I decided I could make these, and this helps! While you could easily buy a pack of jerky at your local pet store, you can save a lot of money by doing it yourself at home. Also, a lot of these treats (even the expensive “holistic” brands!) I just got lucky that none of my 3 got sick from them.. Been doing the dehydrated ones for well over a year now. [CDATA[ You’re right, chicken breast is universally white when cooked (when the proteins in the meat have denatured-like egg whites). Good luck! Great article, I just purchased some from a small company in boulder and my dog loves them. My workaround was to just have it on a small, but heavy gauge power strip (the ones with the beefy cord to handle the load). They dehydrate very evenly. I’m glad to hear your making your own treats and it’s helping your dog’s skin issues! One additional tip I can provide, a good butcher will slice the chicken very thin for you. I’ve been doing it for 20 or years now. I’m glad you found it useful!! As for wrapping your dog treats in fruits or veggies, although I’ve never tried, it does spark my curiosity. FDA Continues to Caution Dog Owners About Chicken Jerky Products, FDA Issues Warning on Chicken Jerky for Dogs, Make Your Own Dehydrated Turkey Jerky Dog Treats, Book Review: The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive Book 1), Making The Most Out of Your First Year in CrossFit, Review: The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin, http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/chicken-jerky-pet-treat-alert/, My first chicken jerky - YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community, Build Your Own Chicken Shed | Easy Shed Plans. It’s been dehydrating now for about 4 hours. Thank you . I just tried making these (first baked them in my oven -170 deg – until cooked, then in my dehydrator) and a lot of the pieces came out looking like there was white paint painted on parts of the chicken. Thank you so much for posting these instructions. I’m so excited to try your recipe for the dehydrated chicken strips. Dehydrated Chicken Heart Treats. It’s also a great way to make jerky, trail mixes, fruit roll-ups, and for drying up unused herbs. So I decided it give dehydration a try myself. However, there is so much fat that needs to be cut away (including hidden pockets inside the meat) that it doubles the processing time for a batch. Benefits of Chicken Feet for Dogs The dehydrated chicken strips are ready for your dog! I seasoned the first batch. I have not tried using O2 absorber packets. Hi Julie – White paint, you say? Just wanting to hit on the garlic and dogs. I usually end up going through them too quickly though to ever build up a stock pile though! 3. so far so good here.. I’ll be treating the lawn soon as I get to the Equity to buy the stuff I need. My kids don’t get any dog food at all anymore. I would try turning down the heat and cutting thicker than 1/8″. Debbie – Food Safety News has a great article on the current findings and speculation as to the cause of the development of Falconi-like symptoms in pets, which is still yet to be determined by FDA labs. Slice chicken breast. Check the strips every hour -- the strips should bend but not break. Bottom line is… I won’t feed him anything I wouldn’t eat myself!:). Play with oven temps and keep watching them. Season with dog-friendly spices if desired. Pat dry with paper towel. I got a Nesco.. 700 I think it was with the heating unit on top. 9% off. The water leaving the meat is not necessarily taking these compounds with it, but more likely concentrating them. Cut the chicken into thin slices, approximately 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide. This causes Heinz body anemia, which essentially causes blood cells to lyse, or rupture, open. So excited because I’ve never made any jerky or anything dehydrated. I also like that I can set them up to cook before bed and find them done in the morning before I leave for work. It’s used by many holistic vets, and, evolutionarily speaking, has been consumed by humans (and probably their pets) for 1,000’s of years. This would be flank steak, skirt steak, or top round. Do not totally freeze the meat solid or use frozen meat just out of the freezer, as it will be too much for the motor on the meat slicer to handle and you will kill your meat slicer! a pound. It re-hydrates well when added to rice and water. Just wanted to pass it along. They have a limited ability to absorb oxygen, so every time you opened the jar, you’d “wear out” the pack really quick. $9.49 $ 9. This is a step you can do by steam or roasting in the oven before processing in the food dehydrator”. Since I doubt any of these chemicals come out of the chicken meat during dehydration, but rather concentrate in the meat itself, I recommend avoiding the unknown consequences. Possibly 300-350 for 15-20 minutes and then let them continue drying for awhile in the oven with it off. By the way, this is the easiest chicken treat recipe I’ve ever come across. However, I would think it might be real stinky during the dehydration process! I am so glad to hear more people are making their own dog treats & not buying the “made in China” stuff! KA says: December 7, 2013 at 7:25 pm. Is it a counter top convection oven? I bought a dehydrator and already made a batch of organic chicken and turkey jerky. Chantal – glad to hear you got your own dehydrator and thanks for commenting. You migh b abl to find other articles with first hand insight. I don’t care if YOU eat this crap, but don’t feed it to your dog. Thanks for sharing! I would hope a dog’s stomach could handle it, but it would be worth a shot if you picked up some salmon filets. -Sahil, Sahil.. glad to have found your website. Sahil – thank you for the great article! Sanitize the jar after every couple batches by placing it in a pot of boiling water, using a dilute bleach solution (rinse thoroughly), vinegar, or running it through the sanitize setting on your dishwasher. I just wanted to chime in on the “garlic issue”. Thank you for making this tutorial. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/chicken-jerky-pet-treat-alert/. To answer your question of whether they can be sliced too thin.. the answer is yes and no. Jp – As mentioned above, you could pre-cook the chicken treats in the oven at 165F to lightly pasteurize the chicken, but I personally do not. It’s worth the effort to make sure my 2 sweet Basset Hounds have safe and fresh treats. Hi Linda $19. You may be able to find them locally, but shop around, some are marked up as they’ve become kitchen decorations rather than actually used items. Hi Kellybel, http://patricedodd.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/labor-of-love-and-economy/. But if they can be had for $25-50, I might have to check one out. I’m not looking forward to this year; since the Northeast had such a mild winter, the ticks are already out in full force. If not, really try scraping this off on your next batch and see if you still get it. One of the only downsides (if there has to be one) is that they do take quite awhile to dry out. This is fantastic, exactly what I was looking for. Thank you, (If your dog swallows almost anything whole – I would NOT recommend jerky-like treats. Garlic is very dangerous for a dog. We stopped at the nearest town and this awesome vet saved her. so glad you didn’t lose your little one! Returning home from a trip she became ill and went into a coma while I was holding her. This would be useful but possibly an added hassle of ordering them and then storing them as well. The thicker they are, the slower they will dehydrate. Course you could just leave them in the freezer as the kids will eat them anyway.. LOL I’ve already talked 2 friends into doing this too!!! At the current time, the FDA does not know the cause for dog illness related to these Chinese made dog treats, but assume it is an additive or result in a process/manufacturing chemical used. Now that they’re done allow the strips … // ]]> DISCLAIMER: This article, originally published in June 2011, came well before the FDA issued warnings on chicken treats made in China. I don’t trust any of the treats sold in stores. Freeze for an hour to make slicing easier. After running the machine for about 7 1/2 hours, I separated the racks and allowed everything to cool overnight. Which is definitely a possibility!! Very welcome Patrice! Pamela. Thanks for your info! Irradiated chicken has killed pets. Make sure to go with a decent quality provider, beef is frequently pumped full of liquids, chemicals, and colorings that only wind up getting concentrated in the resulting jerky. I do have some, but they are more intended for long term food storage. The food is lightly cooked as it dries, though not for very long and not at a high temperature. Hopefully I can make some beef jerky or some venison jerky in the future :D. You’re welcome Pam, thanks for the kind words. These break apart easier that the old store-bought Chinese type ones. NO onion tho. I wont ever buy treats made in China and have been ordering them for $25.00 a lb. I remember seeing the Ron Popeil infomercials on TV for the Ron Co Food Dehydrator. Dehydrating meat not only kills bacteria, but imparts extra flavor for your pooch, making the treats perfect for training sessions. You can search the web or go on Ebay and buy one pretty reasonable for around $25 – $50. , Hi Sahil, I am in northeast Ohio. , Hi Jill – thanks for the comment! Thanks for the tips Billie, I’m glad you found this article useful. Ingredients for homemade dog treats. The moisture in the food is removed using a drying process. :( Every little bit helps as I work full-time and work on this blog during my free time. I generously trimmed everything remotely fatty or choppy looking, but it will be cooked up and used in the dogs’ dinners. I was feeling pretty proud of myself, until I realized I had no idea how long to run the machine for this application! Hey Bill – Glad you found this article useful, as well as the wealth of info shared by others here in the comments. That’s because the dark meat has more fat in it and will spoil more quickly than the breast meat. Chicken hearts are a muscle, and an excellent source of low-fat protein. Place in the fridge and marinate 12 - 24 hours. You can use other meats such as turkey, lamb, beef, or even ground meats to make jerky treats. the kids like it. No seasoning on this batch. Dehydrate: Allow 24+ hours for drying time. Will the chicken be safe to eat for the dog without the salt or precooking before hand? I’ve been buying Whole Life, which says sourced & made in USA .. but it costs a fortune. I recently used chicken breast that was still ‘on the bone’ (because it was on sale). And I am so glad I can now offer pure chicken, sourced and made in the good ol’ USA! Hey Pamela! I almost lost my mini daxi 10 months ago due to Chinese duck and chicken treats! Do you have a recipe for beef jerky for dogs? As part of their natural diet, Dehydrated Chicken Bones provide dogs with natural fibre, among other nutrients. Otherwise, like you said, pre-cook the meat in the oven. Your online article was a life saver. Remember, Chinese manufacturers are not necessarily held to the same regulations and standards that US based manufacturers are. Well anyways, I just wanted to let you know the easiest way to cut any meat for the dehydrator is a meat slicer! I know to wash hands anyway but like putting a bit down in the side before giving it to our dog, do I have to be aware of it? These treats are easy to make whole or sliced in half. Luckily, most trays are also dishwasher safe, so that’s my go-to method after making a batch of jerky. Required fields are marked *, As we all know it, dogs love eating meat. It’s better to use chicken breast rather than dark meat. Poor things went through withdrawal a couple of years ago when I stopped buying the crappy Chinese treats. Or did I overcook it? I recommend getting phosphate/nitrate free chicken when possible, since many poultry suppliers pump these solutions into the meat to make them more moist. After all, it’s the same chicken I eat myself, I’m just sucking the moisture out of it. Thanks for your comment. I’ve never had that happen to me but im very curious. I hope this helps, as this is how I sliced the chicken for the dehydrator so my two old girls could have jerky too! Maria Staffieri says: October 18, 2015 at 3:42 am. Air is your enemy, as the treats tend to grow more brittle as time goes on or they sometimes get softer if you’ve got high humidity in your air. Containing no additives or sugar. If you have no idea where to start when buying a food dehydrator, I would consider a budget-conscious Nesco or a super-duper Excalibur (if you’ve got the dough – i don’t even own one yet). We discovered all of her favorite treats displayed that symbol. I simply sliced the meat off the bone with a sharp knife. I’ve made 4 batches of the chicken jerky thus far. The first thing that comes to mind is making a fruit roll-up style snack and chicken strips separately, then wrapping the roll-up around small bits of chicken. My Maltese is loosing teeth. I think what you’re doing is safe, but I might recommend you cook it longer than 5 minutes at 425, but that might overcook them. My cat loves dehydrated chicken. You should treat them like your cutting boards and knives that you use to prepare other meats. Kaite Stidolph Homemade Treats Barf diet, Dehydrated chicken hearts, dog treat recipes, dogs, epoch.pet, Homemade dog treats, Homemade pet treats, ... We will be making some dehydrated chicken hearts; these require so little time and effort, and my girl Lily loves them. I see turkey and chicken are great ingredients to use, do you think this process would work for fish? It might be that the heat source is too close to the chicken and it is cooking faster than it’s drying. Has this ever happened to you? Get it as soon as Thu, Nov 5. If I have time, I’ll experiment with this the next time I make some treats and let you know the results!! Dehydrate … However, since dehydrating isn’t the same as cooking with heat, but rather just pulling the water content from the meat, I think that’s why the meat doesn’t turn white. Both my kids LOVE them. It is a jerky, so they are going to require chewing. Reply. Hope these make them happy. Does the dehydrating cause the color change? Hope this helps! I’ve merely found that 1/4″ is a happy median between how easy it is to cut by hand and ease of cooking them. It would start absorbing O2 from the atmosphere, and would eventually top out in its ability to take in anymore. Now that they’re done allow the strips to cool and then store them in your storage jars or the zip-lock bags. Interesting question! (You don’t have to … You just don’t want to overdo it. Garlic, on the other hand, doesn’t contain these high amounts of thiosulphate. X, I probably would suggest you test you dehydrator with a thermometer or something to make sure its getting not up to that temperature/165. Hi Cristabolina. Chicken breasts require a little longer to prep but you can get more strips out of them than you can a chicken tenderloin. 2. Also, note: Going with the grain creates chewy, fibrous strips. If she doesn’t have any stomach issues from eating them, they are probably fine, so pat yourself on the back. that’s half the battle. If you want to store them long term, I bet you could just store them in a freezer bag or a pickle jar in the fridge. Vegan Jerky Recipes – Delicious and Healthy. Check them at two hours, although it may take three to six hours to complete the drying process. //