Here’s my system for preparing the daily meal for my 100 pound newfie doodle, “Bear.”
In summary, I roast a ¾ pound frozen portion of meat, poultry or organ meat in a little water with a ½ pound portion of yam, carrots or pumpkin at 400F for 75 minutes. Then I dice up all the roasted food and mix it with a 1 and 1/2 cup portion of premium kibble. If there’s not too much fat in the roasting juice, I’ll add frozen blueberries, mash them up and then add this blueberry gravy to the rest of the food.
I admit it’s not the gold standard of feeding your dog completely unprocessed raw organ meat. But it’s a practical compromise between that and the opposite extreme of completely processed, commercial dog food.
Bear will polish the bowl clean.
Benefits
Skip ahead if you’re already sold on the idea of adding meat and veggies to your dog’s kibble.
This meal system (based on roasting a frozen portion of meat with raw veggies and a little water, then dicing and mixing with kibble) is economical, convenient, fast and easy.
This system provides your dog with a fair amount of unprocessed meat, without incurring the expense, logistical hurdles and “ick factor” of finding a safe, high quality source of raw organ meat.
Adding a half ration of premium kibble, such as Orijen for adult dogs, or Science Diet, provides your dog with a balance of the essential vitamins and nutrients.
The portion of roasted veggies keeps your dog’s bowel movements consistent and regular. It spares your dog from the discomfort of both diarrhea and constipation.
Meat Sourcing
First let’s take a brief look at where to find cheap cuts of meat for your dog. I’ve already written a separate post about this that goes into far more detail [link].
Look for places where you can buy pork, poultry, cheap cuts of beef and organ meat in bulk. Find grocery outlets or grocery bargain centers. In California, these include Grocery Outlet Bargain Center, Food Maxx and Walmart.
I look for meat that’s $3 or less per pound. That price is the break even point for me because $3 per pound is roughly the same as the cost of a premium brand of kibble. These are just rough estimates so look into this yourself.
I look for chicken leg quarters, beef brisket, beef cheek meat, beef organs including liver, kidney and heart. I also shop for most cuts of pork sold in bulk. You’ll be delighted to find premium cuts of pork on sale for $3 a pound. I also shop for whole turkeys. Oftentimes, I can easily find bulk, skinless, boneless breast meat, both chicken and turkey, for $3 per pound or less.
I avoid tripe and other parts of the gastrointestinal tracts of any animal because I can’t be sure that it’s safe for my dog.
I do consider wild game for my dog. A large game animal can feed your dog for an entire year. I’ve also known dog owners to befriend park rangers who cull wild geese. Take care to remove all lead from the meat using a metal detector.
Seafood options: Many dogs love fish filets sauteed in butter. Be sure to remove all bones. Learn about the toxins that accumulate in apex predator fish.
If price is not an object for you, then seek out organic farms and game farms where you will pay a premium to feed your dog organic meat.
My System for Augmenting My Dog’s Diet with a Wholesome, Delicious Portion of Meat
Here’s an overview of the complete system I use to supplement my dog’s diet with unprocessed meat.
Wrap Single Meal Portions of Meat in Wax Paper and then Freeze in ZipLok Freezer Bags
Buy several bulk packages of cheap meat, a roll of wax paper, a package of ZipLok freezer bags, and a few rolls of paper towel (kitchen paper).
Double check that you have room in your freezer. I like to make room for two months worth of meals for my dog. Investing in a deep chest freezer is worthwhile.
Sharpen both a fileting knife and a sturdy chef’s knife, and place them out on your counter along with a large HDPE cutting board and kitchen weighing scales.
Based on the total weight of the bulk portion, cut and separate the bulk meat into single meal portions. I aim for ¾ pound portions. Occasionally check the weight of the portions.
Wrap each portion in a sheet of wax paper to keep them from freezing together. Pack up to six wrapped portions into a single, one gallon freezer bag. Promptly place the packed bags in the freezer.
Roast a Single Meal Portion of Meat and Veggie in an Oven Proof Glass Bread Loaf Pan at 350F for 75 Minutes
Every day, a couple of hours before Bear’s dinner time at 3pm, I’ll take a single portion out of the freezer. I’ll run lukewarm tap water over it to loosen the wax paper so I can peel it off. Then I’ll load the portion into a glass, oven proof, bread loaf pan.
You can buy tempered glass pans, either Pyrex or Anchor Hocking, on Amazon, $20 new and frequently, $10 on sale. Or you can shop on eBay or at your local thrift store to buy them for $5, used.
I’ll add half a cup of tap water and about one cup of raw yam, carrots or pumpkin. Then I’ll cover the top of the pan with aluminum foil. Note that the foil cover does not make contact with the food, deep in the pan. Then I cook the food in a 400 F oven for 75 minutes.
Dice Up the Roasted Food, Let Cool and Mix avec Premium Kibble Au Jus
After cooking, remove the meat and veggies from the pan and dice them all up into bite size chunks. Add 1-½ to 2 cups of premium kibble.
If there’s not more than a few drops of fat on the roasting juice, then add the cooking juice to the kibble mixture. Otherwise, skim off the fat to protect your dog from developing pancreatitis or steatorrhea.
If the meat portion happens to be a chicken leg quarter (drumstick and thigh with a bit of back attached), then I give myself an extra 30 minutes for the pan to cool down after baking, so I can debone the chicken meat.
Serve Warm next to a Bowl of Fresh Clean Water
Finally, I’ll combine and stir everything in a clean doggy food bowl. Once the food cools to a comfortably warm temperature, I’ll put the bowl out on Bear’s food stand.
Improvements and Options for Quality and Efficiency
No doubt you’ll discover ways to improve on this system. One might be to cook more than one portion at a time, and keep the extras in the fridge. Another would be to replace the aluminum foil with a casserole lid. You could also remove the frozen portions from the freezer early in the morning so they thaw out enough to easily remove the wax paper, and cook faster.
Bon Appetit!