Liver Treats For Dogs

Not everything I do in the kitchen is for my own tummy. Sometimes, I get all radical and decide to make something as a gift… and then there's the occasional day slaving over a hot stove just to make a quadruped happy. Usually it's for the dog. Cats… they're too difficult to please, except with stuff they're not supposed to have, like salty canned tuna and other such sins. But dogs… well, dogs are usually just happy to eat something they think was people -food. We've made a habit of dehydrating sweet potato slices for our Labrador retriever, because he seems to think they pass for sinful. But sometimes he craves something supremely stinky. That's when we break out the liver.

I was given this recipe by a member of the extended family, last winter. The Bat made a single batch of it, using beef liver, & the dog went nuts for the treats. They're really great if cut into very small (1 cm or smaller cubes), especially if you need training treats! 

One thing to keep in mind, though, is that the kitchen – indeed, the entire house – will smell like liver for several hours after you finish baking them, so, if you aren't fond of that aroma, be sure to set all fans blowing out! And bar the doors, because stray dogs might find it too enticing…

Liver Treats

Ingredients:

1 pound raw liver (any kind), pureed

1 Tablespoon garlic powder (or less – amount optional)

1 Tablespoon oil

1 cup flour (any kind)

1 cup corn meal

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350⁰

In a blender or food processor, puree liver (you may have to do this in stages, to make sure all chunks are gone). Add garlic powder (if desired) and oil.  Blend thoroughly.  Pour into mixing bowl. Add flour and corn meal.  Mix all ingredients completely. Spread on a cookie sheet or jellyroll pan. (I line a pan with foil and oil it.)*

Bake at 350⁰ for about 25 minutes. Cool and cut into pieces. I divide into bags and freeze.* The pieces 

thaw very quickly or the dogs will eat them still frozen. They care not!

HINT: In order to divide the “bread” into small pieces, use a pizza cutter shortly after removing from the oven.

*In this case, the "I" is Bat's BFF, Jackie, who gave me the recipe which I then copied nearly verbatim.