[pct-l] Dehydrated chicken breast - rehydrating with hot water

[Ann Marie]

"I went stoveless this weekend on a little trip. It worked out so well  
I can't see ever using a stove on a hike when the weather is not cold  
ever again. I dehydrated my own food for this trip so we're not  
talking "easy" rehydrating stuff like mashed potatoes. I made  
concoctions of dehydrated sweet potatoes, carrots, kale, green and  
kalamata olives, pork tenderloin or chicken breast, golden beets. Put  
it in a peanut butter jar, added water and real Japanese miso paste,  
waited a few hours, poured a ton of olive oil in there and yum yum  
best food ever. Especially the pork. That stuff dehydrates and  
rehydrates really well and tastes great. The meats, beets and sweet  
potatoes were all cooked before dehydrating.
"

How did you dehydrate the chicken breast?
I slow-baked the chicken, then diced it (while still juicy) and put it on
trays to dehydrate. In camp, I added enough hot water to cover the meat plus.
Then put the zip lock bag in a cozy.
It was steaming still 10 minutes later, but the chicken was like rocks.
We waited more minutes, still the chicken was uncomfortably chewy.

I checked the leftovers in the morning, still the chicken was way too chewy.
I added more water and by lunch time the dices were chewy enough but I 
would have liked them softer.

So, what did I do wrong with the white chicken breast? Does it have to be
shredded and not diced before dehydrating it?

By the way, spaghetti squash and (frozen) chopped spinach rehydrate really well.
So do turkey meatballs (dice them before dehydrating) from Trader Joe's.
And a big can of crushed tomatoes from Costco.
And Costco sells a bag of shelf-stable shredded beef that dehydrates
and rehydrates really well.