How to Dehydrate Ground Turkey
Packed with lean protein, dehydrated ground turkey is perfect for backpacking meals and convenient home cooking. Once rehydrated, it can be used in tacos, pasta sauces, chili, stir-fries, and casseroles—any dish that calls for cooked ground meat.
Notable Equipment
- 1 Dehydrator
Ingredients
- lean ground turkey
Instructions
- 1. Pan fry the ground turkey. Avoid using any oils in the pan (some water if is a great alternative if needed). Stir well to break up the pieces into small and relatively equal size.
- 2. Once cooked, drain any fat and, if needed, use a paper towel to pat and absorb excess fat (excess fat increases drying time and decreases shelf life).
- 3. Arrange on a mesh lined dehydrating tray with enough room for air to circulate between the turkey (although unrealistic to not have any pieces touching or overlapping, avoid as much as possible)
- 4. Place in dehydrator and dehydrate at 160°F for about 6-8 hours
Notes
- Turkey is considered a higher-risk ingredient when it comes to at-home dehydrating for long-term storage. For added food safety, consider storing your dehydrated turkey in the freezer until you’re ready to use it. To learn more about high risk ingredients, check out our post Dehydrating Dont’s: Foods to Avoid and Ingredients to Handle With Care
- 1lb raw ground turkey will yield about 3 cups cooked ground turkey, which yields about 1.5 cups dehydrated
- A mesh liner is required for ground turkey
- Dehydrating times may vary (the water and fat content in the turkey, as well as the humidity and altitude of where you live in impact the time)
- If desired, marinate or add your liquid seasonings before or after cooking the turkey (but before dehydrating)
- To learn more about dehydrating, check out our post How to Dehydrate: Learning the Basics
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