Recipe: Savory Eggplant Jerky (2024)

FAQs

Do you have to blanch eggplant before dehydrating? ›

Pre-treating vegetables by blanching is recommended to enhance quality and safety. Blanching improves color and texture, relaxes tissues so pieces dry faster, reduces the time needed to rehydrate vegetables, and helps to destroy potentially harmful bacteria. Thoroughly wash eggplant. Trim, cut into 1/4” slices.

Place trays in dehydrator. Some oil may drip off during dehydrating, so place tray with solid sheet underneath mesh trays holding eggplant strips, and lay a couple paper towels on sheet. Dehydrate at 115 F for 12 to 18 hours, or until dry and fairly crisp.

Fresh vegetables contain enzymes that impact the freshness, color and flavor of the vegetables. Blanching deactivates these enzymes so the peak quality is preserved.

Older recipes call for salting eggplant to draw out the bitter juices, but today's eggplants are less bitter (unless very large), so salting is largely unnecessary. It will, however, help the spongy flesh absorb less oil and crisp up like a dream.

Soak it in milk.

Soak eggplant slices or cubes in milk for about 30 minutes before cooking. The milk not only tempers the bitterness, but it actually makes for eggplant that is extra creamy, since the vegetable acts like a sponge and soaks up a good amount of milk in its flesh.

Eggplants are known to absorb a lot of fat while cooking. A useful tip to prevent sogginess and greasiness is to salt sliced or diced eggplant and let it sit for an hour. This helps to draw out moisture. Next, rinse and drain any liquid from the sliced eggplant, then pat dry before cooking.

The salt draws out the excess moisture so the eggplant has a stronger flavor and a softer, more tender texture. Sometimes cooks salt cucumbers, zucchini, and cabbage for the same reason. Less water = more flavor. This method works for cubes, slices, and planks of eggplant.

35ml apple cider vinegar: Acids are essential for food safety since they inhibit the growth of microbes. This ingredient will not just add a distinct taste but help ensure your jerky is safe for consumption.

Marinating jerky before dehydrating is a crucial step to delicious and flavourful jerky and I don't recommend ever skipping it. The longer you marinate, the more tender and flavourful your jerky will come out.

How do you prevent botulism in jerky? ›

Is a cure necessary when making jerky? For safety, yes. Using a jerky cure will inhibit bacteria growth and prevent botulism or other foodborne illnesses, as jerky is dried at low temps, not cooked. Cured jerky will also lengthen the shelf-life of your product.

Do you salt eggplant before making eggplant parmesan. Yes, salting the eggplant before making eggplant parmesan draws out some moisture. This can help the eggplant stay crisp after cooking because it removes some moisture before it has a chance to create sogginess.

If it's an extra-large eggplant, the vegetable could be older and the skin tougher, therefore, it's a smart idea to peel it. But small, young eggplant have thin, tender skins that add great texture to the vegetable when cooked.

"Bruised, wrinkly, or soft eggplants are well past their peak and are likely to be dry and spongy no matter how you prepare them. Some eggplant varieties are also better than others in different meals," says Norton. Choose an eggplant that's heavy for its size, relatively firm, and with little to no imperfections.

5. Blanch the eggplant in the boiling water for four minutes. Blanching kills the enzymes that cause eggplants to lose their texture and flavor over time. Eggplant also has a high water content, so it benefits from being cooked slightly before freezing.

Add olive oil and spices to the bowl and gently toss with tongs until each piece of eggplant is coated in the spices. Place the eggplants slices on the trays of a dehydrator and dehydrate on the fruits/vegetable setting (about 135 degrees) for 4-5 hours until fully dried and crisp.

Blanch the Eggplant

For blanching, add one-half cup of lemon juice to one gallon of water, and bring it to a boil. Blanch the eggplant slices for 4 minutes, cool, and package in freezer bags. Remove as much air as possible before sealing bags.

Steam or blanch vegetables that you would not eat raw, or that are particularly tough or fibrous: carrots, corn, asparagus, broccoli, green beans, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. Bell peppers do not need to be steamed or blanched, though they will rehydrate faster if they are.