RE: first time dehydrator user.
I dehydrated about 5 pound just the other night. The meat had been frozen for since Oct. I let itbegin to thaw,and then cut the semi frozen meat into similar size pieces. Marinate the meat for 24 hours. I used the jerky cure from Wally World, plus I add a few other spicesand liquids. I put the meat into the dehydrator at 8 pm and I removed it around 5 am. That is when I woke up, and I remembered the jerky. It just happened to turn out perfect. Practice makes perfect. Good luck.