How to Dehydrate Ground Pork – Dehydrating Ground Pork, A Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1. Process to Dehydrate Ground Pork

Once you open the package, you might notice that Smithfield Foods’ 93 percent lean ground pork looks a lot like ground chicken or ground turkey.  At least it does to me.  So I guess this is the “other white meat.” But let’s get to it.

When meat is ground into smaller pieces, then cooked and dehydrated, almost all the moisture disappears and affects the texture of the meat.  Rehydrating ground meat so it’s edible seems to take forever, if not longer. Adding a simple panade will help alleviate this problem by keeping the meat tender and flavorful.

A panade is a mix of starch and liquid you would mix into the ground meat so it doesn’t get hard or dry when cooked. The added starch will help bring in moisture hydrating the meat faster and with a better texture in our dehydrated meals.

Any combination of starches, such as bread, bread crumbs, or crackers, will work.  Similarly, liquids such as milk, buttermilk, stock, or water can be used.  We could also add pork-friendly spices if we wanted.

But we’re skipping the liquid and just adding regular breadcrumbs as the starch.  The liquid will come later. We are adding 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs to every pound of ground pork.

You can easily make breadcrumbs in your food dehydrator.  Dehydrate a few slices of bread or muffins for several hours at 135 °F / 57 °C. Then, coarsely chop them in a blender or food processor.

In a mixing bowl, break apart the lean ground pork into small marble-sized pieces.  Then sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top of the meat and mix. Work the breadcrumbs into the meat using your fingers and form it into a large pork meatball.

Next, cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and let the meat mixture rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to overnight.

In a skillet over medium heat, fry the ground pork until done. You may want to do this in smaller batches. As the meat cooks, break apart the bigger pieces into smaller crumbles.

Finally, when it’s all cooked, take the additional time to chop the cooked ground pork into even smaller crumbles on a cutting board.  You may notice the cooked ground pork feels a bit gummy or tacky.  This is due to the panade. The smaller pork crumbles will hydrate much quicker and give you better results in your dehydrated meals.

Step 2. Preparing the Dehydrator to Dehydrate Ground Pork

We will use these removable Nesco fruit roll sheet inserts on our food dehydrator for today’s project.  They have over 3000 customer reviews with an average rating of 4.5 stars out of 5, which is evidence of a great product. Check out other Nesco food dehydrator products here.

Try to spread out a thin layer of the pork crumbles on the dehydrator trays for a better outcome and a faster dry time.  You’ll average 2 of the Nesco FD-61 dehydrator trays for every pound of cooked ground pork.

The Nesco 13.5-inch round dehydrator tray has close to 119 square inches or .8 square feet of surface area for drying.

Step 3. Dehydrating Ground Pork

Dehydrate ground pork, like other meats at 160 °F (71 °C) until dry.  My Nesco FD-61 takes approximately 6 to 8 hours to dehydrate ground pork. However, this is dependent upon the ambient temperature and humidity, and how crowded we fill the trays. Remember to use drying times as a guide.

You might notice the pork is a bit tacky from the panade as it begins to dehydrate.  The tackiness will go away once the ground pork fully dehydrates.

Step 4. When is the Dehydrated Ground Pork Done

When fully dehydrated, the ground pork crumbles will be hard and dry.  There should be no tacky pieces.

Drying times will vary depending on your dehydrator model. Refer to your dehydrator owner’s manual for recommended temperatures and times for dehydrating specific foods.

Step 5. Equalizing and Conditioning Dehydrated Ground Pork

When the dehydrated ground pork is removed from the dehydrator, any remaining moisture may not be distributed equally because of the size or location, and position in the dehydrator. Equalizing and conditioning is a process for freshly dehydrated foods that ensures any residual moisture remaining in any piece is spread or equalized among all the other pieces in the batch. Let the dehydrated ground pork equalize and condition in the storage container for 7 to 10 days. 

It does not take long for dehydrated food items to start hydrating from naturally occurring household humidity.  Do not leave dehydrated food items exposed to the elements any longer than necessary because of the increased risk of mold growth.

We always recommend letting food items cool completely after they have finished dehydrating and before packing them in an airtight storage container. Warm food may cause sweating which could provide enough moisture for mold to grow.

After a short cooling period, pack the dehydrated ground pork into clean, dry, insect-proof containers.  We will use pint-size or quart-size canning jars with tight-fitting lids.

Every day, check the jar for moisture. Roll the jar contents around and note any clumping or sticking. If seen, put the contents back on the dehydrator for several more hours. Since canning jars are clear, it’s easy to see what’s inside.

Step 6. Storing the Dehydrated Ground Pork

The storage of home-dehydrated meats is a very controversial subject. Should you use oxygen absorbers or not? What about desiccant packets for moisture control? Vacuum sealing? Freezing? Many websites say no, some say yes, while others are silent on this complex and controversial topic.

I don’t use my dehydrated foods for long-term storage. I rotate through it. Otherwise, I’ll use freeze-dried foods for my long-term food storage needs.

The USDA tells us that drying jerky makes it shelf stable for a short period, 1 to 2 months. We’re not dehydrating jerky. My Nesco food dehydrator manual says the shelf life of dried, cooked meats is 2 to 3 weeks at room temperature. They can be stored for up to 6 months in the freezer.

We don’t own any expensive food testing equipment. So we don’t know how long our cooked and dehydrated ground meats remain safe beyond those guidelines, even with the use of oxygen absorbers, desiccant packets, vacuum sealing, freezing, or less-than-ideal pantry storage variables.

We didn’t lay out any hard and fast rules concerning how long dehydrated ground pork will keep before the fats turn rancid. No timetable will tell you. Use your nose; if it smells off, then don’t use it.  Experience is a good teacher.

Oxygen absorber manufacturers and some dehydrating and prepper websites say that you should not use oxygen absorbers for home dehydrated meats. Because you cannot be sure of the residual moisture content of dehydrated meats, botulism bacteria may grow in meats that exceed a 10 percent moisture content in a low-oxygen environment and start producing toxins.

Regardless of the type of storage container, it must be airtight. If it’s not airtight, it will eventually allow your foods to soften and degrade more quickly, and possibly even develop mold.

For storage, we use canning jars with tight-fitting lids and a desiccant packet for moisture control. Since canning jars are clear, it’s easy to see what’s inside.

We use these inexpensive food-safe desiccant packets, which are available from Amazon. These 5-gram packets have over 5000 of mostly 4- and 5-star customer reviews, with an average of 4.7 stars out of 5.  Our bag of 60 desiccant packets will last quite a while because they can be recharged and reused multiple times. Other food-safe sizes are available.

Lastly, attach or include a short note describing the jar contents and the date the product was dehydrated. The label identifies the canning jar contents, and the date helps with the rotation schedule.  A first-in, first-out rotation helps us to use items that have been on the shelf the longest, so we’re using the oldest food first. This method helps us maintain the integrity of dehydrated products.  The note also lets me know where to go in my dehydrator logbook if I want to make another note or two.