6 Best Electric Dehydrators for Sausage Making

The first hard frost is on the ground, and the hum of the chest freezer is a comforting sound in the mudroom. This is the season for stocking the winter pantry, turning the year’s harvest into shelf-stable food. For many of us, that means sausage—venison sticks, cured pork links, and savory beef snacks that will see us through the cold months.

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Why Rack Choice Matters for Winter Sausage Making

The dehydrator rack you use is more than just a shelf. It’s a critical tool that dictates airflow, drying speed, and the final texture of your sausage. In a cold, dry house, moisture gets pulled from the surface of the sausage quickly, which can lead to "case hardening"—a tough, dry exterior with a mushy, under-dried interior.

The right rack ensures air circulates evenly around every single piece. A poor rack creates dead spots where moisture gets trapped, leading to uneven drying and potential spoilage. This is especially true for thicker sausage sticks or cured links that require long, slow drying times. Your choice directly impacts the quality and safety of the food you’re preserving.

Think about the type of sausage you’re making. Flat, jerky-style sausage strips do fine on a basic mesh screen. But round sausage sticks can roll around or fall through wide grates, and traditional cured links need to hang freely to develop properly. Matching the rack to the sausage is the first step toward a perfect result.

Excalibur Stainless Steel Trays for Heavy Batches

When you’re processing a whole deer or a hog, you’re dealing with serious weight. This is where stainless steel trays, like those for Excalibur dehydrators, earn their keep. They don’t sag, warp, or crack under the load of ten or fifteen pounds of wet sausage.

The rigid metal construction also means they slide in and out of the dehydrator smoothly, even when fully loaded. You won’t have to worry about a flexible plastic tray buckling and spilling a whole batch on the floor. That sturdiness provides peace of mind when you’ve already invested hours into grinding, seasoning, and stuffing.

The main tradeoff is cleanup. Meat can stick to stainless steel more than it does to non-stick mesh, so a good soak and a stiff brush are often necessary. However, for durability and sheer load-bearing capacity, stainless steel is the undisputed choice for large, heavy batches.

Nesco Clean-A-Screen for Easy Sausage Stick Removal

There’s nothing more frustrating than perfectly dried sausage sticks that are glued to the dehydrator tray. Lean meats like venison or turkey are especially prone to sticking. This is the exact problem Nesco’s flexible Clean-A-Screen inserts are designed to solve.

These fine-mesh screens are placed on top of the standard dehydrator trays. Their flexibility is their key feature; once the sausage is dry, you can simply flex the screen and the sticks pop right off. This prevents breakage and saves you the tedious task of prying each one loose.

These screens are not structural, so they rely on the underlying tray for support. They are an accessory, not a standalone rack. But for anyone who has lost half a batch to sticking, they are an invaluable tool for a clean, easy release. They work exceptionally well for small-diameter snack sticks.

Weston Brands Hanging Racks for Cured Link Sausages

Making semi-dry cured sausages like pepperoni, summer sausage, or soppressata is a different game entirely. These sausages aren’t just dried; they are cured, and they must hang to ensure 360-degree airflow. Laying them on a flat tray creates a contact spot that can trap moisture and invite mold.

Weston’s hanging racks are designed specifically for this purpose. They install inside a large-format dehydrator and allow you to hang links from hooks, mimicking a traditional curing chamber but with the controlled temperature and airflow of a dehydrator. This is essential for achieving the consistent drying needed for proper preservation and flavor development.

This style of rack is specialized. It’s not useful for ground meat jerky or small snack sticks that can’t be hung. But if you plan to move into the world of traditional charcuterie, a dedicated hanging rack is not a luxury—it’s a necessity for a safe and successful cure.

Presto Dehydrator Trays: A Budget-Friendly Option

Not everyone is processing an entire animal at once. If you’re just starting out or only make a few pounds of sausage sticks a year, a high-end stainless steel setup can be overkill. The standard plastic trays that come with budget-friendly dehydrators like Presto are a perfectly functional starting point.

These trays are lightweight, easy to handle, and get the job done for smaller batches. They are typically made of a food-safe plastic that cleans up reasonably well, especially if you give them a light coating of oil before loading them with sausage. For the price, they offer incredible value.

The tradeoffs are durability and capacity. Plastic can become brittle over time, and a heavily loaded tray can sag in the middle, leading to uneven drying. They also tend to stain, especially with heavily seasoned recipes containing paprika or chili powder. But for the occasional sausage maker, they are an accessible and affordable way to stock the pantry.

Samson Stainless Steel Racks for Quiet Operation

A dehydrator running for 18 hours straight is not a quiet machine. When it’s running inside your house during the winter, that constant drone can be incredibly disruptive. Samson dehydrators are known for their quiet fans, and their stainless steel racks complete a system built for indoor use.

The racks themselves are sturdy, dishwasher-safe, and feature a tight mesh that prevents smaller items from falling through. They are comparable in quality to other premium brands. The real benefit, however, comes from using them as part of an integrated, quiet system.

You can run the unit overnight in the kitchen without it keeping everyone awake. This is a practical consideration that is often overlooked. If the noise of a dehydrator prevents you from using it, it doesn’t matter how great the racks are. For those preserving food in a busy home, a quiet system is a significant quality-of-life feature.

Magic Mill Dehydrator Trays for High Capacity

When your goal is to process a massive amount of food efficiently, you need maximum capacity. Magic Mill dehydrators and their corresponding trays are built for volume. With large, square trays and the ability to stack ten or more at a time, you can dry a winter’s worth of sausage in a single run.

This is about workflow efficiency. Instead of running multiple smaller batches over several days, you can get the entire job done at once. This saves time, frees up your dehydrator for other projects, and ensures the entire batch has a consistent flavor and texture.

Like other high-capacity units, these typically use stainless steel trays that can handle the weight. The investment is higher, but it pays off in time saved. If you consistently find yourself wishing you could dry more at once, upgrading to a high-capacity system like Magic Mill is the logical next step.

Choosing Racks: Material, Airflow, and Capacity

Selecting the right rack comes down to balancing three key factors against the type of sausage you make most often. There is no single "best" rack, only the best one for your specific needs. Getting this choice right makes the entire process smoother and more successful.

First, consider the material. Plastic is affordable and lightweight but can stain and warp. Stainless steel is incredibly durable, handles heavy loads, and is easy to sanitize, but it costs more and can be prone to sticking. Your budget and expected batch size will guide this decision.

Next, evaluate airflow and design.

• Flat Mesh Trays: Excellent for sausage sticks and ground meat jerky. Look for a tight weave to prevent small pieces from falling through.
• Hanging Racks: Essential for cured link sausages that need perfect, all-around air circulation. Not suitable for snack sticks.
• Flexible Inserts: A great add-on for any flat tray to prevent sticking, especially with lean meats.

Finally, be realistic about capacity. Don’t buy a massive ten-tray system if you only make five pounds of sausage a year. Conversely, don’t try to process a whole deer with a small, round dehydrator. Match your equipment to your ambition to avoid frustration and ensure a well-stocked pantry.

Ultimately, your dehydrator racks are the foundation of your sausage-making efforts. Choosing wisely ensures every link and stick is dried perfectly, ready for the pack or the pantry. It’s a simple choice that protects the time, effort, and resources you’ve invested in feeding your family through the winter.