Sun drying food

[Guest Revelator]

With the weather so hot this summer I've gotten into sun drying food. My first time was in mid-June using a couple different types of meat. I used boneless pork chops and fajita meat I bought from the Hispanic grocery store. The fajita meat is so thin it doesn't need to be sliced, but I sliced the pork to where it was about 1/4 of an inch. You want it as thin as possible. Temps were in the mid 90's and it took two days to dry out.

I use two 30" square window screens. Just lay the food on one screen, then lay the other on top. The trick is you want air circulation but you can't have any holes for bugs to get into. I first just used duct tape around the edges of the screens to seal them up, but that's a major PITA to put on and take off. Today at the dollar store I bought a few wooden clothes hangers that clamp shut. Tried them on the screens when I got home and they seal it up tight. No spaces. Easy to remove and put back on too.

I place the corners of the screen horizontal between a small outdoor table and a bench, that way it stays level and off the ground. I also take a few washcloths, fold them up and place them inside the screen around the edges before I close it up. When folded the cloths are a couple inches thick and push the top screen up off the food. This keeps flies from getting to the food through the screen. I place the screens out in the backyard in the morning before I go to work, then bring them in at night. As long as it doesn't rain before I get home I'm good. To clean the screens I just hose them down. The food goes in tupperware containers.

I put salt on everything before I lay it out. With temperatures this hot I'm going to try and dry as many different things as I can each day. From what I read you want dry air, and even though it's been extremely humid that doesn't seem to be a problem. Tomorrow I'm going to dry out tomatos, potatoes, onions and peaches. I have no idea how all this will turn out. I'm just experimenting with different stuff. I want to start trying different marinades and spices too.

I still have some of the meat I dried in June and it tastes great. No refigeration required. Properly stored it could last for a while longer I believe. Sun drying is a fun hobby and a totally off-grid way to do long-term food storage, if only in small amounts.

[VERO1]

We have been using a dehydrator to dry out excess produce from the garden. Never have tried out the (solar) method though.

[Shorty]

I've gotten interested in how to sun dry/ cure food lately. What's the prep on the meat before you put it out, just salt and seasoning?

[Guest Revelator]

Yup. Just salt so far. Would like to look into other things to use.

[Guest guardlobo]

Most fruit I've dried just needed cut up. No seasoning, sugar, oil or salt. However, I've had no luck with bananas.

Vegetables for cooking may not need salted, but I eat them like chips so I use a little sea salt.

Meats are definitely best with seasoning. I usually marinade mine overnight before drying. Salt also makes jerky last longer.