If you’re a fan of Alton Brown’s Good Eats, you’ll find that he loves taking a concept, breaking it down, and finding a way to do it himself….sometimes much more convoluted than the original premise. But THIS happens to be one of those things that is easy to do, really cheap, and can get you through until you CAN get your own dehydrator (btw, the Nesco FD-80 is really affordable – read my review here).
(By pricing out the parts, you can actually get a dehydrator for the price of this hack, assuming you don’t already own a box fan of your own. But where’s the fun in that?! This is a fun project on it’s own!)
Make Your Own Dehydrator Hack
What you’ll need:
Box Fan
Cellulose furnace filters (like the ones you can get from the big box DIY stores)
Plastic Canvas (Alton suggest dehydrator liners, but plastic canvas from hobby stores works great, too)
Bungee cord
- Prepare your slicked fruit or beef jerky for dehydrating. (need ideas? Checked out these 101+ Dehydrating Recipes)
- Lay a sheet of plastic canvas on filter
- Place single layer of fruit, jerky or vegetables on filter
- Layer with another piece of plastic canvas
- Stack filters on top of each other on box fan
- Wrap together with bungee cord
- Stand up fan and let it rip!
Watch below and you can see how to make your own dehydrator.
Convoluted? Yes. Fun? You betcha!
Emily as an MFA in creative writing and a strong passion for cooking! She started trying out her mother’s recipes from a very young age, turning the time she spent in the kitchen into a career. She will soon publish her very first cookbook, and in her free time, Emily contributes to our blog with resources for all our readers, whether beginners or advanced chefs.
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