Dog Community

Thank you MudPuppy for your liver brownie recipe!!!

Posted : 2/12/2008 5:02:50 PM

Hi all, I just have to say...it took me nearly a year to finally make the liver brownie recipe that MudPuppy posted here, but I finally did it as a Valentine's Day treat for my sweet dog, and as a little gift for my friend's dog too (who sadly is allergic to all dog foods and treats that have preservatives in them, so he hasn't had the opportunity to have many yummy treats in his 3 years of life...). I just have to pass a little message along from my dog to MudPuppy: "THANK YOU!!!! THIS IS TRULY THE YUMMIEST THING I HAVE EVER TASTED!!" She goes *crazy* for these treats, seriously. I made just a few minor alterations to MudPuppy's basic recipe, to fit my dog's dietary needs: she needs a bit of extra oil in her diet in the winter because she gets "winter skin itch" every year and the vet recommends adding a bit of olive oil or flax oil to her diet during cold months. So I added a 1/2 cup of olive oil for every 1 lb of liver, and I threw in an egg or two just because I had a couple lying around that I wanted to use up before I went grocery shopping again. I made one batch with whole wheat flour, and one batch with white (unbleached) flour. And I used a bit of garlic (about 1 tsp of chopped garlic per pound of liver). Since I had heard that chicken liver is less smelly than beef liver (and requires less chopping before going into the food processor) I went that way. I will say that with the chicken liver and garlic, it didn't even smell "liver-y" in the oven until the last 5 minutes of baking--until then, it just smelled like I was baking garlic bread. (funny thing I noticed, my dog strongly prefers the whole wheat treats, while my friend's dog prefers the white flour ones. That worked out well, huh?) The bottom line, however, is that I ended up with a ton of little treats that my dog is willing to do ANYTHING for! I keep them in my freezer, and get about 1/2 ziplock bag out 2 days before I need it...and as it's defrosting in the fridge, I throw a handful of kibble in there too and shake it up real well. That way, the kibble takes on a nice liver scent, too, and my dog thinks a nibble of kibble is a wonderful treat too! Who would ever think? All in all, it took me one afternoon to make enough treats to do a half-hour of clicker-training with my dog every night for months (at least). I'm going to keep this stuff on hand all the time for the more challenging training and "jackpot" rewards. So, thank you MudPuppy! We have learned much from you...and now my dog has "happy-tummy" too, thanks to you. Ginger & Banjo (and my friend's dog, Coletrane)

Benedict

Posted : 2/13/2008 9:46:55 AM

Any chance someone could pass the recipe on to me?

spiritdogs

Posted : 2/13/2008 1:39:16 PM

This is the one I use:

1 to 1 1/2 lbs. chicken liver, with juices, liquefied in a blender

1 cup organic whole wheat flour

1 cup organic yellow corn meal

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 large egg

Mix all ingredients and bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet (Pam spray or a bit of oil spread on with a paper towel is fine) at 415 degrees for fifteen minutes. Cut while warm into tiny squares. Freezes well. If desired, you can substitute a 16 ounce can of pink salmon for the liver, to make an alternate treat that dogs love! (Note-feed only cooked salmon to dogs, never raw)

I know Glenda has a recipe, too, for a similar "dish".

LuvThatDawg

Posted : 2/13/2008 1:55:09 PM

Sure! Here's Mudpuppy's recipe as I copied it from her post something like a year ago, and I'll add the alterations I made at the end. "Liquify one lb of liver* with 2-3 garlic cloves in the food processor. Pour this into 2 C whole wheat flour and mix well, glob the whole mess onto a foil lined baking sheet, spread to an even consistency and bake at 325 for 20 minutes (25 if you want them crunchy) When cool pull the foil from the baking sheet and cut into teeny pieces with the pizza wheel. Return to the baking sheet to freeze before bagging. *I use chicken liver because it truly doesn't smell as bad as beef, and it's already pretty small so no cutting before it hits the food processor.....and I make 4-6 batches at a time so that I don't have to stink up the house as often. These keep in the fridge for about a week and in the freezer indefinately." And to Mudpuppy's recipe, I just added 1/2 cup olive oil and 2 eggs per batch, and I made one batch with white (unbleached) flour instead of whole wheat. The white flour, by the way, puffed up twice as high as the whole wheat, almost like a little cake (and it wasn't self-rising)--yielding twice as many treats, because I cut them in half again to make them little nibbles. But like I mentioned, my dog didn't like them nearly as much as she went for the whole wheat. Maybe next time I'll mix them. And I'm sure that MudPuppy did this, but just in case: make sure you include the, er, "juice" that comes in the liver tub too. My dog was supervising, and informed me that every single drop should not be wasted! :^) (Note: I made 3 batches, from 3 tubs of chicken liver none of which were fully 1 lb., and my "yield" was 2 13x9 tupperware containers with bulging lids PLUS two one-gallon zip-lock bags in the freezer, and one small ziplock in the fridge that I'm using this week. That's *without* kibble added in to make it last longer!)