Got leftovers? Don’t worry. We’ve got lots of doggone great ideas! This dog treat recipe post will show you how to make yummy healthy homemade gelatin gummy dog treats using pureed cooked meats. I created it to help answer a common question about using meat instead of prepared stock or broth, but it’s also a great way to use up some dog-friendly leftover meats, fresh or defrosted. Homemade turkey gummy dog treats? Chicken gummies? Beef gummies? Lamb gummies? All of the above??? Drool you way into our kitchen, furfriends.
Mmm...Meat!
From Leftovers to Mains and More
Meat is a big part of our dog’s diet, in both Humphrey’s primary foods and in his treats. Usually, these are bought or prepared for him, but it’s ok to share dog-friendly foods, too. If you’re planning to share a nibble or hoping to save leftovers for making homemade dog food or treats, you’ll want to prepare with care. Lean meats and preparation methods are healthier, and skip the seasonings and sauces. Cooked bones are a firm no for safety, but can be saved to make stock or to slow simmer into a doggone delicious and healthy bone broth.
Using Cooked Meat in Homemade Dog Treats
We have lots of meat and fish treat ideas in our dog treat recipe archives. Many of our meaty treats are prepared from raw ingredients, but pre-cooked meats are a great option for certain types of treats. Cooked meats are especially handy for chopping or pureeing into doughs for baked biscuit dog treats, like our Cranberry Chicken Christmas Cookie dog treats or Peanut Butter Bacon Bones. You can also dehydrate pieces of cooked meat to make more portable treats or for easier storage. The texture will be significantly different from normal jerky dog treats, but the scents and tastes will still be yummy. Check out our intro on making dehydrated dog treats for info, ideas, and links.
Making Gummy Dog Treats with Meat
Swapping Stock for Diluted Puree
My go-to method for making gummy dog treats is with homemade stock. I save the poaching liquid from cooking meat for Humphrey’s breakfasts and freeze it in small batches for ready-use. It’s quick, convenient, and essentially free. But not everyone preps meats this way for saving liquid. You can prep your own stock or broth through conventional methods, just remember to skip the salt and unfriendly seasonings to keep it dog-friendly. As a quick short cut or a delicious alternative for wider gummy variety, you can prepare a diluted puree from cooked meat instead. I do this often with non-meat ingredients, like fruits and veggies.
When using diluted puree instead of stock, there’s a little extra clean-up since you’ll want to use a blender or food processor for prep. I also recommend using the pre-cooling process before pouring to set to help ensure the solids from the purred meat stay suspended. Otherwise, making the gummies is the same quick and simple process. I’m going to show a demo with chicken and then with lamb.
Pureed Cooked Meat Gelatin Gummy Dog Treat Recipes
We’re doing demo gummies is two different meat puree blends to show the different between a lighter meat gummy, like chicken or turkey, and a darker meat gummy, like beef or lamb. The process is similar for both, although some meats are easier to puree than others. Both variations were made using food moulds (affiliate link) as individual shaped treats, but they can also be made as set-and-slice treats in a pan. The general process is the same for either method, other than slicing of course.
Gelatin Gummy Dog Treats with Diluted Pureed Chicken or Turkey
Treat Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup cool water (or alternative dog-friendly liquid)
- 1/4 cup of cold cooked chicken, turkey, or other unseasoned meat
- Sprinkle of dog-friendly dried herbs (optional)
- 3 tbsp quality powdered gelatin
A little boost of chicken or turkey goes a long way. The combo here is a rich but liquidy puree. The recipe can be easily adjusted to use more liquid and less meat, just keep the total liquid puree at a ratio of 1 cup per 3 tbsp of gelatin. Most cooked meats are fairly solid and dry, but sticking with my standard ratio keeps things nice and firm even if you’re using soft wet meats (or if combining other ingredients in the puree). You can go scant on the gelatin if you’d like softer gummy treat instead. See the tips and tricks at the end of this post for more info and ideas.
Adding seasonings is optional. The dried parsley pictured in these treats helps my demo show the suspended solids. Rosemary is another favourite for our boys that would be tasty in this combination, but I didn’t have any on hand when I was making these gummies.
Making the Treats:
Note: If your cooked chicken or turkey is dry, you can process it into a dry crumb first and then add the water to further process into smooth puree. If it’s on the moist side and tender for shredding, like the example shown here, it can be pureed all together.
- Combine the chicken/turkey, herbs (optional), and most of the water in a small food processor or blender. Reserve a portion of the water for rinsing to help ensure you get all that yummy puree into the gummy prep pan.
- Pour the prepared diluted puree into a small pan.
- Swish your food processor or blender with the reserved water, and add that to the pan.
- Sprinkle the surface with gelatin powder.
- Wait and let sit for approximately five minutes or longer for the gelatin powder to bloom / gel.
- Once the gelatin has bloomed, gently stir the mixture over low heat until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Take care not to shortcut with high temperatures or overheat. Heat can reduce the setting strength of gelatin.
- Remove from heat.
- Allow to cool slightly until thickened but not set to help suspend the solids. See below.
- Pour (or spoon) into a glass pan (cut and slice) or silicone moulds (shapes).
- Chill to set.
To suspend solids in a gummy, you can cool the gelatin down to just above its setting point so that it is thick and viscous enough to hold the floating and/or sinking pieces distributed through the gummy mixture. Slowly, stirring often, allow the mixture to cool and thicken. You can do this easily at room temperature, or you can speed things up by using the fridge (or an ice bath, if you prefer). When the mixture has thickened enough, spoon or pour the mixture into your moulds to set as per above. See our gummy pet chef help post for more info.
Gelatin Gummy Dog Treats with Diluted Pureed Beef or Lamb
Treat Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup cool water (or alternative dog-friendly liquid)
- 1/4 cup of cold cooked beef, lamb, or other unseasoned meat
- Sprinkle of dog-friendly dried herbs or other seasonings (optional)
- 3 tbsp quality powdered gelatin
Making the Treats:
The process of making treats with beef or lamb is the same as detailed with turkey or chicken above.
It’s worth nothing, however, that these meats can be harder to finely puree. If your cooked meat is dry, you can test a dry puree to see if it will dry crumb. To do this, try processing it on its own, without any added water. If it processes, you can then incrementally add the water to the crumb and process into a smooth puree. The more tender your meat, the easier it is to puree. Chopping before processing can help. Tough cut? If things aren’t going smoothly, letting the chopped pieces steep for a while in your liquid to might also help to soften things up for continued pureeing.
The colour of diluted cooked beef or lamb can be kind of meh. Not that the dogs will mind at all, of course! To deepen things into a more attractive colour (silly human) I’ve included turmeric in these treats. It’s a great natural food colouring, and a healthy dietary supplement. I included a sprinkle of its partner freshly ground black pepper for absorption too. And some rosemary since it was on my brain ever since the parsley above. Haha! Lamb gummies with a hint of rosemary? Happy Humphrey indeed.
Gummy Dog Treat Making Tips and Tricks
- See our comprehensive post on making and storing homemade gelatin gummy dog treats for additional information about making gummy treats including helpful gummy making tips, troubleshooting, and safe treat storage.
- These treats should be kept refrigerated and can be frozen for longer storage, although freezing can affect consistency.
Recipe and Ingredient Tips and Tricks
- In my experience, 3 tbsp of gelatin powder per cup of liquid makes firm gummies. If you prefer, you can use more gelatin for added supplementation or less for a jigglier jelly treat with lower gelatin content. Individual gelatin powders may be a little stronger / weaker. Find a ratio that works for your preferences and, of course, your dog.
- The method of pureeing meat into a liquid mixture for making gummies can be combined with other tasty ingredient combinations for hybrid gummy treats. Check out our gummy dog treat recipes for tasty ideas.
Hungry for more tasty treats? There are all sorts of homemade dog treat ideas in our blog archives. You can use the category and tag labels to find other recipes that might be of interest or use our internal search tools to find something specific. Remember, treats (bought or homemade) are for spoiling your pup in moderation. We share ideas from treats that we’ve made ourselves for our pets, but different animals have different preferences (likes/dislikes), just like people. Some pets may have special dietary requirements and/or food allergies/intolerances. If you are ever in doubt or have questions about what’s suitable for your pet, have a chat with your trusted vet.
