Freeze Drying Fun – Liver Dog Treats
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Last December I purchased a freeze dryer from Harvest Right. I quickly started having issues and was not able to get batches to finish successfully. The process was frustrating and took a lot of time and back and forth and I finally opted to return the machine for repairs.
Fast forward to April and I'm here with my machine again and, fingers crossed knock on wood and all that jazz, we are having great success and fun!
This project was to freeze dry beef and pork liver as treats/supplements for my new pup along with my daughter's dog.
Cutting up the livers was gross...there's nothing else you can say about that. It was just gross but I did it anyway. A labor of love, if you will.
While it was hard to get consistently sized pieces, I did my best and got all the trays filled. I also did a few strips so I could see how those freeze dried up and how easy they were to break apart when done...maybe save some time in the future.
The strips worked great and that's what I would probably do next time but I may decide to grind them up and handle it that way. The benefit to grinding is absolute consistency in size. By using a silicone mold, I can get the exact same pieces every time and it might just be worth it to do so.
My dog, Grace, knew what went into that freeze dryer and as soon as she heard the beeping to signal completion, she was over there doing a little jig. I even got a little toe lick of love while she was begging for a taste. It was hard to only give her a couple and then have to tell her no more.
Liver is great for dogs but they should only have a limited amount each day...about 1 oz. Someone said that works out to be closer to about a 1/4 of an ounce (I'll be double-checking this next time) when it's freeze dried so not very much. The issue is the high level of Vitamin A, which they need but in high doses can cause health-related issues...something we never want to cause for our furry family members.
These treats were truly a labor of love as I mentioned before because my baby needs extra care in that department and my goal is to give her the best life I can.