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How to Dehydrate Beef
Using Pre-Cooked, Pre-Sliced Deli Roast Beef!

Roast Beef Before
Dehydrating

Roast Beef After
Dehydrating

Let's see how to dehydrate beef: Here are some photos of the sliced roast beef on the dehydrator 'before' and 'after' dehydrating. Look at how much the roast beef slices shrank! This is normal during the process of dehydrating just about all foods.

Dehydrating Beef is Easy To Do!

Today, learning how to dehydrate beef was on my dehydrating to-do list. I find it hard to slice my roast beef (I don't have an electric slicer), so I did the next best thing, and bought the beef pre-sliced and pre-cooked!

NOTE: As with leftover chicken from your Sunday Roast Dinner, you can slice up your roast beef—as evenly as possible—and make them similar in size. This way, your beef will dehydrate at the same rate of time.

Dehydrating cooked roast beef is a great way to keep it fresh and tasty for longer. When you cook roast beef, the natural moisture in the meat evaporates, leaving the beef with a tougher texture. Dehydrating the beef helps to preserve its tenderness, flavor and juiciness. Plus, it's a convenient way to store cooked roast beef so you can have it on hand for quick and easy meals.

How to Dehydrate Beef
Using Sliced Roast Beef

Just like the sliced turkey, and sliced chicken, it dehydrated beautifully AND re-hydrated very well too! I used a 7 oz. plastic tub of Pre-Cooked Roast Beef from Target Stores.

The Roast Beef from Target filled all four of my Nesco Dehydrator trays, with about three slices on each tray. TWO hours later, it's fully dehydrated!

Ideal Temperature to Use for
Dehydrating Cooked Roast Beef

Cooked roast beef is best dehydrated at 160°F as mentioned above—but please consult your food dehydrator's owner's manual for their specific instructions.

Shown above is a slice of roast beef held by its corner, to show you how stiff the roast beef was after dehydrating.

I then took another photo, just an hour later, of the same piece of beef to show you how limp it was after re-hydrating!

Rehydrate in Beef Stock if You Wish!

IMPORTANT: re-hydrate in the refrigerator in CLEAN water. Don't leave it out on the countertop and let the expensive roast beef go bad!

Beef is a great way to get your protein, but it can be tough to chew if it's not properly rehydrated. The best way to rehydrate beef is to soak it in water for 30 minutes, or until it's soft enough to eat.

You can also add some flavor to the water, like soy sauce or BBQ sauce, and Better than Bouillon stock, to make it even more delicious. Once it's softened, you can eat it as is or add it to your favorite recipe.

Cute Story

Years ago, I recall this story about a granddaughter who wanted to learn how to cook beef. She asked her mom how to do it.

They went shopping and picked up a beautiful chunk of beef. She then proceeded to cut off the end. She then added the beef to the roasting pan.

Cutting off the end baffled the granddaughter, so she asked her mom why she did that.

Her mom replied, "That's how your grandma always does it."

That wasn't the answer she was looking for, so the young lady called her grandma. "Hey, nanna, I need to know something. Today, mom is teaching me how to roast beef in the oven. I asked mom how to make it. She cut off the end off the beef! She said you always do that. Why do you do that?"

Grandma giggled and replied, "I cut off the end of the beef because it doesn't fit in my small roasting pan!"

The ladies laughed at their assumption that cutting off the end of the beef was the magic trick to great roast beef!

There was no hidden secret to the best beef after all...

* * *

I've also learned, over the years, that the least you do with the beef, the better. Just pat it dry, salt it lightly, and roast it.

Susan Gast began Easy Food Dehydrating in December 2010. Read Susan's story of what sparked her interest in all things related to "food dehydrating."

Susan is featured on Mother Earth News blog, and on Solo Build It (SBI) who host this site along with her sister site, Finally-Keto. Read her first SBI interview, and her second SBI interview. Susan also runs an additional SBI website: SusanGast.com - Non-Fiction Author - and showcases many of the books she's created and marketed over the years.

Since 1980, Susan's involvement in publishing - in one form or another - led her to create a "review site" of products related to the publishing industry. Visit ePubTechReviews today.

Do you want to send Susan a quick message? Visit her contact page here. She'd love to hear from you!

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