Nice machine, but a pain to clean. But I'm sure that's the case with most cheaper dehydrators. The meat gun that came with it is very cheaply made. It will not last. It broke while doing my 2nd batch of jerky. Went and bought a steel tube gun from scheels. But the dehydrator is doing it's job. Probably takes a couple hours longer than. High end models but this is a decent one especially for the money

I’ve never had jerky be so easy truly just plug in and go! I have two now due to it making my life so much easier not having to use the oven anymore. I’ve recommended this to all my friends.

Bought this in Dec2019- had to write a review finally- still use ALL the time. Still running great. Absolutely the best thing you can buy if you love Jerkey. You will never find anything in this price range that does this good of a job. Does better than more expensive ones!

Easy to use ! Fast made deer jerky from deer burger ! Meat gun gave the perfect consistency At a time ! Will buy again !!! 10/10!

Had a friend show us how to make jerky and explain steps to make jerky. How we found out about Nesco Jerky Express maker was from our friend that taught us how to make it she bought one a couple years ago and still loves making jerky with it. We have tried all the Nesco jerky seasoning, the Original seasoning was our first batch, and our grandkids ate it all up in a couple of days. Hot and spicey is very good also, great for snacking when having a cocktail at night. The teriyaki is good it has a little sweater taste that the Original seasoning mix. My wife has made 6 batches of jerky and everybody that has tried it love it.

Dehydrates jerky perfectly in 6-8 hours. Only 1 button to turn it on, no temp settings, has a bit of noise to it that sounds like a fan.Good value for the money.The jerky seasoning that came with the dehydrator smells and taste like dog food and will ruin your beef so do yourself a favour and just throw that out.

Used a few times already for drying fruits, sweet potatoes and tofu. Kept running overnight, and the food was ready in the morning. Super simple and works really well!

This thing is awesome! The cures that came with it are great and easy to use. I used the flat attachment with lean ground beef and the racks held 2 lbs. Spread out and took about 5 hrs. The jerky was awesome and didn't last long at all!

First off I'd like to say nesco makes incredible equipment.one needs to understand that making jerky doesn't have to be difficult. really don't have to have much more than meat salt and spices. That's what she makes it very very easy to do. Was my first dehydrator oh, now I own three nesco dehydrators, 2/400 and one 350. Somebody said on this for that you had to use curing salt, that is only true if you're making a shelf stable for a very long time. Problem with curing salt is it has nitrates in it some people can't have, gout ect. As long as you keep your jerky refrigerated it will keep a very very long time 2 to 3 weeks... Here's my recipe hope you enjoy it, took me 10 years to perfect it.2 tablespoons brown sugar (packed)2 tablespoons liquid smoke (Colgin hickory)2 tablespoons Frank's Red hot sauce2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce1 tbsp salt (level)1/4 cup of soy sauce1 generous teaspoon garlic powder1 generous teaspoon onion powder1 generous teaspoon paprikaMake sure all your spices are fresh. Using the stuff you "had in there" not a good idea 🙃Freeze 3 lb London broil at least 2 hours or until firm but not completely Frozen before slicing. This will make it easier to slice. Slice into one eighth to a quarter inch thick slices. Marinate in a gallon ziplock bag 2 hours to 24 hours, dehydrate 4-6 hours rotating trays halfway through. (6 hours normally) spicy takes longer to dry.. add aprx 30 min to an hour (check on it) for spicy or other special flavors. Add other flavors after intial marinade is soaked in. Allow a couple hours for any added flavors to soak in a bit.______________________________________For spicy jerky, add a 1/2 cup Frank's Red hot sauce and chili flakes. (Crushed red pepper)For A1, add 1/2 cup of steak sauce of your liking.3 pounds prepared and dehydrated properly will render approximately 1 pound 4oz of jerky.PS.. I use 2 6 tray 400 watt nesco's, two setups like that will make 2 1/2 lb of jerky. (6 lbs of meat)

Definitely giving this a 5 Star. I received this on Thursday and have made 3 batches of beef jerky already. Every time they turned out pervect. My fiancé and best friend love it- as do I. I told my dad all about it and how great it was he ordered himself one! We will be making large batches together in the future and looking forward to giving it to our friends and family as gifts. The gun is a bit cheap and I thought it didn’t work at first but if you look straight at it there is a small bump that was caught to allow the gun to squeeze out the meat. I just used a knife to push it through and after that Worked perfect. I can’t get over how easy it is to make it. I’ve already ordered two more trays and more seasoning too! Also looking forward to trying out some fruits and veggies- and even dog treats! Definitely worth the price!!!Andrea

The gun is absolute garbage. Cheap and brittle.The plunger in the gun doesn't quite create the barrier you should have between the trigger and the meat mixture...meat often squeezes behind the plunger and has to be removed by taking the gun apart.The dehydrator is a bit noisy - not a deal breaker though. What was a bit of an itch that I couldn't scratch was that the item came with a bunch of RED abrasion marks all over it which made me question if it was a refurbished item.The mixtures are good and the product delivers on producing good Jerky - but there are other units out there with temperature settings that I would recommend as this one creates a bit of a guessing game...FYI - for good flat jerky, 7 hours in a 20 degree celsius room was needed to reach the proper temperature for Safety and also texture. The "hotrod" style took 15 hours in the same 20 degree celsius room.Not to drone on - but I would not buy this if I were to do it over again.

I bought one of these in early October 2013 to make treats for my dogs - no more "made in China" for me. I went with the lower priced dehydrator thinking I wouldn't really be making a lot of jerky etc. but boy, was I wrong. I've made several batches of sweet potatoes, one batch of chicken jerky, lots and lots of beef jerky, several batches of banana chips (sliced bananas) and some apples. AND, for myself, pineapple slices.I don't do a thing to the meat, bananas, or pineapple but I did learn I much prefer to bake the potatoes first. The meat is put in a 250º oven for 1 hour as given in the instructions to be sure you don't have any problems with anything "bad".For the meat I buy thin slices at the store (generally sold for Italian or German dishes) and then cut them crossways into strips about 1 inch wide. (A friend said they bought fajita sliced meat - both beef and chicken rather than slicing it themselves and it worked very well.) I can fit about 2 # beef on the 5 trays that came with the dehydrator. Because I've dealt with beef from two different stores and one is sliced thinner the drying time takes 10 - 13 hours plus the hour in the oven. Be SURE to buy the leanest beef. I think I eat about as much of this as I give to the dogs. I store it in a container in the refrigerator. Because it's easier to break off pieces of the jerky if it's slightly "crispy" I dry mine a little more than most people might. Also easier for our Chihuahua to chew up if it isn't too chewy.The bananas are simply sliced about 1/4 inch thick, placed on the drying racks and dried. Again, I want them on the crisp side so they're easy to carry in my pocket for a training treat. Our Australian Terrier LOVES them. Apples were cored then sliced (I left the peel on) about 1/4 inch thick - no treatment. I do want to try doing the apples "french fry" style using my mandolin next time. I didn't get the apples "crisp" (over dry) because I wanted them a little chewy. Yes, the bananas and apples brown a little bit, but certainly not much and I definitely prefer that to anything treated. Slightly under ripe bananas work best. I store them in a Rubbermaid container on the counter.Sweet potatoes are very easy - I tried them unbaked but they were really hard and unappealing so I baked the next batch, cooled them in the fridge overnight and then peeled them (the peel slips right off), sliced them about 1/4 inch thick and dried them about 10 - 12 hours until they were dry but still "pliable" and not too crispy. Our terrier LOVES them and enjoys having something a little chewy. The red or bright "orange" look best dried. I did some of the yellow variety and while the dog didn't seem to care, I thought they looked blah and uninviting so I will stick to the brighter colored varieties. I store them in a Rubbermaid container on the counter.The pineapple I did for ME - I love dried pineapple but all I've found for years that has been for sale has been sweetened. I took out the core and sliced it about 1/4 inch thick. It took about 13 hours to dry and still be pliable. It did get a little sticky (maybe I needed to dry it just a tad more) but I keep it in the refrigerator and there is no problem. It's slightly chewy, tart / sweet and absolutely delicious. Next time I'm going to slice it a little bit thicker even if it takes a little longer to dry as it did shrink up quite a bit.I got a jerky gun but haven't used it because I wanted to use the sliced beef so I loaned the gun to a friend who has used it with hamburger and ground chicken. I've seen pieces of her jerky and they are very evenly made. They didn't use any seasoning at all with their meat.All in all I'm extremely pleased with this product. I think I've given it a good workout over the past few months and haven't had any problems. It's easy to clean - a big plus with me. It's also not overly bulky so it can sit nicely on the counter top when in use. I don't think it's loud when operating but you can hear the motor humming away.