Dried meat / fish? Dehydrator?

[mario91]

Thanks overkees for the info!
And what about killing bacteria? Do you know anything? Anyone knows? Cause like 70% of the meat and fish I buy makes my stomach hurt a little bit, so I think it might have excess bacteria (egg yolks never hurt my stomach though). And dried tasted heavenly...!

Why would I wanna salt it, dime? I hate salt and it's the most un-Wai stuff!
I can dry it a lower temperatures without salting anyway. I'm only curious about these 60º-70º high temperatures cause I think it might kill some excess bacteria.

[dime]

Because besides the heat, salt will additionally kill bacteria. I mean that's how meat used to be preserved, with a lot of salt. After it's dried you could wash off the salt?
Anyway, at 60-70C you'll be cooking the meat, not just drying.. but why don't you try and see how it goes? If you slice it thin, 60-70C will definitely sterilize it.

I myself got me a slow cooker which boils at 60-70C, I plan to use it for the tough meats as they are cheap and fatty, but a bit hard to digest raw.

[RRM]

Drying meat/fish at 60ºC-70ºC for 3 or 4 hours will kill some bacteria?
Will it create dirty protein?

Yes, protein starts to denaturate at 42 degrees celsius.... Above 70 the proteins get rapidly denaturated and this will create alot of dirty protein.

Actually, pure denaturation is not a problem; if it solely means that the 3-dimensional structure of the protein gets altered.
They key factor is whether new, hard-to-digest-protein originates due to the increase in temperature.
The higher the temperature, the more sure it is that molecules like HCA originate.
Denaturation already happens at room temperature, and is basically harmless.
We know little about the exact temperatures required to create hard-to-digest-protein.
In my experience, 70 degrees celsius is not a problem.

[dime]

Denaturation anyways happens in the stomach due to the acid, otherwise enzymes can't break down the proteins into amino acids.

Here's an experiment that measured the temperature at which egg whites denature, and normally it's around 66C. As you add acid you need lower temperature.

What I'm doing with the slow cooker is add a tablespoon or two of vinegar to the water, and then let it cook at the lowest possible setting (I measured it seems to be 70C). The meat is amazingly soft in the end.

[mario91]

Thanks overkees and RRM for the information!

So let me tell you know about my last experiences...
I've dried some grounded meat for 3 hours at 68ºC and it tasted very good, didn't make me feel bad at all, no acne.
Few days later, I wanted to do some more dried meat, but now I wanted it to be more crispy and dry... so 68ºC again but now for 6hours. Result - "dirty" taste, bad body smell, a few tiny new zits (got somehow pissed, haven't had acne in ages...!)
Third try - went down to 63ºC, 6hours again - same result as before.
Seems like time plays a role here...!

Next time I'm gonna try at 50ºC, cause I'm not quite sure if the first try (68ºC 3hours) didn't contribute to my acne and bad smell already.
At 50ºC I doubt it forms DP. The hell with the sterelization...!

[RRM]

Thank you for doing the experiment.
Can you try to do it more consitently?
Like consuming some 50ºC dehydrated meat daily for a period of 2 weeks (for example)?
Then you can take the next step.

[mario91]

Thank you for doing the experiment.
Can you try to do it more consitently?
Like consuming some 50ºC dehydrated meat daily for a period of 2 weeks (for example)?
Then you can take the next step.

Done!
I've consumed a good portion of meat dried for 3 hours at 57º for the last 2 weeks, and I'm 100% clear by now. Had some few little pimples in the way, but as I've said in another topic I definitively think it was due to pasteurized juice, but somehow they're gone now, and so is the inflammation (and I never stopped drinking loads of pasteurized juice).
So, the conclusion I take, even if not 100% accurate due to the pasteurized juice situation, is that it didn't give me acne. At least it's what I really feel, since when I ate 68º-6hours dried meat the other time, I immediately felt heavy and inflammated, and with 57º-3hours I've never felt like that a bit.

Btw: I've tasted dried fish for the first time in my life yesterday, and it was just like heaven! I recommend everyone who hasn't tried it yet to do so

[Emeira]

Why does dehydrated/dried meat at 50-60C temp. change colour? from pink to dark purple.
Is it because new unhealthy substances are generated?

[RRM]

Its simple oxidation.
Yes, technically that creates new molecules, but not the HCAs that are detrimental.

[Iris]

You don't even have to heat it that "much" for the meat to change colour. Even if you let it sit on your kitchen top for a day the colour will have changed

[doventin]

How long does dehydrated meat last before spoiling? Is it good for camping (like a week inside a backpack) in pretty hot weather?

[RRM]

Absolutely.
I had dehydrated meat and stored it in the kitchen cabinet (not cooled).
When i had eaten half of it, i forgot about it.
One year later i discovered the dried meat, and decided to try it.
It was perfectly fine and did not give me any issue at all.
Just wrap it in some paper, and then in plastic.

[doventin]

Wow! Is there anything Wai diet doesn't have an answer for?
I always thought that beef jerky has to be made by tons of processing and chemicals. That takes care of the protein side of trekking (so far it was canned tuna).
Does anyone know about the rules concerning food in checked baggage in flights (my guess is that pounds of dried meat would be a problem)? If it's forbidden, what's the chance of finding meat that was dried raw and fresh anywhere?

[RRM]

Wow! Is there anything Wai diet doesn't have an answer for?

Ha ha, well a bunch of people are on this diet for many years now,
so that a lot of experience has accumulated here.

Does anyone know about the rules concerning food in checked baggage in flights

That very much depends on where you are going to, and where you are coming from.
Going from the Netherlands to Ghana, for example, you can pack half a cow, if you fancy.
Going to Australia is on the other end of the spectrum, i guess.

[Emeira]

Does meat itself have digestive enzymes like raw fruits do?
If yes, then even low temp. cooking (at 50-65C) is unhealthy, because it destroys enzymes in raw meat?