Do you love your dog? Of course you do! Dogs are the best. And what’s the best way to show your furry friend how much you care? By feeding them homemade dog food of course!
It can be tough to know what ingredients to put into your pup’s food, but we’ve got you covered. With our easy recipes, you can make sure your dog is getting all the nutrients they need – and they’ll love the taste too.
If your dog is feeling under the weather I have the perfect recipe for you! Meat in Jelly for dogs is a magical dish full of gelatinized bone marrow that will truly revitalize your dog.
Meat in Jelly is best prepared for the weekend when you have some time to spare. It cooks for 6 hours and the end result is a satisfying jelly-like meal that dogs go crazy about.
To create this homemade dog food meal I re-used an old family recipe that my grandma used to make for us when we were sick. First, I had to remove all the hazardous (for dogs) ingredients from her recipe (sorry grandma) like onions and garlic. You might be tempted to steal some of your dog’s food this time and I wouldn’t blame you at all.
What type of meat to use?
So what makes this meat in jelly so special for dogs you ask? The secret is slow-cooking bones that have marrow inside. After 5-6 hours of cooking marrow turns to jelly keeping all the goodness inside. I chose beef shank here because it is the easiest to find, but you could also use OX or pigs feet or knees, or any other type of meat with bones and marrow inside. Make sure you wash everything beforehand.
What type of pot to use?
The best bet for Meat in Jelly is to use a crock pot. You will lose the least amount of water this way, but in reality any type of pot will do as long as you can place a lid on it.
Common mistakes when making meat in jelly for dogs:
So the trick to making the perfect meat in jelly is to have equal ratios of water to meat in the end. This is easy to achieve if you simmer the meat the entire time. Humans also appreciate if the liquid is transparent in the end but dogs won’t mind if it’s not. Also, it is important to have the marrow gelatinized (this is achieved with the slow-cooking) but if you go overboard with adding water to this meal you can always save it by adding gelatin in the end. I included a fool-proof way to prepare the gelatin before you add it to the meal. It’s important to note that gelatin is safe and nutritious for dogs.
This meat in jelly recipe will be amazing for healthy dogs but it is also recommended for sick dogs that need a boost. I try to have this meal on my dog’s menu at least once a week. Since it is freezer friendly you can make it in bulk.
- 3 lb (1.5 kg) beef shank or other meat with bone (explained above)
- 1 lb (500gr.) low-fat beef chunks
- 16 cups (4 l) of water (should be 2’’over the meat)
- 1 tbsp gelatin (optional): Dilute the gelatin in ½ cup of water and let it sit for 5minutes before adding it to the warm liquid.
# Step 1: Wash the meat before adding it to a large crockpot (regular pot will work)
# Step 2: Place the meat chunks inside the pot and cover them with water. You should have at least 2’’ of water over the meat.
# Step 3: Cover the pot with a lid and turn the heat to low
# Step 4: Wait for 30 minutes than uncover the pot and skim the foam. Close the lid one more time and come back in 5-6 hours to remove the pot from heat.
# Step 5: Remove the meat and bones from the pot and set aside to cool off. Once cooled remove the meat form the bones and chop it up finely.
# Step 6: (optional) If you wish to use the gelatin we mentioned now would be the time to add it to the liquid (after it has been soaked for 5 minutes).
# Step 7: Add the chopped meat back to the pot with liquid and mix it well. Pour everything in a large heat-proof container, form, or separate single-serving containers. Wait for at least 1 hour for the meat to cool off. Once cooled off it will turn to jelly and it is safe to give to your dog in the right quantity.
# Step 8: Go ahead and freeze the leftovers for up to 3 months. If you added gelatin to this homemade dog food meal it will change its structure, but you can also use this meat in jelly as a stock to prepare other tasty meals for your dog. Simply defrost the meal, add some water, and boil it down with some veggies and rice.
Bon appétit!
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