Dehydrator Recipes: Making Your Own Healthy Treats

[Diane Margetts]

 

After reading some of the comments about making healthy treats with a dehydrator, I couldn't resist and put a dehydrator on my Christmas list!! For Dakota's treats I have sliced chicken breast and lean pork tenderloin to about 1/4". I cooked the meat about half cook and then put it on the dehydrator. It's going to take a few experiments to finally figure out the right timing--if I remember right, I dehydrated the meat for about 6 hours (it would take a lot longer if it was totally raw. The strips shrink down to about the width of a piece of beef jerky so you wind up with about a half of the bulk quantity you started with. The good news is Dakota is completely crazy about it! He thinks it's the best treat ever--don't know if he has a preference for chicken or pork!

I also had a bag of apples and Asian pears that needed to be used so we cored and sliced them to 1/4 inch. They took 6-8 hours to dry. Now I did these for my husband and I to snack on BUT Dakota loves the apples and pears almost as much as the meat!

Looking forward to hearing if any of you have actual dehydrator dog treat recipes!

[Diane Margetts]

Also, my dehydrator is an Open Country 700 watt. I got the 700 watt because it wasn't that much more than a 500 and I was afraid the 500 would just take too long to dehydrate stuff. I bought mine online from Cabelas for $59 I believe . . . I have it shipped to the store and pick it up there so I don't have to pay shipping.

[Kim/Mark and Sierra]

I've taught classes on raw food prep...for humans....and the dehydrator that is recommended is the excalibur.  In raw food prep and dehydrating, the temp is very important because over 115 degrees the enzymes are destroyed.  When clients don't have one yet, an alternative which will work well especially when not being overly worried about temp, is to use the oven on the lowest setting with the door cracked open.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here's a dehydrator recipe from a post by Diane Silver:

 thought I'd add to this discussion, since I've been making Emma chicken jerky for the last year or so.  I bought a very good (and somewhat more expensive) dehydrator - Excalibur.  It has 8 trays and works really well.  A couple of tips:  I buy a 10 pound bag of frozen chicken breasts at BJs or Costco, and when they're still partially frozen, slice them into thin (but not too thin) slices.  I then bake them in a 400 degree oven (on foil lined or throwaway jelly roll pans) for about a half hour and then when cool enough to handle, put them into the dehydrator.  This cuts down on the dehydration time, though I find the longer the better in the dehydrator.  It's a time consuming process, but once done, they last awhile, depending on how many your dog eats (Emma loves them and I usually offer 3-4 in the morning which replaces a morning meal since she's such a finicky eater).  I usually dehydrate for at least 6-7 hours, depending on how thick the chicken has been sliced, but they really come out great

 

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I was given a Ronco Dehydrator for Christmas, so didn't do much research on which one was best. It doesn't have a temp control, just plug it in and it heats up. I find it takes a good 24 hours for most things to get dry enough to be crispy. Like bananas and sweet potatoes and apples.
For sweet potatoes, it is recommended to par boil for a few minutes in boiling water before putting in the dehydrator. I slice the skinned potatoes about 1/8th thick first and then let them cool after par boiling and then put in dehydrator. I do have to keep it on at least overnight, but usually 24 hours to get them really dry.
Apples take awhile as well. Those are also easy, but its recommended to put them in a citrus bath after slicing, I use OJ or Lemon juice. It helps them retain their color.
I also have a nice marinade for beef jerky but I'll post that tomorrow.

[Diane Margetts]

I was wondering about the apples and citrus. I didn't soak mine and they did discolor a bit but not too much. I'll do the citrus next time . . . OK, this is a bit disgusting at first blush but it worked really well . . . My husband used a drill with a 3/4" hole bit to core the apples in a real hurry!! --He washed it real good first, of course!!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Great idea! Was it messy? I just use an apple corer, but I like your idea better.

[Diane Margetts]

Nope--didn't seem to be any messier than any other option. And, the best part --DH had a great time helping out and saved me some work!

[Diane Margetts]

Oats and Apple Dog Treat (This sounds really good—Dakota may have to fight me for these!)

• Combine 1/2 cup of steel cut oats and and 1 and 1/2 cups of water in a pan. Bring the water and oats to a boil and then stir over low heat until the oats are thick and tender.
• Using a food processor (or a good old fashioned knife and elbow grease) finely chop 1 to 2 cored apples.
• Mix the apples and oats together and add a very small amount (1/4 teaspoon or less) of cinnamon, if desired.
• Spread the mixture out to a 1/4 inch thickness on parchment paper within the food dehydrator trays. Dry the food mixture between 130 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit until the food is dry and firm. This will probably take over five hours.
• Cut the bars into the desired size and store in an airtight container.

Reward your dog with these great homemade dog treats!

And here’s a link to dog treat recipes from Excalibur . . .

http://www.excaliburdehydrator.com/article.php?action=view&arti...=

[Sandra Griffith]

Do those of you who dehydrate sweet potato slices cook them first or put them in raw?

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

I don't have a dehydrator, but when I make dehydrate yams in the oven I just put them in raw.

I peel then slice about 1/4" thick and 2" wide (cut lengthwise) so that they're big enough to be held with paws :)

[BG and Gavin]

I put them in raw.

[Dana]

I've been using the oven but after reading these post I'm going to check out getting a dehyrator.   This is one of Mac's & Lucy's favorite.  Lucy who walks at a snails pace to her kennel will run into it for Turkey Jerky.

1 lb ground turkey,1/2 cup grated carrots, 2 Tbsp. whole-berry cranberry sauce (jellied works fine also) & 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil.   Preheat oven to 200.  In bowl, combine all ingredients & spread the mixture evenly on a 9"x11" foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 2 hours.  Carefully turn out the meat onto a large cutting board & cut into 1" x 4" strips.  Return stips to the foil lined baking sheet & bake until completely dry, about 2 more hours. Transfer to a rack & let cool before storing in the refrigerator.