% relative humidity. Under these conditions a good starter culture should achieve full fermentation in less than 24 hours.Can you dehydrate sausage patties?
We dehydrated breakfast sausage cooked like ground beef, vacum packed it, and used it after 5 days. It worked fine. Remember this is fun... and your having it. "OBX2Kayak, I dehydrate ground sausage just like I do with ground beef [including a hot/boiling water rinse].What meats can be dehydrated?
How to Dehydrate Meat and Seafood- Ground beef.
- Deli meats like lean ham, turkey and roast beef.
- Canned or pressure-cooked chicken.
- Canned tuna.
- Cooked shrimp.
- Imitation crab.
7 BEGINNER TIPS FOR FOOD DEHYDRATING | What I Wish I Knew Before I Started Dehydrating
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Answer 2
Typically, the hanging of meat is done to promote certain microorganisms, so that they can ferment certain sugars in the meat. This leads to the production of lactic acid by the various strains of Lactobacillus microbes. This can only be done when the meat is correctly cured.
A dehydrator is not typically meant for meat, but as a way to preserve certain veggies and spices. The temperature you mention would just partially cook the sausage, but probably leave it under-cooked. If this is a pork sausage then it could be quite dangerous. It would also kill off the Lactobacillus, ruining any chance of a ferment.
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