Tips for dehydrating whole quail?

[goats-n-oats]

Hi, I saw dehydrated quail online for sale as hunting aids or treats for dogs. Was thinking of doing this myself to prep food for the dogs for next winter. I have a couple of dehydrator ovens: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008H2OELY and https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08GBY2BK8.
Does any one have any tips or experience in dehydrating whole quail?
What temperature, and for how long do they need to be cooked?
Should the blood and/or entrails be removed prior?
Any other tips?
Thanks!

 

[Nabiki]

I don't know if dehydrating whole quail would work in a standard dehydrator. I'm kind of thinking that a freeze dryer would work better, but those things are incredibly expensive.

 

[NatJ]

One of those dehydrator descriptions has a mention of jerky. Since jerky is dried meat, you might look for more details about that-- some of it might be applicable.

Other than that, it might just require experimentation. You could cut a quail into different size pieces, then try different times & temperatures, and see how it goes. Thicker things take longer to dehydrate than thin things, so just cutting the quail in half would probably make a big difference. Cutting it even smaller, and/or removing the guts (lots of moisture there) might be needed.

 

[Nabiki]

One of those dehydrator descriptions has a mention of jerky. Since jerky is dried meat, you might look for more details about that-- some of it might be applicable.

Other than that, it might just require experimentation. You could cut a quail into different size pieces, then try different times & temperatures, and see how it goes. Thicker things take longer to dehydrate than thin things, so just cutting the quail in half would probably make a big difference. Cutting it even smaller, and/or removing the guts (lots of moisture there) might be needed.

I make jerky in the food dehydrator all the time, and it's great. The problem is, I think a whole quail is too thick to dry evenly or well.

 

[CliftonQuail]

I make jerky in the food dehydrator all the time, and it's great. The problem is, I think a whole quail is too thick to dry evenly or well.

I found a listing for dehydrated quail on Amazon that seemed to show a whole bird, minus its head, but still fully feathered and with feet attached. There was only a picture of the back of the bird so I couldn't tell if it had been gutted.

 

[Nabiki]

I found a listing for dehydrated quail on Amazon that seemed to show a whole bird, minus its head, but still fully feathered and with feet attached. There was only a picture of the back of the bird so I couldn't tell if it had be gutted.

I think I found the listing you're talking about. No mention of how it's dried other than "slowly and gently".

 

[Huntmaster]

I would have to believe it would have to some kind of freeze dehydration. A whole bird would spoil/rot on inside before it ever dried fully with heat.

 

[NatJ]

I would have to believe it would have to some kind of freeze dehydration. A whole bird would spoil/rot on inside before it ever dried fully with heat.

I suppose someone could use a normal oven, and overcook it until it dries out. That would be hot enough to avoid spoilage, but you might end up with burnt quail (i.e black and smelling burnt), depending on what temperature the oven was set at.

Even though quail are small birds, I agree it could be difficult or impossible to get it dried all the way through.

 

[Huntmaster]

I suppose someone could use a normal oven, and overcook it until it dries out.

That would be just as you stated cooked not dehydrated.

 

[NatJ]

That would be just as you stated cooked not dehydrated.

Definitely cooked, but depending on how dry it ended up, I think it could be called "dehydrated" as well.

I agree it would be different than the not-cooked result that we usually call "dehydrated."