1- The Dehydrator itself is very well built and is simple to use. The one I have has 9 14x14 square trays. I would highly recommend a dehydrator with square trays. The meat lays out easier and if you use ground meat that you shoot through a tube it lays out easier also. The trays slide in and out very easy. The controls are very simple also. Only one knob that goes from "Off" to 165 degrees. They do make one with a timer, but it is about 50.00 more. In my opinion a timer is not necessary. You just have to check when it gets close to done. Some pieces will be ready before others.
2- The dreaded clean up. Well dread no more. Simply take the trays out, soak in hot soapy water for 20 or 30 minutes, wipe with a wash cloth and your done. Dry and put up for next time. The bottom of the unit it easy to get to for clean up of anything that drips or falls through the trays.
3- The end product. In this case I cut up a whole hind quarter. Make sure you cut it as uniform thickness as you can. I ended up with 6lbs of clean venison. I mixed the recommend portion of the Hi Mountain seasoning for 6lbs of meat. I layed the deer meat on a cookie sheet and sprinkled on an even layer of seasoning to the meat. I then put it in 2 seperate bags and added more seasoning to each bag and shook well. I let stand in the frig for 24 hours. I saved some of the seasoning to sprinkle on just before I put the meat in the dehydator.
4- The only mistake I made. I took a good portion to work with me this morning and now I have to make another batch. The guys I work with loved it. It made me proud that it turned out so good.
