Special Olympics Summer Games 2012

Here are a few images from the past weekend's Special Olympics event.

BEEF JERKY!!!!

It took 6 hours to dehydrate.  I rotated the trays every hour because the bottom tray dries the fastest and the top tray the slowest.  I also moved the pieces around, putting the more done ones on the top tray.  It's a good thing I did the mango and the daikon first, so I knew what to expect. 

It turned out moister and oilier than I expected.  I ended up frying all the pieces on really low heat to try to get it crispier, but it pretty much stayed about the same texture  . . . probably because of the cut of meat and the sugar in the marinade.  Tastewise, it turned out really ono. So I deem this experiment . . . a success!!  I think next time I'll go for a leaner cut like flank steak and maybe a dry, spicy rub.




You can see how this piece is kinda moist.  I'm even storing it in the 'fridge 'cause I'm afraid of it spoiling.


Here's a leaner piece.


And a fattier one.


Here's Kona waiting to sample. He REALLY liked it. 


Here's what I did with my failed daikon.  I haven't tried it yet, but couldn't be worse than what it used to taste like.


I used a spoonful of this sauce that I picked up at Palama Market.

Dehydrator Update

Kinda busy this weekend because of picture taking at the Special Olympics Summer Games.  But have no fear, the dehydrator project is still going on.   On the way home yesterday I went to the market to pick up stuff to try. 

I bought a daikon.  I figure'd it would be easy and fast to just slice it and throw it on.  I'm thinking tsukemono action.


It came out looking like this.


I added a shoyu/vinegar/sugar mixture to it.  Turned out pretty HORRIBLE. Maybe I gotta turn it into a kim chee.


But check this out . . . I also bought a slab of meat!!  I feel ready for some beef jerky.  Hoo hooo!!


I froze the meat for a few hours to make it easier to thin slice.  This is the best I could do.  Kinda too small yah? 


The pieces that I couldn't get thin, I just smashed um to smithereens with this rubber mallet.  Maybe I shoulda smashed the whole thing to get it nice and skinny.


You know I'm not really a cook, yah . . . so I used this sauce to soak the meat in.  Waaaay easier for me.  Plus I'm lazy.


I added some pepper.


I did the prep last night.  Now it's about 3:00 in the afternoon and we're ready to DEHYDRATE!!


Cross your fingers!!   Smells really good.   I'll let you know tomorrow how it turns out.  Memorial Day Holiday!!

Dehydrated Li Hing Mango

A couple of days ago Leslie gave me her dehydrator, Landon brought home some green mangoes from work, I picked up some li hing powder from Longs . . . and the experiment began . . .

I wasn't sure what I would end up with, but it turned out good.  The bag I brought to work got wiped out.  It's not at all like the li hing mango you buy in the stores . . . it's a lot dryer . . . lighter . . .

All I did was slice up the mangoes and pour the powder over them.  It was ono just like this.  I admit, I started munching on a few pieces and wondered if I should set some aside . . . but I didn't.  By the way, ahem . . . excuse me but . . . you're drooling . . .


They need to be placed like this on the tray . . . not touching.


I filled up all 5 trays.


I turned on the dehydrator before going to bed. The sound kinda surprised me. It made a soft whirring noise. I placed my hand over the trays and realized that it was blowing warm air upward. So that's how it works!!

When I awoke to go to the bathroom about 4 hours later, it looked done so I turned it off.  I'm thinking that maybe even 3 hours might've been good enough.  Still, with the li hing flavor . . . mmmm.


Look how much the dehydrator cost!!!  15 bucks!!  Les said that was about 6 years ago . . . but still . . . howzdat hah??!  My coworker Ronnie is gonna order one for himself from Amazon.  They run around $50 and have temperature controls.  This one only has an on/off button, but it's good enough for me.  Not sure if I'm ready to do meat yet . . . stay tuned . . .