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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2011 5:07:37 GMT -5
Not seeing any commercially available ones that don't have sweeteners in them, I'm thinking of making my own jerky for my girls. Since they love making it so darn much, I thought maybe if I make some they won't have to go to all the trouble to do it.
Anyone else do this? Have any recipes to share? If I use a food dehydrator on raw meat, would this remove all the nutrients same as cooking it? And it still would be ok for treats, I imagine, not as a food replacement.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2011 6:35:27 GMT -5
You can buy 100% meat chew jerky treats. I've linked them below. My kids love them.
zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/food/ferret_food/162636
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Post by Sherry on Apr 7, 2011 11:01:03 GMT -5
A number of people on here use dehydrators to make jerky treats for their fuzzums I don't do it myself, since I can access pure meat ones with no problems, but hopefully katt or heather will come on with instructions!
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Post by wtferret on Apr 7, 2011 11:11:24 GMT -5
Cosco sells stuff and the only ingredient listed is either duck or chicken (depending on what kind you get) and the cost is pretty reasonable.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2011 13:02:43 GMT -5
Yes but I just got a free dehydrator from a coworker who wasn't using it Plus I want to make jerky for us too I was wondering if it's good to put anything on it, like olive oil or pumpkin or something that would make it taste good as a treat but not really unhealthy.
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Post by joclyn on Apr 7, 2011 14:02:25 GMT -5
cadet brand dog treats are what i use. they're just meat - no additives of any kind (no flavorings, no supplements, no preservatives). i use the duck breast - they also have chicken breast (and i think something else too - beef maybe? )
can't locate their website atm, so, here's a pic from another site:www.activedogsupplies.com/654398.html
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Post by Sherry on Apr 7, 2011 14:55:42 GMT -5
I'm not certain Oskimosa, but I'm thinking if you added anything like that, it would increase the drying time tremendously.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2011 15:05:03 GMT -5
you could perhaps dry it out first and then put olive oil on it? for people you can season it.
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Post by crazylady on Apr 7, 2011 18:00:55 GMT -5
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Post by katt on Apr 7, 2011 18:57:03 GMT -5
Honestly? Don't bother with adding oils or anything. It's not going to help anything. As for dehydrating them cut long thin slices of meat. Try to make them all the same size and thickness - or as close as possible - so that they will all dry evenly. If you can put the dehydrator in the garage or outside out of reach of critters. Because quite frankly the smell is beyond nauseating and it takes upwards of 24 hours to dry. You know thy are done when you can bend or break the meat and white strings form. Liver is mostly blood so when you dehydrate it the change in thickness is dramatic. So unless you want paper thin crumbly pieces like I ended up with haha make liver pieces relatively thick.
Also if you vacuum pack them they are sharp and poke holes and undo the vacuum packing. I'd try wrapping them in a layer or two of paper towels first to hopefully prevent this.
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Post by lc on Apr 13, 2011 18:50:12 GMT -5
yes dogswell makes jerky for dogs i think the good ones are "happy hips" and "vitality". Its been a while since i ordered any but i did see that target sells them the other day when i was there.
If your worried about nutrient loss with a dehydrator you can use the lower heat settings but its going to take longer for the meat to dry out. If you buy the ground meats buy a jerky gun. I think i bought mine on ebay and it comes with different tips to make round or flat jerky. It can be a little messy since some blood will drip out, also if you dehydrate duck the whole bottom pan is going to get greasy. Be warned using a dehydrator can get stinky. I usually throw my finished product in ziplock baggies. Make sure they're all the way dry. With one batch i thought id stop when the strips were still slightly soft and they ended up getting moldy and thrown away (none of the ferrets even had any)
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2011 19:03:47 GMT -5
I pickup a 16oz bag of Waggin Train Wholesome Duck Jerky Tenders at Wal-mart. My kids love these jerky treats.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2011 22:49:05 GMT -5
yup...we use a food dehydrator
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