This is the recipe for the Sunday when you have twenty-five minutes and very little patience. Minced beef cooks through faster than anything else in this book, so the batch is finished before you have tidied the kitchen. Nothing about this minced beef carrot potato dog food recipe is clever. That is entirely the point.
Minced beef cooks through quickly and evenly, making it the most time-efficient red meat for batch cooking; starch comes from potato and peas in a grain-free design, with protein at about 89 g per 1000 kcal.
Ingredients (standard batch)
| Ingredient | Amount | Preparation |
|---|---|---|
| Lean minced beef (about 10% fat) | 1.8 kg | |
| Potato | 1.1 kg | peeled and diced |
| Carrot | 350 g | diced |
| Frozen green peas | 200 g | no need to defrost |
| Olive oil | 15 g (about 1 tbsp) | stirred in off the heat |
This batch yields about 2.9 kg of food (about 4,060 kcal), roughly 7 days for a 10 kg adult dog.
Method
- Put the potato and carrot in a pot, cover with water and boil for 12 minutes.
- Add the minced beef, breaking it up until fully browned, and simmer 8 minutes until cooked.
- Add the peas and cook 3 minutes.
- Off the heat, stir in the olive oil and cool.
- Portion per the dosing table.
Estimated nutrient analysis (base recipe, before supplements)
| Item | Per 100 g | Per 1000 kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Metabolisable energy | 142 kcal | – |
| Crude protein | 12.7 g | 89 g |
| Fat | 5.9 g | 41 g |
| Carbohydrate | 9.4 g | 66 g |
| Dietary fibre | 1.4 g | 9.8 g |
| Calcium | 15 mg | 0.11 g |
| Phosphorus | 115 mg | 0.81 g |
The base recipe supplies only 0.11 g of calcium per 1000 kcal, far below an adult dog’s requirement, so supplementation is essential. Adding Eggshell Calcium Powder as per the table below (this recipe needs about 3.0 g per 1000 kcal) brings calcium to 1.25 g/1000 kcal (the AAFCO adult maintenance level), with a calcium to phosphorus ratio of about 1.5:1 (ideal range 1.2 to 2:1). Daily Multi for Dogs, dosed by body weight, supplies 20 essential vitamins and minerals. Together they make the meal complete and balanced.
Feeding and supplement dosing (two meals per day)
| Dog weight | Daily energy need | Daily food | Batch lasts | Daily Multi (per meal) | Eggshell Calcium (per meal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 kg | 251 kcal | about 180 g | about 16 days＊ | 0.5 g | 0.4 g (about 1/8 tsp) |
| 5 kg | 368 kcal | about 260 g | about 11 days | 1 g | 0.6 g (about 1/4 tsp) |
| 10 kg | 619 kcal | about 430 g | about 7 days | 1.5 g | 0.9 g (about 3/8 tsp) |
| 20 kg | 1,040 kcal | about 730 g | about 4 days | 2 g | 1.6 g (about 5/8 tsp) |
| 30 kg | 1,410 kcal | about 990 g | about 3 days | 2 g | 2.1 g (about 7/8 tsp) |
*For small dogs one batch lasts beyond the 2-week freezer guideline – scale the batch down proportionally. If you feed once daily, combine both meal portions of the supplements. Stir supplements in only after the food has cooled to just warm. Energy needs follow NRC (2006) MER = 110 kcal x BW(kg)^0.75 and vary about plus or minus 15% with neuter status and activity; weigh your dog every 2 weeks and adjust to body condition score.
Storage
Let it cool, then divide it into daily portions. Three days worth goes in the fridge (4°C) and the rest straight into the freezer, where it keeps for two weeks. Move tomorrow’s portion down to the fridge the night before, and warm it in a bowl of hot water before serving. Skip the microwave: it heats unevenly and leaves scalding pockets next to frozen ones.
Clinical notes
- Keep breaking the mince apart as it cooks so no clumps stay undercooked in the centre.
- Cook all meat and fish right through (core temperature above 75°C), and add no salt, sugar or seasoning at all. It will taste bland to you, which is exactly right for your dog.
- Onion, garlic, chives, grapes and chocolate are toxic to dogs. No amount is safe, and there is no exception to this one.
- Give your dog a week to change over, adding a little more of the new food each day, and keep an eye on stools, skin and appetite as you go. There is no prize for rushing it.
- These recipes are formulated for healthy adult dogs. For puppies, pregnant or nursing mothers, seniors, or any dog with a medical condition, talk to your vet before you start.
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