For the second week in a row we have been blessed with a good amount of cherry tomatoes in our CSA box. Last week, my wife got her hands on them and I never saw them again, so this time I made sure I grabbed them before she did. My goal was to place them into our dehydrator and turn them into little flavor bombs. Freshly picked, perfectly ripe cherry tomatoes, on the own, pack a hefty amount of flavor, but dry them out a bit and you can up that flavor to epic proportions.

It’s important to note that what I am acheiving by this is not a way to preserve the tomatoes; I don’t remove enough moisture for that. I am merely trying to remove enough moisture to concentrate the flavors and provide a bit more texture to them. Once finished, these tomatoes will need to be refrigeratored or they will go bad. Even then, this procedure will only buy you a bit more time than you would have with competely fresh tomatoes.

While I use a dehydrator for this, you can do these in your oven also. Hopefully, your oven’s lowest setting is 150°F. Preheat the oven to 150°F. Place the prepared tomatoes on a rack, covered with cheesecloth, cut side down and place in the oven. check after 1 1/2 hours and every 20-30 minutes afterwards, removing tomatoes as they are done. Doing it this way is a little less forgiving, but still not very difficult. Just keep an eye on them.

Dried Cherry Tomatoes

1 quart cherry tomatoes (or any small variety of tomato)
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. finely ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Finely mince the garlic then, using the edge and side of your knife mash it into a coarse paste. Grind the dried oregano and dried basil into a powder and mix with the garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil. Remove any stems from the cherry tomatoes and slice, in half, through the stem end. Toss with the olive oil mixture. Lay out on your dehydrator racks, making sure that none the the tomatoes are touching.

Set dehydrator to about 140°F, cover and allow to dry for 2 hours. After 2 hours rotate your trays, if necessary and continue to dry for another 1 1/2 hours. Rotate trays again and start checking the tomatoes every 45 minutes to 1 hour, removing any tomato that is done. Tomatoes are done when they have loss about 1/2-2/3 their size, are starting to feel firm to the touch, and are just slightly dry around the edges. It will take anywhere from 3 1/2-6 hours to dry. I can’t be any more specific as lots of factors affect the drying time; type of dehydrator, size of tomatoes, humidity in the air, etc. Mine took approximately 4 1/2 hours to reach the moisture level I wanted.

Once they are done place in the fridge for storage. They will last a week or 2. For longer storage you can cover them with olive oil, but you will still want to keep them in the fridge.

These little flavor bombs make a great addition to simple pastas, salads, or vegetable medleys, but really my favorite way to eat them is to simply pop them into my mouth, right out of the jar, although it is easy to get carried away and consume an afternoon’s work in just a short time!!

I’ve been having fun playing with my new food dehydrator, thanks to Chef Talk. I don’t know that the infatuation will last but it is fun right now, and, at the very least, I think it is something that I will pull out occasionally and play around with, even if it never becomes a “vital” appliance in my kitchen.

This weekend I got a chance to play around with making jerky, and I have to say, I was rather pleased with the results. It sure beats out most of the big name brand jerkys out there and is a heck of a lot less expensive than buying any of those “gourmet” jerkys you see at fairs and festivals. I made both a Spicy Asian jerky, marinating it in soy sauce accented with Chinese 5 spice powder and Siracha (a spicy chile garlic sauce). I also made a Southwestern Chipotle Lime jerky, using ground chipotles to add a nice light smoky accent to the jerky. Of course you can always smoke your jerky before drying it in the dehydrator. I can be smoked afterwards but the meat will take up more smoke, more readily if you smoke it while still raw.

A couple of things to remember, if you are making jerky. First off you will yield about 1/4-1/3, by weight, of the original amount of meat you purchased due to the drying process so purchase accordingly. Secondly, it’s very important to remove as much outer fat as possible and choose meat with as little interior marbling as possible as the fat as a tendency to go rancid sometimes. For longer term storage I suggest placing in the refrigerator. I did not use any curing salts (nitrates or nitrites) in the making of these jerkys so long term storage, at room temp might be problematic. I wouldn’t worry about leaving it out for a day or 2 but for longer storage, play it safe and refrigerate.

Spicy Asian Jerky

1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. Chinese 5 spice powder
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp. Sriracha (chile garlic paste)
1 lb. lean beef (I used an Inside Roast roast)

Chipotle Lime Jerky

1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. chipotle powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. lime juice
1 lb. lean beef (see note above)

For each recipe, combine all the ingredients except the beef. Slice the beef so it is approximately 1/4″ thick then into strips about 1 1/2″ wide. Toss the beef in to the marinade and mix to coat. Because the Chipotle marinade is more of a paste you will really need to work at getting it distributed evenly. Tightly cover and allow to marinate for 10-12 hours in the refrigerator, stirring it every few hours.

Spicy Asian Jerky in marinade

Chipotle Lime Jerky marinating

Place meat in dehydrator, blotting off excess moisture from the Asian Jerky. Dry following the manufacturer’s directions. You will want to dry somewhere between 140F and 160F.

Drying time will be anywhere from 3 1/2 to 10 hours, depending on several factors, but if you made sure to cut your meat 1/4″ thick it should take 3 1/2 – 5 hours. To test for doneness remove 1 piece of jerky and let it cool to room temperature. It should crack along the grain when bent but it shouldn’t break apart. When done remove to a cooling rack, blot off any excess fat that rendered out and allow to cool completely before packing it way.

I’ve recently be playing around with dehydrating as a form of preserving food, and making tasty treats thanks to my new dehydrator from Chef Talk. In the past, dehydrating hasn’t held a lot of allure for me, but I am the curious sort (for both better and for worse) and am always looking to try new things and experiment with new, at least to me, techniques.

Of course, one of the first things I’ve tried is fruit leather (beef jerky will be this weekend) as I have always loved those fruit roll ups. I wanted something a little more sophisticated, flavor wise and remembered the numerous bags of cranberries that were sitting in our freezer. Cranberries alone weren’t going to make a good fruit leather so I decided to pair them with apple, a classic paring and to spike it with just a hint of cinnamon. The resulting leather reminded me of those classic fruit roll ups but with a more complex, less overly sweetened flavor that adults would enjoy.

Apple Cranberry Leather

1 pound cranberries, fresh or frozen
4 pounds apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped (choose apples that are both good baking and eating apples, I chose Braeburn this time)
Apple juice, or cider
corn syrup
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Puree the cranberries, in a blender, until smooth, adding just enough apple juice to get the cranberries blending. Repeat this process with the apples, again using just enough juice to get the puree started. You want it to be thick enough still that you will need to stop the blender occasionally and push the contents down. Combine the cranberry and apple purees, stirring to combine. Add the cinnamon and just enough corn syrup to sweeten the puree to your liking. Use corn syrup as opposed to sugar as sugar tends to recrystallize making the fruit leather brittle. Flow the manufactures suggestions for making fruit leather in your dehydrator, making sure that the puree is no more than 1/4-3/8″ thick. Do yourself a favor and lightly oil the tray you make the leather on. It will help in removal when done. Dry at 130F for approximately 6-9 hours. The length will depend on a lot of variables including humidity, ambient room temperature, how much juice you added, etc. The leather is done when it is still pliable, but no longer tacky to the touch. Remove trays from dehydrator and allow to cool slightly. Remove fruit leather from trays and roll in plastic wrap.