Thursday, July 3, 2014

Homemade Beef Liver Dog Treats: Two Different Ways


I enjoy making homemade treats for my dogs.  I know exactly what goes in them, and that they are high quality.  My dogs seem to know when something is homemade, and always go nuts for goodies made with love.

I have made various dehydrated treats for them in the past, and decided to try my hand at beef liver this go around.  I know from having purchased dehydrated liver in the past, that it is stiff/chewy.  This is why I tried two different methods of making it.  I am quite pleased with both the traditional and alternative versions.

Method #1-Traditional
Ingredients-1 pound grass-fed beef liver.  That's it!  Just about any liver can be used-pork, goat, lamb, etc.


The beef liver I have is pre-sliced and of uniform thickness, which is nice.  I cut it into random sized pieces using scissors.  Scissors work much better than a knife for cutting liver and lungs up.


My Presto dehydrator isn't fancy, but it is inexpensive, and gets the job done.  Filled two sheets with the beef liver, put the lid on, and dehydrated for 11 hours.

The finished product.
Whats nice about these is that they are easily broken into smaller pieces, and something my dogs typically have to chomp a time or two before swallowing.  

Can't get much easier than that!

Method #2-Alternative
Ingredients-1 pound grass fed beef liver.

As with the first method, I used scissors to cut the liver up.  With these pieces, I cut them into smaller, more uniform sizes.

I dropped them into a sauce pot of simmering water (I added the blood/juices in the containers to the water), and let them very gently simmer for about 8 minutes, before removing with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.

I set the cooking liquid aside to cool, and poured it into an ice tray to make liver broth pupsicles.


Popped these one onto the other two dehydrator trays, and placed the trays atop the two containing the traditional method beef liver.

The boiled beef liver.
These dehydrated for about 5 hours before I considered them done.  

The finished produce (method #2.)
Whats nice about these is that they are soft, "aromatic" and easily eaten, making them the perfect training treats.  I washed the containers the beef liver originally came in, and put the treats back into them.

My dogs, even picky turd Faolan, LOVE both versions of this.

Because they are a meat product, and contain NO preservatives, I do refrigerate these, and use them within 7-10 days.  I imagine they could be safely frozen for use at a later date.

What say you?  Do your dogs like dehydrated treats? 


5 comments:

  1. We just ordered a dehydrator so I will be looking for recipes and ideas of what to make with it, so I'm so glad you shared this. I want high quality and safe treats for the dogs, but want to save some money too, so I'm hoping the dehydrator will accomplish that.
    Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets

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  2. Wow!!! That is great!!!! I have been wanting to get a dehydrator for quite some time! I really should because I know my huskies would just love to eat treats like those!!!!
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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  3. I love liver if someone else cooks it, but I have problems with the uncooked version. I know my dogs would rush into a burning building for these treats. Maybe they'll help me get over my aversion.

    Have a dog-friendly 4th from the Poodles and the dogs and me

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  4. Love the idea of liver pupcicles. I make our liver treats in the oven, because we don't have a dehydrator. I've added one to the wish list along with a KitchenAid mixer.

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Thanks for the howls!!