Introduction: How to Make Liver Jerky Dog Treats
For this tutorial, I chose to make jerky from goat liver. A 500 gram piece cost me $2.02, which is pretty cheap. You can use this method for any type of organ meat like kidneys, hearts etc. The actual preparation time for these treats was about 45 minutes, not counting the boiling and drying of the meat.
If you make the liver pieces small enough, this can be a suitable treat for cats.
Loved this tutorial? I have a bunch more over at my blog.
Step 1: Cutting the Liver
Cut the liver into 2 X 2 inch chunks, like in the second picture. Now is the time to preheat the oven to it’s lowest setting, which is usually 250F.
Step 2: Boiling the Liver
Place the liver chunks into a decent sized pot and add a generous amount of water to cover the meat. Put the poton a burner turned onto HIGH. The liver chunks should start to boil in about 10 minutes. Liver cooks really quickly, so let the liver cook at a full boil for about 5 minutes and remove the pot from the burner.Take kitchen tongs and remove the liver chunks from the water. Place them on a plate covered with some paper towels to soak up the water and to let the liver cool.
Step 3: Slicing the Liver Chunks Into Slivers
To dry the liver effectively, it must be sliced into smaller slivers. Try to cut the liver into uniform pieces so that everything dries evenly. For these chunks, 1/4″ thick pieces seemed to work well. Put the slivers on a well oiled cookie sheet and place in the preheated oven. Drying time in the oven will be approximately 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on how thick you have cut the pieces.
Step 4: Drying the Liver
After an hour check on the liver, but it will probably need more time. The liver will be done when it is no longer rubbery and snaps into pieces when you try to break it.
14 Comments
6 years ago
Oh my gosh! I cant wait to make this for my dog tomorrow. Thanks for posting this!
Me <------following Doggie Stylish!
Btw: Do you save the broth from when you boiled the liver? Just wondering if you might use it in another doggie recipe. I usually save it and use it instead of just plain water whenever I cook rice to mix in with their kibble.
6 years ago
i just slow cooked liver in the oven and should have read this first. Duh?Our dogs lved them but tyey are not dry so hsve to refrigerate. Thank you, love this recipe. Question to those with dehydraters, are they worth the money?? In canada I tjink they are between $150-200
7 years ago on Introduction
8 years ago
Thanks so much for this my dog wont leave me along affter he saw what i was doing! Great tips I making this mainly becouse I am sick of shop bought treats that make his tummy upset! Thanks once again!
13 years ago on Introduction
Is there a reason why you can't just dry the liver without boiling it first? I wouldn't know, I'm interested.
L
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
Boiling the liver cuts down on the drying time, the mess factor and makes the liver easier to cut into slivers. Boiling the liver cooks the meat juices so they won't end up gumming up your cookie sheet when you're drying it in them in the oven.
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
Ah, I was wondering why you boiled first. I've made dried liver for my dogs (in my dehydrator) and used raw liver.
Laying parchment paper on your cookie sheet will make cleaning the pan a breeze. I put parchment paper on the bottom of my dehydrator for just that reason.
11 years ago on Introduction
I just made these for my dogs. They are like doggie crack! My dogs sat at the bottom of the stairs staring and whining at the dehydrator on the other side of the gate for hours! Thanks for the Instructable!
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
did you boil the liver first or put in the dehydrator without boiling. i have a food dehydrator and was wondering if i could skip the boiling.
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
I've made liver jerky for my dogs, and did not boil it first. Not sure why the author decided to boil before drying.
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
Awwww. So happy that your pups loved the treats :D
11 years ago on Introduction
Awesome 'ible! Our dog is addicted to Beggin Strips and this will be a healthier (and cheaper!) alternative. Thanks!
12 years ago on Introduction
What kind of shelf life do these have?
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
As long as the treats are 100% dried, they can last for months.