The $10 Homemade Jerky Dryer 2014-08-09

It's simple. Make it yourself with some cardboard, a light fixture, and a few odds and ends.

This project came about from my desire to turn back the clock and create the jerky that I grew up loving. No soy sauce, no sugar, no genuine artificial Smoke Flavoring, and no preservatives other than a bit of salt. I wanted to dry the meat at a low temperature (under 120 F.) like we did when I was a kid, but we are not allowed to have a clothes line where I live lest the neighbors complain.

I looked at all the commercial food dehydrators and they seemed to be rather limited – toys really. They used little trays that would hold 5 or 6 strips of meat, they were noisy little affairs with their fans and fancy thermostats, and boy were they expensive. I wanted something quiet, efficient, and inexpensive – no I wanted it CHEAP. I wanted to make enough jerky at one time to last a couple of weeks. Nothing I found even came close to what I wanted, so I set to work to build my own.