• Kathy posted an update in the group Preserving The Harvest January 19, 2012 6:28 pm

    Will start canning some ham leftover from last week. Now that I know this is doable! Thought about dehydrating it, but wasn’t sure how to go about that. Think canning is a safer bet. Anyone ever dehydrated ham??

    • I haven’t dehydrated meat before, but you can make jerky out of any meat. The down side is the USDA recommends its only shelf stable for 2 weeks after that it’s to be frozen. So for me canning is a better option! Basically they say that the dehydrated meat can still turn rancid.
      On the flip side there are backpacking and prepping sites that show how to dehydrate different types of meat and they do not freeze it.
      Basically it’s a do at your own risk. I’ll post the links to the USDA info and some of the other sites. I will probably make jerky soon as dh loves it.

    • Fleet Farm has 2 to 3 different books on dehydrating foods. I have not dehydrated any meats except jerky a few times. You can also check out books at your local library. They usually have a good selection of books on preserving foods.