Freeze Dried Homemade Beef Stew

[@beatriceannbaker3350]

I do a dry check where I weight all trays and put back in for 2 hours. If there is even a gram of lost weight at the 2 hour mark it goes back in. Sometimes for 2 more hours or if I have to work or sleep it’s 10 hours. When freeze drying, you’ve spent so much on groceries and time it’s worth it to spend the extra time to dry. ❤

[@trailgrazers3690]

Thanks.

[@stephaniejackson8555]

I named my freeze dryer "Elsa". We love her. Im thinking of opening my camned Beef Stew, thickening it up, then FD it to free up some canning jars. Getting hard to find now.

[@MrEmom]

I will be recieving my Harvest Right FD sometime this week and and so glad I found your channel! Thank you for being so thorough and explaining things in ways regular people can understand- Even though I'm a late start food storer I find your videos very helpful- tips and tricks are very appreciated- thank you!

[@lindas.8036]

Adding baking soda to meat is an old Chinese technique called velveting. It tenderizes and jucifies! Meat is traditionally marinated with baking soda for 10-15 minutes, then breaded and/or fried. Thanks for the videos.

[@trailgrazers3690]

So glad to know that. Thank you!

[@TheErador]

I think they also use egg white for velvetising too

[@gmwwc]

And yet the thin little slabs of beef are like eating shoe leather. Nothing beets braising to make a poor cut of beef tender.

[@robingirven4570]

I would’ve for sure dribbled water out of the tea kettle onto the tray, next to the bowl! Yes, I’m watching again. Beef stew is next on my list to FD

[@trailgrazers3690]

LOL! That is a great choice to FD. It works very well..

[@karenshady8129]

This content is exactly the type of thing I was hoping to see here. You guys are the best. Thanks so much Pam, and Jim..

[@trailgrazers3690]

Our pleasure! More to come.

[@gmwwc]

Ha Ha Ha! I'm in my mid 70s. For most of my life I have had a full gas propane stove in the house. We also had propane water heater, clothes dryer, wall heaters, and space heaters. I do not recall ever opening a window or a door for air exchange, and yet we are all still here hale and hearty!

[@seamusmccracken451]

Would love to hear more about the freeze drying process. Maybe a walk through of which settings you use and how you decide how long it will take to freeze dry. Haven't gotten my freeze dryer yet but I'm in the queue. Thanks! Great video!

[@trailgrazers3690]

We will be putting out that information very soon.

[@Patriot1459J]

You two are AMAZING. Thank You for all your time you use to help us. I dont live very far from Havest Right. I so want a Freeze Dryer.

[@trailgrazers3690]

I hope you are able to get one soon! They are great.

[@terridiamond7862]

Yummy. Reminds me of campers stew at our camp outs. Cornbread & cherry cobbler for desert. All cook on the fire.

[@trailgrazers3690]

We are working on cherry cobbler! Video coming soon.

[@SilentWatcher594]

When I have my FD'd finished product on the counter, I NEVER bring water near the product. One misplaced drop of water on your dried food that goes into the bags can be a bad problem down the road.

[@trailgrazers3690]

It is good to be careful.

[@elizabethneuhalfen5148]

Love the new channel. Thanks Another freeze drying channel “school reports” is a favorite. I struggled with knowing if the food I He weighs the trays after the cycle and then adds 2 additional hours. If no appreciable weight loss everything is good to go. If continued significant weight loss, reload and repeat. He follows food safety and is very good at explaining his approach with lots of details.

[@elizabethneuhalfen5148]

Oops if the food is really dry

[@trailgrazers3690]

I have watched him a time or two as well.

[@tiarewilliams9186]

i add 12 hours extra dry time set to add to my regular freeze dryer batch time. That's always enough to keep going if it's inconvenient to package when the regular batch is done. (if it stops during work or when sleeping)

[@trailgrazers3690]

I get that. I just don't want to run the compressor any longer than necessary so I try to guesstimate!

[@tiarewilliams9186]

@@trailgrazers3690 we live in the humid south so I try to use the absolute least amount of time between FD and packaged.

[@magsstewart5488]

For folks who don’t want to or can’t bother with a full kitchen, that stew is perfect to portion into small Mylar bags. All ya need is a kettle to boil water. Add to Mylar bag, eat out of bag. Reuse Mylar bags to stow used tp. Do not mix up bags. 😁

[@trailgrazers3690]

Well said! Thanks.

[@garliclovers1416]

Hahaha. I can't do the drying stuff but I wanted to be part of it all, so I made the stew for our evening meal coming up in 3 hours. Interesting to see the tomato paste in the stew. That is new to me so it will be interesting to taste. I will drop some dumpling mix in at the end. Freezing cold here today. Thanks for allowing us to be part of your adventure. I really appreciate it.

[@trailgrazers3690]

You are so welcome! Glad to have you along.

[@LivingMiracleHomestead]

I was going to ask why you checked them for dampness. Glad to see that it occurred so I would not skip this process.

[@trailgrazers3690]

I am really glad that happened as well. It was a great teaching moment! Thanks.

[@marycoblentz5000]

I love this new channel as much as the other. I am not a trailblazer by any means, but I do have a freeze dryer, and because I have a food allergy (corn), I take my own food anywhere I go. These Ideas are very welcome. Thank you!

[@trailgrazers3690]

So glad you like our videos. Thank you so much.

[@steviamahler6881]

Just want to say, I really enjoy both your channels! So glad I found you a couple of months ago! I would have loved having you as a professor when I was in college many, many moons ago; you are such a natural teacher! Blessings to you and Jim!

[@trailgrazers3690]

Thank you so much. We appreciate those kind words.

[@cladkerson8479]

Looks great!

[@trailgrazers3690]

Thank you.

[@shaunnichols4664]

The only way to be sure s to weight it, add extra time on the FD and weigh it again. If there is no weight difference then it is dry and ready for packaging.

[@locutus8496]

Check out Dan Hyde's "School Reports" You Tube channel. He weighs his trays when the FD cycle is done, then puts them back in for another two hours of extra drying time. Then he weighs them again. If the weight of each tray is within one gram of the first weighing, he knows that all the water has been driven out. Otherwise he'll put them back in for still more drying time. He also uses little kitchen thermometers stuck into the food to make sure they're all up to temperature before he takes them out, to make sure they won't attract condensation.

[@marygallagher3428]

So great to have a freeze-dryer to make your yummy meals light weight to pack!

[@trailgrazers3690]

It really is! Thanks.

[@JB-tp9we]

The only ral way to know if your food is dry is to weigh it on an accurate scale when you think it's dry, put it back in 2 hours and weigh it again. Keep doing that until it stops losing weight. It really is the only way you can tell that it's completely dry. Also the dehydrator will not take as much moisture out as the freeze dryer will. This is very important for long term storage, IMO.

[@trailgrazers3690]

If that works for you, that is great. Both will reduce moisture to 10% or below which is the safe amount.

[@redeemedvintageseamstress4728]

Looks wonderful! I've never put mushrooms in my stew for some reason. It looks very good! I'll have to try it! 😊

[@trailgrazers3690]

They are really good in stew! Thanks.

[@trishfriesen8943]

Great info. Thanks!

[@trailgrazers3690]

You are very welcome.

[@iiinsaiii]

You should weighing the trays to make sure everything is totally dry and all the moisture is removed.

[@trailgrazers3690]

That is one say to do it.

[@cherylfiedler5761]

Oh boy, oh boy!!! I'm so excited about your wonderful new channel

[@trailgrazers3690]

Thank you!

[@nitababcock3977]

That sounds so good with a skillet of corn bread

[@trailgrazers3690]

That does sound good. Thank you.

[@carolclarkson4859]

I love this freeze drying content. It looks so amazing when you rehydrate.

[@trailgrazers3690]

Yes it does, and it is so convenient as well!

[@robingirven4570]

I’ve been weighing my trays. When they stop losing weight, then I know they’re done. I use extra dry time! Always! I let them go 2 hours, weigh again, when, done losing weight. I know they’re completely dry.

[@trailgrazers3690]

Thank you!

[@KathyFitz1113]

My freeze drier arrived this week (yay!) and I will definitely be making beef stew! Thanks so much for sharing tips for dealing with food that didn’t freeze dry thoroughly. I feared I’d have to reprocess the whole batch.

[@trailgrazers3690]

Congratulations! I hope by now you have done lots of batches!

[@cllfrog3450]

Thanks 👍so far all I do in my FD is single items. I'm worried about rehydrating meals. I'm thinking about the noodles that we can't can, like the stroganoff they sell in prepper food plants.

[@trailgrazers3690]

I think there are ways to do that. We will be doing lots of experimenting. And we will share what we discover.

[@judyf.8582]

We are waiting for our Harvest Right freeze dryer to arrive and while I wait, I'm thinking of all the many food recipes that are possible for freeze-drying. Your RoseRed channel gave me the desire and guts to start canning and now I'm looking forward to any and all freeze-drying recipes and ideas you can offer!

[@trailgrazers3690]

Sounds great! I am excited about your freeze dryer. We really love the ability to FD foods.

[@maxibake9323]

Looks Yum. 😋 What a Brilliant idea for taking Camping. TFS TG, & take care. ❤🙂🐶

[@trailgrazers3690]

Thank you.

[@ClickinChicken]

it's like cereal, except it's beef stew! neat.

[@trailgrazers3690]

Good way to describe it!

[@lynsmith2698]

I am so excited for the future of this channel and your other one. So many great things going on. Loved this video. Cheers 🇨🇦🌷

[@trailgrazers3690]

Thanks so much!!

[@job955]

Looks wonderful. Please post your beef stew recipe, I don't remember seeing it on Red Rose Homestead. Love this new channel.

[@trailgrazers3690]

Coming soon!

[@boymama1623]

Nice, I have HR I’ll need to do this. Thank you for the video.

[@trailgrazers3690]

You are very welcome.

[@debbiesessin4360]

Love the new site! So proud of you two!!

[@trailgrazers3690]

Thank you!

[@gmwwc]

Rose, bless you for not filling that cooker right to the top. I see this on KZbin vids a lot and it is so dangerous to fill it more than 2/3 full. This poses a risk of plugging the vent tube.

[@trailgrazers3690]

Thanks.

[@vikkisoderquist6013]

Beef stew is another favorite meal of mine. That's a great meal to have while camping! Great video and Tfs! Please stay safe and sending hugs to you both 💜😎

[@trailgrazers3690]

Thank you! You too!

[@MsCharleene]

Im excited about your new channel. I’m thankful for your video plus your wonderful beef stew recipe. I can’t wait to try this in my HarvestRight freeze dryer. I would be very interested in more recipes using meat. My son asked if I can make beef jerky in the freeze dryer so can you answer that question? I’d love a recipe for that as I’ve never made beef jerky. ❤️

[@trailgrazers3690]

Here is our video on making jerky. We do it in our dehydrator. I don't think it would work well in the FD. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaSyZJKJoZmfgZo

[@susanchavez4278]

no meat in the freeze dryer get light and airy kind of fluffy. I tried because I wondered also

[@kathleenmarchione6283]

I have two questions. 1. I didn’t think you could use flour in a recipe that is cooked in an instapot? No issues? 2. Cooking potatoes, carrots, etc is usually between 4 mins and 7 mins. Did your veggies get mushy? If not, do you know why they didn’t? Thank you. Love your videos. I always learn so much.

[@trailgrazers3690]

I used a tested recipe.

[@kathleenmarchione6283]

@@trailgrazers3690 Thanks!

[@nancypeplau9747]

Pam, when the food is not completely dried, you can hit the little Leaf on the screen to scroll through the cycles until you get to the More Drying time"... your pump will do a cooling first then it will continue with the final dry again.... that way you won't have to mess with the dehydrator and cleaning more trays. great video! I'm loving this channel.

[@trailgrazers3690]

Thanks, Nancy. I usually use the dehydrator only when a small portion of the food is not dry so I don't heat up the rest of the food at the sam time. Glad to know that tip! Thanks.

[@pattymonteleone3577]

Thank you, I didn't know that!

[@DonnaRau-ng9vz]

Being a newbie, some say to put in oxygen absorbers, but it looks like you do not when putting your fd into canning jars. What is the correct procedure?

[@pamharkins4601]

That looks so delish!

[@trailgrazers3690]

Thank you.

[@RhondaBoston-yq5wc]

is there any way to freeze dry flat cut corned beef with seasonings? I know it is a fatty cut of meat. In your opinion, can it be accomplished safely?

[@rhondagillespie6031]

Great idea! Looks delicious.

[@trailgrazers3690]

Thanks.

[@Patriot1459J]

What about freeze drying macaroni or potato salad with eggs and etc?

[@trailgrazers3690]

We have freeze dried potato salad and it turned out great.

[@lastchance6845]

Hello 👋 I really love your channel I love the fact you have a science background and use it to explain why things happen etc, what will happen, and how to go about getting it right. Please can you do a video on the dehydrator please? For example what can you put in there, how you came to the conclusion on how long to run it for? What you cannot put in it, is it worth buying or is there a cheaper alternative, etc?? I'd love a freeze dryer but I have no space for one and I really can't afford one. I'm new to the food preserving world and there's hardly any information available in the UK for example in the USA you have the USDA giving out really helpful information and advice including books etc. I love the idea of taking meals in Mylar bags and just adding a little bit of water and within a minute or two you have a hot meal fabulous idea. I suppose it is like the army rations. I really enjoy this channel and cannot wait to see you and your husband Jim on the trail. Take care ❤both of you, you are very inspiring to learn from as my mum never taught me anything and my man I was close to moved to be with her daughter as she needed more care so I wasn't able to ask her things or get and write down her knowledge and recipes et c before she passed away. I'm now 43years old and learning from you and Jessica from the three rivers homestead channel, you are the only 2 channels I trust plus you are both not trying to make us but items just to make money of the viewers and so many other channels are so fake. Anyway thanks for being you 🤗😊

[@trailgrazers3690]

Thank you so much. I just put a load of carrots in the dehydrator and we made a video on it. It will be posted on our other channel. I am also going to be writing a book on dehydrating later this fall.

[@trinade3732]

Do you ever use mylar bags instead of jars.? Does your weston machine vacuum seal mylar bags? Thanks for the recipe.

[@trailgrazers3690]

Yes we do that sometimes and yes, the Weston does a great job with mylar.

[@pattijesinoski1958]

What non-gluten flour can be used in your plastic bag instead of all purpose flour?

[@trailgrazers3690]

You could experiment with some and see what would work.

[@bethwesthed5512]

I very much appreciate all you have shared with us on both of your channels! I have learned so much! What freeze drier do you use?

[@trailgrazers3690]

We have a Harvest Right medium. There is only one manufacturer so far. I wish they had some competition that would cause them to lower their prices!

[@rangerannie5636]

Miss Pam, Could one alternatively dehydrate your beef stew?

[@trailgrazers3690]

I wish that were safe, but it isn't. You could dehydrate everything except the meat an then cook and add the meat when ready to serve, but I don't know how well that would work.

[@Patriot1459J]

I heard Zucinne takes on the flavor of what you cook it with. Maybe exchange some beef with Zucinnie 😊😊🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

[@trailgrazers3690]

You could surely try that!

[@thissideofglory]

We are gluten free here. Would thickening with cornstarch or arrowroot powder work through the freeze dryer and re-hydrate thickened like the flour, or does the freezing nullify the thickening effect?

[@trailgrazers3690]

I am not sure on that because I have never done it that way, but I imagine it would work just fine.

[@zhippidydoodah]

I use chickpea flour to thicken when I make gluten-free stew, salisbury steaks, various beef & chicken dishes. It doesn't affect the flavour, or it hasn't yet anyway. ;)

[@janarichards5511]

Arrowroot tends to liquify if cooked too long. Tapioca starch/flour would probably work fine. I have not tried it in the freeze dryer though. Please report back on what you try, I would like to know.

[@Morksmorks9]

What do you think of testing with a moisture meter with a ball , and what should the indication in the moisture meter be? I use a trotec BM31 but not quite sure how to make good use, for instance one should not measure near metal tray because of the reflexions. Thank you for the receipe this will be my first FD meal :)) You are amazing, my idole! Congratulations and Best wishes from Europe,

[@trailgrazers3690]

I am not familiar with that meter. The moisture level should be 10% of less if that helps.

[@Morksmorks9]

@@trailgrazers3690 thank you, that really helps! It confirms my assumption The instrument ranges 0- 100% and is to be calibrated on ambient air with each use. I tested it with my airdied mint plants and herbs, always 2-7% (which I consider safely dried) and water (100%)An entire fresh apple has 88%, seems also totally comprehensible. I had today a ‚finished’ FD egg tray between 10-20% feeling dry and warm, but I better then add a bit more drytime then until it drops below 10%. That was a yolk tray I tested, probably the fat makes them dry slower

[@Morksmorks9]

@@trailgrazers3690 PS we learned from our harvest right reseller the freeze dryer operates also fine with less trays; if parts of the load are done earlier, those trays can be taken out before adding drytime. Seems logic, but I have never seen anyone practize that in a FDvideo, so is that right? Only discovering canning and FD now, still learning at least one new thing a day, Thank you so much for sharing

[@gailtheartistmom]

It has been 7 months since you posted this video. Have you rehydrated and tried the beef stew? My experience has been that meals freeze dried with meat and tomatoes get a funny taste over time. My theory is that the acid in the tomato products keeps working on the meat making it taste off. Please do a follow up. You only used a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste, so maybe it is not as bad as when I freeze dried bolognese sauce.

[@trailgrazers3690]

I think that is a great idea for a video. We will definitely do that--probably follow up on several things to rehydrate in a single video! Thanks for the idea!

[@jamessherrill3454]

Can you give the recipe. Thanks

[@trailgrazers3690]

Oh goodness, I don't use a recipe. I just add in whatever I have on hand.

[@michelleczajka2079]

This looks amazing! We just got our fd a little over a month ago so we’re still experimenting. I dont have a pressure cooker but would love to know how you prepare ground beef for the freeze dryer. I’ve tried boiling-gross. Rinsing, we have a septic system so I don’t want all the fat in the tank. Thank you!

[@trailgrazers3690]

I have not yet freeze dried hamburger but plan to experiment with it soon. I plan to brown it and drain the fat into the garbage--we are on a septic tank as well. Then I will pat it with paper towels and pop it in the freeze dryer. I will do a video just as soon as I have verified that my process works!

[@janetdw]

@@trailgrazers3690 I do not have a freeze dryer. But I have pre-cooked ground beef for years with onion, salt and pepper, put it on rimmed baking sheets in the freezer. When frozen, I crumbled it up and put it in the bags for every day use. For a small household, that was invaluable. Plus it was such a fast meal. Tacos, spaghetti, anything that used ground beef, I just grabbed a couple of handfuls and dinner was almost done. Plus I didn’t have that mess every single time I had to make a meal with ground beef. When I started doing it, I was on weight watchers and they recommended to do that then pour boiling water over to get rid of all the fat. I felt it took away too much of the flavor and would pat it with paper towels as well. It should work great in the freeze dryer.

[@pattymonteleone3577]

Thank you so much, great video. I love my freeze dryer, worth every penny. I noticed that you do not put O2 absorbers into your jars. Do you think they are helpful for long term storage?

[@trailgrazers3690]

I either vacuum seal or use O2 absorbers--either works and I prefer vacuum sealing since I have the equipment. I do use both only with egg powder, however simply because that is how the commercial egg powder is packed.

[@tizmehere492]

Question: when Freeze drying foods the end product sounds very airy (I am blind & do “watch” your channel). My odd question/concern is this: since you break it up to store it in jars or bags, is there any loss of size to individual pieces of food on account of possibly crushing/smashing pieces of food when breaking it up for storage? Note that I am not asking about loss of food volume due to some minor inconsistencies that might occur in the reconstitution process. Thank you so much. I enjoy your channel and am investigating future possibilities for my family.

[@trailgrazers3690]

Do you mean that if I am breaking up beef stew, for instance, do the carrots or potatoes stay intact or do they break into smaller pieces? Generally the food breaks where it is less dense so it breaks around the chunks instead of the chunks breaking. I hope that was what you were asking.

[@leahsiemens1424]

I'm curious why you didn't just choose to add extra dry time to your freeze dryer when it was done. Then it could just keep drying until you were ready to film. This also may have prevented the soft spots. Do you use oxygen absorbers in your jars? Or are you planning to use them up within a certain amount of time? Vacuum sealing is great but the oxygen absorber would add another layer of protection to your food. I'm excited to see more freeze dried stuff! I'm working through 66 pounds of diced pineapple right now! Yum!

[@trailgrazers3690]

I had turned the freeze dryer off and rather than start all over with the process, it was easier to use my dehydrator. I prefer vacuum sealing when I use jars and I use O2 absorbers inn mylar bags.

[@debbiebrugman4543]

Great meal idea. Thank you. I do have a question regarding your Amazon store. Is there supposed to be a little poster or icon or some thing showing that part of the money from purchases go to primary Children’s Hospital and Saint Jude hospital? I purchased buckets last week and didn’t remember seeing anything. I would like to order the Westin food saver and a couple other items but when I click on those items to go to the Amazon store again I’m not seeing any indication. Or is the money gifted after the purchase and we don’t see that transaction? I am not a regular customer of Amazon so I have no idea how this works.

[@trailgrazers3690]

The small commissions come to us and we then make the donations every six months in a lump sum. For tax reasons, we need to do it that way unless there is a way on Amazon that we set it up automatically to go to the hospitals with the accurate tax liabilities in place. Great question, thank you.

[@ACreativeU]

I use my FLIR camera to make sure my food is dry.

[@trailgrazers3690]

How nice that you have one!

[@lastchance6845]

Why do you have one of those for? They are mega expensive, you are very lucky to afford it.😊 How does it help you?

[@makechips]

@@lastchance6845 They’re not all that expensive; they’re great for checking HVAC for leaks, your electrical system for poor connections (Think DIY Solar, etc), and your home for failures in you weatherizing and insulation. As for checking if your food is done drying in the freeze dryer, I prefer to weigh the trays at the “end” of the drying cycle (while still warm) and then add 2 hrs of drying and weigh them again, if they didn’t loose any weight, they’re done, if they did, two more hours of drying time, repeat until they stop loosing weight.

[@sheilam4964]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@CindaMurphyRealEstate]

Will a carbon monoxide detector detect gas too?

[@trailgrazers3690]

No but I think there are detectors for that as well.

[@marianeudorf7524]

🙏🏻🙏🏻❤️

[@nnicole9435]

I’m just curious why don’t you get a tripod instead of Jim always holding the camera? I can totally understand wanting to spend time with your husband and it’s fun to do the videos together so I get it but I just want to hear your perspective and your reasoning. thank you

[@trailgrazers3690]

Generally it is my perspective and reasoning in all our videos. The topics here are now in Jim's area of expertise, so his main contribution is the camera.

[@brucelarson4283]

Wheres the red wine??😁😁

[@trailgrazers3690]

LOL!

[@juliewilliamsnewzealand818]

Good morning, I see my last comment has been removed. I am wondering was it because I recommended someone elses website? If that is the case, I am so terribly sorry Pam and Jim. I would have emailed you this apology but couldnt see where to so am putting it here. Feel free to delete it once you have read it lol. I honestly meant absolutely no disrespect to you and your channels. :) xxx

[@trailgrazers3690]

What??? We did not remove your comment, Julie, and I am sorry that happened. We don't do that unless the comment is religious, political, or rude and you have done nothing that would warrant removing your comments. No apology necessary!

[@juliewilliamsnewzealand818]

@@trailgrazers3690 oh thank goodness!!! I was really worried about it. What a relief 🙏💝xxx

[@halifaxguy]

I’ve seen a few freeze dryer channels that are vacuum sealing their jars in the harvest right (some are doing their Mylar bags that way as well) and on the channel Retired at 40- Live.Life.Simple he has tray dividers that allow you to pour your food onto the try, put in the divider and in the end you have equally portioned servings for storage. My freeze dryer just showed from the vendor so hope to be able to try some of your recipes soon!

[@trailgrazers3690]

I tried vacuum sealing in the vacuum chamber and I saw Retired at 40 did that, but I think the company does not recommend that. It is just as easy for me to use my vacuum sealer. Congratulations on your new freeze dryer--how exciting!