greytroorecipies

Home Made Canned Food

by Greyt Roo Recipes

A great roux is always needed as the base of any great sauce. A Greyt Roo is always needed in the heart of any Sighthound lover.

Tools Needed

One 6 Quart Crock Pot
One Slotted Cooking Spoon
One Large Sauce Pot
One 5 Gallon Bucket
Ziplock Freezer Bags OR Storage Containers
Optional: NON-STICK Mini-Muffin Tin or Mini-Loaf Tins

Ingredients

One 10# Bag Chicken Leg Quarters
One 3# Box Macaroni Noodles
Two Bags Frozen Peas and Carrots Mix
One Large Bag Frozen Green Beans
One Jar Minced Garlic

NOTICE!!! If you are visiting this site for the first time because you saw the story on Fox 6 News, B'ham, AL, please take note of the following: If you choose to make this recipe, TAKE THE SKIN OFF OF THE CHICKEN FIRST!! This makes a VERY rich recipe, and for most pets (such as inactive / moderately active dogs), this recipe has too much fat and can potentially cause pancreatitis!! My personal hounds need and eat a high calorie diet due to thier nutritional needs. This recipe is taylored TO MY PERSONAL HOUNDS, but it gives a "guideline" on how to make your own. Like all new foods, start off with a SMALL amount so you do not give your dog diarrhea from the new food. This recipe is fed to my personal hounds as a ratio of 1 cup kibble to 1/4 cup home-made.

This was NOT designed as a "sole-source" diet, it was designed to replace my hounds canned food. I am not a Vet, nor am I a vet nutritionist. I have an Associates in Culinary Arts and am a Certified Culinarian. If you have questions about this diet and your personal dog, TALK TO YOUR PET'S VETERINARIAN. Directions

Open bag of chicken leg quarters and rinse off in sink before putting them in the crock pot
Fill crock pot with water until chicken is completely submurged in water
Sprinkle minced garlic on top of chicken
Put lid on crock pot and turn on LOW to let slow-cook for a full 24 hours. I, personally, turn it on in the morning and let it cook until the following evening
The next day: scoop the chicken out of the crock pot with the slotted spoon and put into 5 gallon bucket
As chicken is cooling off, cook pasta in large saucepot. You can use some of the chicken broth from the crock pot to cook it in, discard the broth, or save it in another container for future use (in soups, over kibble, for mixing the home-made canned food, etc.)
Thaw out frozen veggies
Once chicken is cool enough to handle, use your hands to mix together chicken, meat, bone, marrow, and the juices - adding some broth if you choose to do so
Once macaroni is done cooking, drain off and mix veggies in with noodles
Thoroughly mix chicken with noodles and veggies
Scoop portion-sized "meals" right into mini muffin tins and freeze before putting the frozen "loafs" in freezer bags in freezer OR store right into storage containers or freezer bags of your choice.
When next meal is ready, pull freezer bag out and thaw out what is needed!

NOTES

This recipie will freeze very easily. It does not "have" to be made with just pasta and the listed veggies. Rice (white and/or brown), potatoes (regular or sweet), yams, barley, oatmeal, etc.. can be substituted for the carbs. Any veriety of fruit or veggie can be used. Ground beef or ground turkey can be added.
ONLY CHICKEN BONES WILL BREAK DOWN IN THE CROCK POT. You can add beef, turkey, lamb, etc... bones for added flavor, but they do not break down. They will have to be removed before feeding the 'canned food' to your hounds. Canned Salmon and canned mackeral will break down if you choose to add fish.

CUTTING OUT THE FAT!

If you have a large or overweight dog, and choose to make this recipe, please do talk to your vet before hand. To cut down on excess fat in this recipe, remove the skin of the chicken before cooking. ANother way to cut down on the fat in this recipe is to scoop out the chicken and put it into the mixing bucket and drain any excess broth. The remaining fatty broth in the crock pot can then be discarded.

You can also purchase chicken breasts and take the skin off the breasts, or just use boneless/skinless chicken breasts. Turkey breast mean (NO bones or skin) can also be used, just drain the broth after it is done cooking.

NOTICE ON CROCK POTS AND SLOW COOKERS!

Not all crock pots and slow cookers cook the exact same. Older crocks/cookers may have worn out and take longer to cook, others, like mine, are brand new and cook faster. If a few additional hours does not finish breaking the bones down, then discard those bones. Overfilling your crock pot also makes it cook slower, and "just a few chicken quarters" would make it cook faster. This is just one reason why I noted (above) that I normally *start my crock pot in the MORNING and don't take the chicken out until the FOLLOWING EVENING* Don't expect to pull out "mush". You will pull out whole bones! Once you put the slightest amount of pressure, the bones will mush up!

Moisture Content, aka How To Prevent Messes

*Please Read*

One complaint I have heard is that "it boils over
and makes a mess". Here are a few tips on how to prevent that from happening.

Everyone who makes this will be using different crock pots. I use a 6qt Rival oval Crock Pot. Normally I can fit all 10lbs of chicken in it, if I layer it just right. The fat from the chicken will create a _LOT_ of broth. I start the pot off with 3/4 full of water. As the chicken cooks, I make sure to use a ladle to scoop out the excess broth. The chicken will only cook properly if it is SUBMURGED in water/broth, but too much water will cause it to bubble over. You might have to make a few batches to know exactly how much water your specific crock pot will need.

Also, if you don't like the smell of boiled/roasted chicken, then put the crock pot outside!!

Authors Note

For several years I have been asked what I feed my hounds. I found a high quality kibble (dry dog food) that my hounds enjoy eating and do great on. I have laughed that I "make my own canned food" and often my hounds eat better than I do! I have been asked so many times how to make my "Home Made 'Canned' Food" that I finally just made this website and reffered people to it.
The original "Crock Pot Chicken" belongs to a Saluki person, but the rest of the recipe she says is mine. I still give her credit for the original inspiration to make this. This is the recipe as published in Celebrating Greyhounds magazine, and posted on Greytalk.com, Dogforum.com, and several other canine websites.
I started making this for my personal hounds, and the following page has variations on how I prepare this diet for my personal hounds. If you choose to make this for your dogs, you might find that your dog might not like this ingredient or that ingredient. You will have to find, by trial and error, what your pet enjoys. I have one hound who does anything for strawberries, and another who spits them out with great detest.

One way to find out what your dog likes and doesn't like is to make the chicken in the crock pot, then set out three mixing buckets. Put macaroni in the first bucket, oatmeal in the second bucket, and whole grain brown rice in the third. Then add chicken to all three buckets, and add different veggies/fruits (up to you!) in the three buckets. When storing them in your containers, lable them which one is which. You might find that your dog gobbles up the oatmeal, and picks at the rice, or loves the green beans but doesn't care for peaches.

Variations

Thanksgiving Feast

Cook the crock-pot chicken the same as the original recipe. When the chicken is finished, scoop it out and put it in the five-gallon bucket. In the remaining broth in the crock pot, add some diced sweet potatoes (or yams) and let cook in the chicken broth until softened. Once cooked, add the sweet potatoes to the mixing bucket. Add fresh or frozen cranberries, frozen peas and carrots, frozen green beans, and mix up!
You can cook a turkey breast in the crock pot and use it in place of chicken (or in addition to chicken), however, the turkey bones DO NOT break down. Be SURE to remove all turkey bones before mixing this up! I have cooked turkey necks in the crock pot for my guys, removed the meat from the necks, then discarded the neck bones.
I have tried cooking leftover turkey bones from Thanksgiving. They do not break down in the crock pot, even after 36 hours.

California Pasta

Prepare chicken according to the recipe. When chicken is done, scoop out chicken from crock pot and fill crock pot with California mixed frozen veggies. Put lid back on and let cook. When done cooking, mix in bucket with chicken and macaroni.

Gumbo

Prepare chicken according to the recipe. When chicken is done, scoop out into mixing bucket. Add whole grain brown rice to crock pot, mix with remaining chicken broth, put lid back on and let cook until rice is done. Add rice to mixing bucket along with frozen peas and carrots, okra, and fish (I use mackeral).

Chicken and Lamb

Prepare chicken according to recipe, adding a lamb bone in the pot as well. When the chicken is done, remove lamb bone and discard. Mix with diced potatoes and green beans.

Georgia Peach / Apple

Prepare chicken according to recipe. Mix with fresh or frozen peaches (or apples). If using canned peaches, use peaches in light syrup and drain off the syrup. Mix with oatmeal.

Tuna/Burger/Turkey cassarole

Prepare chicken according to recipe. Scoop out chicken and put into mixing pot. Discard chicken broth. Add ground turkey and/or ground beef to crock pot and cook on low until done. Drain off fat from ground meat, add to mixing bucket along with frozen green beans, frozen peas and carrots, and macaroni. Tuna can be added, but you can just put it right into the mixing bucket. Use Tuna in water, not oil. Make sure to drain off all chicken broth and all oil from ground beef - this recipe is also very high in fat. If you have a large or overweight dog, I would suggest using ground turkey in place of ground beef.

Beefy Dinner

Cook chicken as normal. In addition to the chicken in the crock pot, add oxtails and/or beef bones for stewing. When chicken is finished, scoop out all chicken to mixing bucket. Remove as much meat and marrow from beef bones as you can, then DISCARD THE BEEF BONES. You can also add beef stew meat to the pot an hour before the chicken should be "done".
To the mixing bucket, add cooked potatoes or rice, green beans, carrots and peas.

Seattle Stew

Cook chicken the same as the original recipe. Scoop out chicken from crock pot and place in 5 gallon mixing bucket. Cook diced potatoes in the remaining broth in the crock pot until they are just starting to get soft. Add them to the mixing bucket along with frozen or canned salmon, frozen green beans, frozen peas and carrots, and frozen strawberries (or fresh - my hounds love strawberries!).