I do all my own processing. this year i built a smoker out of a 55 gallon drum, with the fire box mounted on the end. it's made on it's side, on a frame, with 1/3 of it cut down it's side for the lid. made 2 racks out of expanded metal. have less than $50 in it. Used it for the first time last week. worked great, smoked about 50 lbs of meat, 30lbs of sausage, 1 chicken and a pork roast. I defenately think smoking is the best flavor out of your game. However we also like ground venison(hamburger) and canned venison. It's done in a pressure cooker. the dehydrator you described sounds identical as the one we have, and it works great for jerkey, freeze what is not currently being used. Your seasonings and cure will take care of any bacteria.