# Dehydrating Liver



## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

Does anyone else who had dehydrated their own liver have good recommendations on what size/thickness to cut? 

I think I am loosing my mind. I have dehydrated liver before and I can't for the live of me remember what I did last time. I remember kidney I pureed and did more like ground beef jerky but liver I know I just cut up. But how thick and long? I have like 2lbs of liver that I want to dehydrate and my dehydrator is ready to go. I also don't want to ruin 2lbs of grass-fed local liver.


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## CHITheresa (Apr 30, 2011)

I have done Salmon so not much help to you.


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

Well I did strips like 1/4" thick or less and some chunks. I sorta just chopped it all up to get it all in there. I will let you guys know how it turns out. Also if anyone is trying to loose weight this new years I suggest chopping liver up for an hour. I am suddenly not hungry at all...


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## joeandruth (Aug 11, 2012)

We have ordered dehydrated liver treats from drsfostersmith.com. It was not outrageously expensive, and I can assure you of two things:

1. Simcha really loves these treats.

2. They are really, really stinky.

I could not imagine preparing these at home....


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

joeandruth said:


> We have ordered dehydrated liver treats from drsfostersmith.com. It was not outrageously expensive, and I can assure you of two things:
> 
> 1. Simcha really loves these treats.
> 
> ...


That makes me laugh, cause sometimes I do wonder why I do these things- I have butchered goat and rabbit for my dogs and myself, I portion out tripe, and worst of all regularly make "kidney brownies" for training. I have a freezer full of animal parts and I know a lot of ranchers. I get liver practically free from the most ethically raised heirloom cattle in the country so I have to do something with it! And believe me liver is nothing compared to kidney- now that smells BAD.

Also those Drs Foster and Smith treats are made in China, so watch out for that. I order a lot of stuff from their website but they do a good job of hiding where their treats come from but most are China. They try to put "packaged in the US" in really big font to hide that they are manufactured in china. Outside their teats I do love that website- just placed an order of fish tank stuff today actually!


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## ~LS~ (Oct 29, 2011)

doginthedesert said:


> ...I have butchered goat and rabbit for my dogs and myself, I portion out tripe, and worst of all regularly make "kidney brownies" for training. I have a freezer full of animal parts and I know a lot of ranchers. I get liver practically free from the most ethically raised heirloom cattle in the country so I have to do something with it! ...




Well aren't we a show off!!!  

...I'm so jealous!


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

I don't have a dehydrator but know many people who do dehydrate liver with no problems. I've read that the secret is to make SURE it is completely dry. Any moisture will foster mold. 

I would slice as thinly as possible. With squishy organ, I'd make sure it is frozen almost solid and use a very sharp knife in order to get it very thin. Then dehydrate completely.

To be safe, I'd probably just store it in the freezer and take out a piece when needed. I bought some dehydrated kidney awhile back and I just keep it in the freezer. Brody gets one for a treat a couple times a week and he eats it straight out of the freezer with no problems at all.


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

I just wanted to report back- dehydrating went great. As Tracy suggested I sliced it while still mostly frozen with a very sharp knife. I did a bunch of strips like jerkey and also did some little nuggets. It took about 6 hours at 155 and now I have like 3 months worth of liver treats. I put it in a Tupperware in the freezer but left a weeks worth in the fridge for convenience. They are pretty dry and I imagine would be shelf stable for a while but better safe than moldy.


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## ~LS~ (Oct 29, 2011)

Annie, post pics next time, for educational purposes.


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