Why can you never find pork in dog foods? It’s cheaper than fish and lamb, more easily sourced than duck, and tastier than chicken, and yet there’s never a pork option in the major brands of dry dog food out there.
Well, here’s something your dog has probably been waiting for his or her entire life: a protein-rich, nutritious pork mixture cooked inside glass jars, with fiber-rich vegetables and skin-friendly flaxseed, appetizingly seasoned with five-spice powder and toasted sesame oil to give it a sweet and wholesome aroma.
I like to color-coordinate the ingredients in my dog food recipes—none of that all-in-one, unpalatable brownness. The tomatoes, carrots, and ground sweet paprika give this recipe a pleasantly orange hue. And even better, the jars can be stored in the freezer, making it easy to cook for your pups in bulk and convenient to bring a jar to a picnic or as a little edible gift.
This dog food can be fed straight or in conjunction with dry food.
MAKES ABOUT 11 CUPS OF DOG FOOD
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: assorted 2- to 4-cup glass jars with lids
2 pounds (900 g) ground pork
2 large eggs
1½ cups (150 g) rolled oats
¾ cup (180 mL) low-sodium chicken stock
½ cup (60 g) ground flaxseed
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons ground sweet paprika
2 teaspoons five-spice powder
½ pound (220 g) pig’s liver (or if unavailable, chicken liver), cut into large chunks
1 medium skin-on carrot, cut into large chunks
1 large skin-on russet potato, cut into large chunks
1 skin-on apple, cut into large chunks
One 14-ounce can (400 g) white beans, drained
One 14-ounce can (400 g) peeled tomatoes
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
2. In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, eggs, oats, chicken stock, flaxseed, sesame oil, paprika, and five-spice powder. In a food processor, pulse the liver until finely chopped (not pureed), then add it to the bowl. Repeat with the carrot, potato, apple, beans, and tomatoes, pulsing each separately, then adding everything to the bowl. You want each ingredient to be in small bits, not pureed, which improves the final texture and flavor for your pups.
3. With your hands, mix everything together evenly, then transfer the mixture into the glass jars, leaving about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of room at the top to prevent spillover during cooking. Place the jars, without lids, on a rimmed baking sheet, then bake for about 45 minutes, until the mixture at the center of the jars is cooked through. I check this by cutting through the center with a dinner knife.
4. Let cool completely, then put the lids on the jars. Label the jars and put them in the freezer.
5. Alternatively, you can make the jars sterile. Put the lids on right after filling the jars, then submerge the jars completely in a large pot of boiling water. Keep the water at a gentle boil and cook for 45 minutes. Remove the jars and let cool completely at room temperature, which will result in a vacuum seal. Since the content of the jars is nonacidic (meaning bacteria could still grow even after canning), I would still recommend storing the jars in the freezer to keep them at maximum freshness.
6. The night before you need a jar, place it on the counter to defrost. If you’re in a hurry, remove the lid and defrost in the microwave.
VARIATIONS:
Ground beef, zucchini, celery, and peas
Turkey, pumpkin, sweet potato, dried cranberries, and cinnamon