Satin Balls

[Red Fox]

I'd like to make up some training treats for my dog, similar the VIP chunkers maybe but with raw roo.

I'm thinking about using a satin balls type recipe but omitting the extra oil and molasses and of course using lean roo as opposed to fatty beef. The idea I have in my head is roo mince, eggs, oatmeal, sardines, some finely grated hard cheese and perhaps a little garlic mixed to the right consistancy for them to hold the ball shape. I was debating about adding breadcrumbs to thicken it up if needed.

I've also done a google search for recipes and noticed that most have gelatin in them. Why? Is this a neccessary ingredient? Does it help hold them together?

So... does anyone have any ideas on if this is gonna work? Or am I going to end up with a big crumbly mess? I really want them to be raw not cooked but I need something that will hold its shape...

Ideas please?

edited as I missed something out lol

Edited April 21, 2010 by SecretKei

[t-time]

If they are just going to be for training treats, why so many ingredients?

Egg is a good binder but even a little will make the mix sticky. Next time you have some roo mince, why not mix a little with grated cheese and egg into small treat-size balls and microwave so the cheese melts to bind the ball and the egg cooks a little, also to firm up. Place it on some paper towel to soak up any extra moisture and once cool, balls should be firm. :nahnah:

And yummy And just cooked a little bit. You do want it to be special right? :p

Alternatively you could make the balls raw with some cheese and roll in wheatgerm or oatmeal.

I personally wouldn't add sardines 'cos then you really can't put a ball in your pocket or pouch and your hands will stink to high heaven when training!

You can buy lil' dried fishies for cats - just plain dried with no added stuff and I've found these to be quite good as training treats.

[Red Fox]

Thanks t-time. I'm using the treats to train in food drive so they need to be exceptionally high value

I had a go last night and used around 300g mince, 2 eggs (I really only need one!), some grated fresh parmesan, sardines (I wanted stinky treats ) and then enough oatmeal and a little breadcrumbs to get it stiff enough to roll into balls. I also added the gelatine 'just in case it did anything' lol.

This made well over 200 of them though! So we experimented lol, one tray in the oven for 5 mins, one in the freezer and one in the fridge. The ones in the oven cooked nicely and ended up pretty much looking and feeling like chunkers - but a little more rubbery. The fridge ones seem to have set well too, though are a little sticky when squeezed. I tasted one of the oven baked balls and it was :nahnah: although Kei seemed to think they were okay.

As an after-thought I also chopped up some roo meat into tiny pieces and soaked it in the remaining sardine oil.

Well... I pulled a meatball out of the fridge this morning along with the container or sardine infused roo. Any guess which one the dog went mental for?

Blah, now I have 200 meat balls that I probably wont use and hands that stink to high heaven of sardies and roo

[t-time]

:nahnah:

High value to you will be different high value to Kei If you don't feed cheese, it will be HUGE value...ditto with sardines

Maybe try the dried fishies if Kei likes the fish so much?

Or straight Parmesan balls (not dried cheese but grated fresh stuff screwed up)??

Just chuck a few meatballs in with the regular feed to get them gone - you know they're healthy even if they didn't work out as high value treats!

[Red Fox]

Thanks for the ideas

I've tried the dried fishies before and they are good! I need soft food for this training though so they're out unfortunately.

I think we've found a winner with the sardine soaked roo though

Haha, I've threatened to cook up all the meatballs and send them in to OH's work for afternoon tea ;)

[Starkehre]

Hi Secret Kei, sounds like a great idea for Kei.

Now, I could be wrong about this, but as far as I am aware, the gelatine is added because it is very high in protein which would assist in the weight gain component that is typically required with the satin balls. Hence, I don't think you need to worry about it. Also, Kei might not like the taste of it, though it is typically somewhat tasteless, it would be a shame to drop the drive you would be gaining from all those other yummies.

I hope these do the trick for you Good luck ;)

[Red Fox]

Thanks Dyzney I never thought of the protein content of the gelatine! That makes sense.

Oh well, they didn't quite work out for training treats but perhaps I will be able to use them to bump up Kei's energy when needed