dehydrating question

**sh4d0wm4573ri7** · 02-27-2009, 10:35 AM

Ok I have gone off the deepend been drying and storing everything I can get my hands on. Wife is sure Iam certifiable , heres my question ? Any one have any recipes for dried tuna ?

**Alpine_Sapper** · 02-27-2009, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by sh4d0wm4573ri7

Ok I have gone off the deepend been drying and storing everything I can get my hands on. Wife is sure Iam certifiable , heres my question ? Any one have any recipes for dried tuna ?

I've got a book called backpack gourmet, where the basic concept is to make your one pot meal at home, complete, and then dehydrate it. Takes a lot less time and mess. I don't dry straight tuna, as the foil packs aren't that heavy and keep well, but if I'm going to make tuna casserole or something along those lines I just make it they way I want it and dehydrate the whole thing. That way, isntead of trying to cook in the field, or combine a bunch of dehydrated ingredients into meal in the field, I have 6 months worth of homemade dehydrated meals.

**Rick** · 02-27-2009, 03:17 PM

Be really cautious when it comes to dehydrating fatty fish like tuna. At 5.1% fat, it has too high of a fat content. The foil packs tuna comes in today makes packing and storing tuna a snap. Other fish to avoid dehydrating are catfish 5.2% fat, Lake Trout 11.1%, Rainbow Trout 6.8%, Salmon 9.3%, Shark 5.2% and Whitefish 7.2%

Source: Excalibur Dehydration Guide. Page 14

The high fat content will cause the fish to go rancid much quicker than beef and, unlike beef, you can't just trim off the excess fat from fish.

**Alpine_Sapper** · 02-27-2009, 03:24 PM

I dehydrate salmon rather frequently. I got the recipe from the dehydrator manual for the round model ones (forgot the manufacturer). It will work, and it's really tasty if done right, but yeah, the shelf life is not that of normal jerkey. doesn't last long enought to determine what it is, though.

**skunkkiller** · 02-27-2009, 06:13 PM

fatty fish can be pare boiled and then dehydrated pare boiling takes out most the fat. when i cook catfish I pare boil first then dip in egg and corn meal then fry taste like crappie or bluegill.

**Rick** · 02-27-2009, 06:35 PM

Or you can place fatty fish in a brine to help lengthen the shelf life once dehydrated. My only point is that given the difficulty and shortened shelf life the foil packets make an attractive option. If your heart is really set on dehydrating it then choose the lowest fat version (solid white Albacore) packed in WATER. You can use the lid, once removed, as a press to squeeze out excess water. Spread it out in a single layer on a tray in the oven. Flake any chunks so it dries quicker. Leave the oven door slightly ajar to promote air flow. Set heat to lowest setting or 145F and dry about 6 hours.

**sh4d0wm4573ri7** · 02-28-2009, 07:55 AM

Thanks for the tips folks knew I could count on the pack .

**Nativedude** · 03-08-2009, 12:48 AM

Personally, I would smoke fatty fishes. As the Natives and Inuits have done for thousands of years.

I know you can dehydrate fish, but I prefer the taste of smoked fish over dehydrated.

**erunkiswldrnssurvival** · 03-08-2009, 10:40 AM

one of the important things is how the food is kept after dehydrating. long term storage, I dry (after smoking) my fish and other meats until they are crunchy. short term storage, some of the moisture can be retained. a crunchy dry meat in a sealed container will last for 6 years or more.

**Chris** · 03-09-2009, 05:49 PM

Originally Posted by Rick

Be really cautious when it comes to dehydrating fatty fish like tuna. At 5.1% fat, it has too high of a fat content. The foil packs tuna comes in today makes packing and storing tuna a snap. Other fish to avoid dehydrating are catfish 5.2% fat, Lake Trout 11.1%, Rainbow Trout 6.8%, Salmon 9.3%, Shark 5.2% and Whitefish 7.2%

Source: Excalibur Dehydration Guide. Page 14

The high fat content will cause the fish to go rancid much quicker than beef and, unlike beef, you can't just trim off the excess fat from fish.

Not that I'm a dehyrdating expert, but I believe the explanation for that isn't fully correct.

Saturated fat is stable, has a pretty much infinite shelf life. This is why rendered animal fat is used to make bird feeders, it just doesn't go bad. This is also why food manufacturers (who make processed food) add saturated fat to products, it increases shelf life.

Mono or poly unsaturated fats either have one (mono) or multiple (poly) missing hydrogen atoms from their chemical structure, this makes them vulnerable as they can then bond to other things. Thus going bad very quickly. Nuts and nut oils, olive oil, and yes fish, anything with a high level of mono or polyunsaturated fats will go bad quickly. The stuff that is good for you.

So with the beef being mostly (though, not fully I guess) saturated fat it won't go bad, irregardless of the ease of trimming. The fish, being the opposite, does go bad. I wonder though, if hot smoking might render out some of the fat in fish?

There also are hydrogenated oils, which are mono or poly unsaturated fats that have had their missing hydrogens replaced (hence, "hydrogenated") becoming fully saturated. You won't find those in nature, but fully hydrogenated unsaturated fats are indefinitely shelf stable as saturated fats, and they are also how you end up with trans fats.

And now you know.

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**Rick** · 03-09-2009, 05:54 PM

You're probably right on the types of fat. Smoking, of course, is an age old method of fish preservation.

I know when I dehydrate any meats, the fat is removed to some degree. The tray always has liquid fat deposits beneath the meat.

As I indicated in my post above, the information came out of my dehydrating manual.