Homemade Dog Food: Smoked Meat Recipe.

My Journey to Creating My Own Dog Food

If you’re interested in making homemade dog food, this is a great recipe to start with. Just be sure to check with your vet to tailor it to your dog’s specific needs. Here’s to happy, healthy pups! 🐾

My journey into making homemade dog food began years ago in my first barbecue restaurant. While working in the kitchen, I often overheard the cooks casually discussing how they prepared meals for their own dogs. It sparked my curiosity, but I didn’t give it much thought at the time—after all, our dog was already enjoying quality meat scraps from my BBQ trimmings, so it didn’t seem like a necessity.

That all changed when we lost our beloved dog, Max, far too soon. Losing Max made us take a deeper look into store-bought kibble, vaccines, and overall health. While we’ll never know the exact cause of his illness—especially with him being a rescue dog with unknown genetics—we made a promise to take a more direct approach when it came to feeding our future dogs.

Fast forward to today, and our dogs, George and Ellie, both rescues, eat meals that we prepare ourselves. We occasionally swap out proteins, sometimes using chicken instead of turkey, and we experiment with different flavors of wood smoke from time to time when we cook it on our BBQ smoker. This is a labor of love, but it’s worth it to know exactly what goes into their food.

One thing to note again: We always recommend consulting with your vet before making any changes to your dog’s diet. Every dog is different, and it’s important to ensure the food meets their nutritional needs. That said, this is the recipe we’ve been using for George and Ellie, and they absolutely love it.

George and Ellie’s Dog Food Recipe 🐕🦮

In a nutshell, you’re making a meatloaf mixture and cooking it on your smoker, or in your oven.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of calf liver
• 5 pounds of 80/20 ground chuck
• 6 pounds of 85/15 ground turkey meat
• 8-10 cups of cooked sweet potatoes (mashed, skins on)
• 6 cups of green beans (chopped)
• 6 cups of carrots (coined. I buy frozen in bags)
• 1 (15 oz) can of Organic pumpkin purée
• 1 heaping tablespoon of turmeric
• 2 heaping teaspoons of ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper to activate the tumeric
• ¼ teaspoon of salt (optional)
• 8 eggs
• 13 ounces of sardines (canned in water, drained. about 4-5 tins)
• 1-2 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 2 tbsp of fresh thyme (or 2 teaspoon dried)
• 2 tbsp of fresh rosemary (or 2 teaspoon dried)
• 6 tablespoons of ground flaxseed
• Bone Meal –click for link on product I use: Add 15 teaspoons (or 1 teaspoon per pound of food)

Instructions:

1. Preheat your BBQ smoker to 275º or convection oven to 350º
2. Mix calf liver, eggs and dry spices in food processor.
3. Hand mix two meats together to ensure evenly mixed.
4. Incorporate all ingedients into meat mixture so it looks like a good meatloaf.
5. Divide the mixture into loaf pans.
6. Smoke the loaves until they reach an internal temperature of at least 170ºF.
7. Let the loaves cool.
8. Portion into Quart sized freezer bags, press cooked meat so that it is flat and the store in freezer. Pull out as needed and a day before use to thaw.

Feeding Guidelines:

• 52 lb dog: Feed 8-12 oz per meal (two meals per day).
• 20 lb dog: Feed 3-5 oz per meal (two meals per day).

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Max was a cherished part of our family, and we made sure he ate well. He got plenty of good collagen and brisket trimmings from my BBQ business. We never fed him junk because he was family but we relaize we could’ve done more. Now, with George and Ellie, we carry on a new tradition of feeding them with care and intention with a meals that are not ultra processed.