Homemade Dog Treats
May 25, 2016
My dog Alfie will do anything for homemade dog treats. He gives me his undivided attention in flyball class, or agility. He’ll ignore pee mail, and unfixed dogs. They trump every store bought dog treat we’ve ever tried. Made with real liver and bacon, Alfie and I are confident that your pooch(es) will love them too. You’ll have the happiest, and most motivated dog(s), I promise.
These treats don’t require too much trouble to assemble. No special equipment, except for a doggy themed cookie cutter. Any beginner baker can make them. If you have a strong enough arm you can stir them with a wooden spoon and a large bowl.
This recipe was slightly adapted from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery. It’s such a good book!
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Ingredients
Dog Treat
- 1 pound 454 grams 16 ounces sliced bacon, cut into 1-inch wide pieces
- 1 pound 454 grams 16 ounces liver or other organ meat, cut in to ½-inch pieces
- ¾ cup 138 grams 3.75 ounces fine corn meal
- 3 cups 361 grams 12.75 ounces all-purpose flour
- 1 cup 1 cup 8 ounces chicken stock or whatever stock you have on hand
Dog Treat Glaze
- 3 tablespoons 3 tablespoons 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon 1 tablespoon 1 tablespoon egg whites
Instructions
MISE-EN-PLACE THE DOG TREAT DOUGH
- Position the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat oven to 250F degrees.
- Cut bacon into 1 inch pieces and set aside
- Measure the corn meal/flour and set aside
- Measure AP flour and set aside
- Measure your stock and set aside
- Ready the food processor
- Ready your stand mixer or hand held mixer
- Ready your rolling pin
- Ready your cookie cutter in this post or see other doggy cookie cutters.
- Combine the Dog Treat Glaze using ketchup and egg white in a small bowl and set aside.
- Set out your pastry brush .
- Line two baking sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Set a large sauté pan over high heat
ASSEMBLE THE DOG TREAT DOUGH
- Add the bacon to the hot sauté pan and cook for about 10 minutes, until the fat is rendered and it’s a rich golden brown.
- Remove the bacon from the pan and drain on paper towels.
- Pour off most of the bacon fat and add the liver/organ meat to the same pan as the bacon.
- Sauté, turning the liver and pressing it slightly with the back of a spoon until it’s broken down into a paste and remove from the heat. (If you’re using other organ meat that doesn’t break down, cook the bits well).
- Place the bacon in a food processor and pulse to grind it.
- Add the chicken livers or organ meat to the bacon and process to combine.
- Add the cornmeal and flour, then process until you have a coarse mixture.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
- Turn the mixer on low, slowly add the flour, and mix to combine.
- Slowly pour in the chicken stock and mix until the dough begins to gather around the paddle and feels moist to the touch. Press the dough between your fingers. The dough should feel moist enough to hold together, but not gummy. The dough will feel smooth and a little elastic, but should roll easily without sticking.
- Remove the dough from the mixer and knead it just enough to combine.
- Roll out the dough to about 1/3 inch thick.
- Using your favourite dog themed cutter, cut out the treats.
- Arrange them on the prepared sheet pans. Keep in mind that the cookies will not spread in the oven so add more than usual without crowding. Crowding will interfere with baking.
- Bake at 250F until the treats are completely dry, about 3 hours (1-1/2 hours in a convection oven). Remove from the oven and lower the temperature to 200 degrees.
FOR THE DOG TREAT GLAZE
- Combine the Dog Treat Glaze using ketchup and egg white in a small bowl if you haven’t already.
- Brush the glaze over warm treats just out of the oven.
- Return the pans to the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the glaze has set.
COOLING THE DOG TREATS
- Place the pans on a cooling rack and cool for 5-10 minutes, then transfer the treats to the rack to cool completely.
- The treats can be stored in a covered container for up to 1 month.
