I’ve by no means used a dehydrator for something, however with all of the scares and remembers on canine treats, I began to marvel if dehydrated canine treats have been the best way to go. However I had a few questions: how straightforward is it to make use of? Will it actually save me cash?
Once I received the Excalibur 5-tray Dehydrator, I used to be nervous. It appeared large and complex and I puzzled if I might burn my home down with it. However because it seems, I had nothing to concern.
Picture: excaliburdehydrator.com
Fortunately, it comes with tremendous straightforward directions, to not point out a 183-page recipe e book for making just about something (do you know you’ll be able to dry your personal milk?!).
It does take up fairly a little bit of counter house, but it surely units up in seconds. Then, you’re prepared to begin drying very quickly flat – love that!
Making Treats with the Dehydrator
But, after shopping for the salmon I realized that you simply want a particular Paraflexx® sheet that isn’t included with the dehydrator. Bummer. They aren’t costly, round $12 on their web site, however since I didn’t have one, I couldn’t attempt it for this take a look at. It appears for the price of the dehydrator, it ought to include a minimum of one in every of these sheets.
As a substitute, I purchased one candy potato and a few hen and parsley to make dehydrated canine treats for my different canine.
Excalibur’s Candy Potato Recipe:
Completely wash and peel candy potatoes. Slice the candy potato into 1/4″ slices- it’s also possible to minimize down the center lengthwise and slice into 1/4″ strips.
Dehydrate on the highest setting (145 – 155) till performed. Drying roughly 6-8 hours will go away them with a chewy texture. For crunchier treats, dehydrate longer till the specified consistency.
I peeled after which sliced up the candy potato lengthwise after which minimize these in half since my canine aren’t actual large. It was exhausting to slice the candy potato lengthwise. So, subsequent time, I’ll comply with the corporate’s recommendation and simply minimize it into chips.
Excalibur’s Hen Canine Jerky Recipe:
1 1/2 kilos boneless skinless hen breast tenders, sliced into strips about 1/4 to 1/8 of an inch thick1/2 cup vegetable oil1 tbs. saltDog Pleasant seasonings together with parsley, rosemary, and sage
For the hen, the tenders have been already that skinny, so I simply sliced them lengthwise to make them smaller. For larger canine, you possibly can most likely dry the entire tender, however it is going to take longer. They are saying to place oil or salt on the hen, however I don’t suppose canine want these, so I simply sprinkled some contemporary parsley on them and known as it good. Parsley is nice for doggy breath.
Because the hen and candy potatoes dry at roughly the identical temperature, I put them each in on the similar time. About 12 hours later, I had chewy dehydrated candy potatoes and hen jerky treats for my canine. Subsequent time, I could wrap the hen across the candy potato, for added chew.
Associated: Finest Dehydrated Canine Meals of The Yr
Prices
Okay, so it’s straightforward to make treats utilizing a dehydrator. The opposite nice half about it’s you should utilize substances your canine loves and you recognize are secure. No extra worrying about remembers or midnight journeys to the vet.
However is it cheaper?
I used to be excited in regards to the salmon recipe as a result of it took canned salmon, which solely price me $3.59 for 14 ounces. A bag of dried salmon treats normally runs me round $15. For salmon treats, I might say sure, the dehydrator will certainly save me cash in the long term.
A 6-ounce bag of dried candy potatoes is round $10. The one candy potato I used was 1.11 kilos and price me $1.43. It made nearly the identical quantity of chews. Undoubtedly a greater worth.
Lastly, the hen is tremendous low-cost too. I purchase the Kirkland model at Costco. It’s $14 for six kilos. It’s all-natural with no hormones or preservatives and it’s from the USA. The one factor “added” is the 8% mixture of water and kosher salt, which is another excuse you don’t want so as to add extra salt. Business hen jerky can price wherever from $8 to $15 for a number of ounces. Once more, no contest. But, for those who want to buy hen jerky that’s already made, iHeartDogs sells a pack of scrumptious hen jerky strips.
Clearly, it’s a must to purchase the dehydrator to make these treats. The Excalibur 5-tray is $299.95. For those who determine a bag of treats prices you $15, then after simply nineteen luggage of treats, you have got paid for the dehydrator. You probably have a number of canine, you most likely undergo that in a couple of months to a 12 months.
For extra canine deal with recipes, go to the Excalibur web site.
(Disclaimer: I used to be given an Excalibur Dehydrator for evaluation. Any and all opinions are my very own.)
