Dehydrate Ground Beef for Shelf-Stable Meat for Your Pantry

Dehydrating ground beef for your shelf-stable pantry is really easy, and these 5 tips will help you become more successful! Thanks to @BackpackingChef for the extra tip!

NOTE: I did forget to mention conditioning since I went right into the rehydrating portion. You still need to condition meat just like anything else you're working with if you'll have it out of the freezer for any length of time.

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TIMESTAMPS

[csimmons]

I’ve been dehydrating ground beef for a few years and it’s honestly my favorite thing on my shelf because it’s SO easy to use and tastes much better than pressure canned ground beef.

[joydavis]

I like how you roll it up on the paper towel to get excess grease off. Excellent idea

[janisholloway]

Oh, Lord bless you for this. Can't afford freeze dryer, but love my dehydrator.

[jdm]

I have dehydrated cooked ground beef (sloppy joes & taco meat) last year, still in vacuumed sealed jars. They are still good. I keep them in a dark cool room. I open once in a while to check, then reseal. I need freezer space. I have also canned meatloaf (with bread crumbs) 2 years ago, opened a jar last week and it smelled and tasted delicious, so keeping them on the shelf a bit longer.

[sherrydawson]

Chicken, dehydrated, for vacation meals with one-day travel, then back in the refrigerator. Cooked the chicken in rotel. Cubed chicken. Dehydrated with juices and all the bits. Refrigerated in a sealed bag until time to travel. Another sealed bag with dehydrated veggies, dehydrated broth, and seasonings. Just add water to soak in the refrigerator overnight. Easy, economical vacation meals & so good! Thank you Darcy for all you do!

[chunt]

I dehydrate my ground venison. There is no fat because I grind my meat, made from trimmed venison with all fat and silver skin removed. I add chopped onions and or green peppers, canned tomatoes and spices while cooking the meat. After dehydrating I will store it in vacuum seal bags, after placing the dried meat in paper bags to prevent the dried meat from puncturing the seal a meal bags. I have experimented with just storing the dried meat in plastic jars ( used peanut butter jars) using no vacuum sealing at all. I have had no problem with spoilage after 3 years on the self. And sample it occasionally to see if it is still edible!!

[kristiobrien]

YES on the breadcrumbs! It makes rehydration so much faster/easier. Also, it seems to make the dehydrated version so much better. My husband will actually snack on the breadcrumb dehydrated meat right out of the jar. I love your idea of rehydrating with broth, I will try that next time.

[FGM]

I have limited freezer space. I have ground beef that I dehydrated four years ago that is still good. I use enough for 1-2 servings and re-vacuum seal the jar. I don’t care for the texture of the dehydrated ground meat as much as fresh ground meat. I’m going to try using the bread crumbs on the next batch. I had thought about making croutons out of stale bread but hadn’t gotten around to it. I had not thought about making my own bread crumbs. More things to add to my ever growing dehydrating list😃

[kaesmomFitz]

Wow. I had no idea meat could be dehydrated. I only buy the low-fat ground beef because my husband has a heart condition so this would be perfect for longer-ish storage for me (rather than just freezing it all the time).

[thejagmohan]

Thank you. You're a good teacher and I can tell a great cook. Your hubby is fortunate lol

[J_Chap]

Thank you for the video. I am getting ready to dehydrate ground beef to grind into a powder to make pemmican. Thank you so much for sharing the link to the jar vacuum sealer. It's not that expensive. I love it when youtubers provide information and give us links. :)

[firequeen]

I love dehydrated ground beef. I make it and jar it with “fast” (dehydrated) cooked pasta and seasonings in a jar for camping. Rehydrate and simmer, perfect! Saves on camping fuel and can even be done in a solar cooker. Love the taco seasoning idea. Chili would be good as well. If you don’t want to use jars, you can vacuum seal for camping as well.

I actually love canned ground beef as well. Such an easy shortcut for chili, tacos, and sloppy Joe’s. Yum 😋.

[ivahihopeful]

I love dehydrated ground beef and ground sausage for pizza, tacos, spaghetti sauce, etc. Very convenient!

[AshleyByTheOcean]

You’re a mind reader! Just two days ago I was thinking about how I need to try dehydrating taco beef! I’ve been trying to come up with a few dehydrated meals for an upcoming camping trip. It’s a hike-in site, so dropping even just a few pounds of extra weight would be great.

[greyfox.]

Another thing about prepping your meats as much ahead of time, because, as a prepper, one may never know what there is available in a grid-down situation. Thanks for the info. I’m just now looking at a dehydrator for purchase.

[LaurieAnnCurry]

Darcy, I’m actually rethinking whether I REALLY want a freeze dryer or not. I’ve wanted one for years but the last year or so I’ve been so happy with the dehydrated food I’ve made that I don’t know if I can justify the expense. Peeps who have a freeze dryer, would you buy one again & Why?

[KoniB.]

Darcy, this was a well done, well presented, well thought out video. I am not so sceptical about doing this now. TFS

[aprilsunnyday]

I am so thankful I have found you (new subscriber). I love dehydrating. Thank you for the work you put into these videos.

[theonewhomjesusloves]

I squeeze the fat out of my ground beef before i freeze it (cooked), haven't dehydrated it yet, this video came at the right time

[juliamarple]

Ive been dehydrating for a couple of yrs now, and i am a minimalist camper/hiker/roadtrip Queen! Ive never dehydrated meat though. Time to start! I am not digging my emergency jars of canned ground meat on the shelf. Thanks for your great video & all your helpful commenters.