Kale Chips and Chicken Jerky

I use my dehydrator for just two things: kale chips, and chicken jerky.
Kale chips are foolproof with a dehydrator, which can’t be said about making them in the oven, as I know from many trays gone wrong. The chicken jerky is for Lucy. She’s a picky eater, and not particularly food oriented. The ONLY treat she likes is chicken jerky, and after all the recalls for contamination, I don’t trust any of them any more.

Update: recalls and contamination reports have continued,  for instance, this

I had so much kale from my CSA, and after having it every day for a few weeks, my body said: enough! I do find that overdoing kale can have inflammatory consequences, due to its oxalate content. So I chopped it up, massaged it with just a little olive oil and salt, and put it in the dehydrator overnight. Presto! Perfect kale chips that I am still enjoying by the handful, months later.

Chicken jerky is so easy to do in the dehydrator. Just cut thin strips of raw chicken, put them in a bowl with a little healthy oil (I used MCT oil), mix around, and then lay out on the dehydrator trays for about 6 hours at 165 degrees. You can also add some parsley or mint if you want to make them “breath treats”. Make sure they are completely dry when done. You may want to keep them in the fridge to be completely safe. Of course you could make it from other meats, and you can eat it yourself, if you are so inclined.

If you have a dehydrator, I’d love to know how you use yours.

You can make chicken jerky without a dehydrator by setting your oven to 200 degrees, but the dehydrator is much more efficient, and it’s fool-proof.