Mixed raw dog food recipe with chicken and beef (BARF)
Mixed raw dog food recipe with chicken, beef, heart, gizzards, organs and blanched spinach. Boneless, with measured calcium and raw-meat hygiene.
- Time
- 42 min
- Makes
- About 1.35 kg / 3 lb (about 2½ days for a 10 kg / 22 lb adult dog)
- Type
- Main meal
- Difficulty
- Medium
- 34 % boneless, skinless chicken thigh
- 25 % stewing beef
- 11 % beef heart
- 7 % chicken gizzards
Follows THE RULE. All 10 ingredients are on our safe list: nothing that could harm your dog.
This raw dog food recipe with chicken and beef brings two meats together in the same batch: chicken thigh and beef shank, with beef heart, chicken gizzards, 5 % liver, another 5 % kidney and a blend of blanched spinach and carrot. Mixing poultry and red meat in every portion is a simple way to rotate proteins without having to prepare two different menus.
The spinach is the only thing that goes near the heat, for one minute in boiling water, and it is blended with the raw carrot into a green paste that colors the meat. For a dog that already eats chicken BARF and beef BARF separately and tolerates both, this is the everyday workhorse recipe: you make it in one session, and if you double it, it fills the freezer for two weeks.
Why it works
Chicken thigh provides protein with moderate fat and some linoleic acid; beef shank, iron and zinc. Beef heart and chicken gizzards count as muscle and provide taurine, iron and texture. Liver, limited to 5 %, is the source of vitamin A, copper and folate, and kidney adds selenium and vitamin B12. Blanched spinach provides folate, vitamin K and magnesium, and carrot, beta-carotene and fiber. Eggshell balances the phosphorus, and salmon oil adds the omega-3s EPA and DHA.
Talk to your vet first. Raw feeding carries risks: raw meat can carry bacteria such as Salmonella, Listeria or Campylobacter that affect both your dog and the people in your home, and veterinary bodies such as WSAVA advise against feeding uncooked raw meat. If you would rather avoid those risks, you will find equivalent cooked recipes in our homemade dog food section. If you decide to feed raw, talk it over with your vet, especially if there are young children, older adults, pregnant women or anyone with a weakened immune system in your home.
Step by step
Freeze the meat for a week
Freeze the chicken, beef, heart, gizzards, liver and kidney for at least one week at −18 °C / 0 °F. Move them to the fridge 24 to 36 hours before you make the batch.
Blanch the spinach
Drop the spinach into boiling water for 1 minute, transfer it to cold water and squeeze it firmly to drain. Throw away the cooking water: some of the oxalates go with it.
Blend the vegetables
Blend the cold spinach with the chopped carrot into a fine paste. If it is hard going, add a tablespoon of water.
Trim and cut the meat
On a board used only for raw meat, remove the visible fat from the shank and heart, the tough lining from the gizzards and the white core from the kidney. Cut everything into 2-3 cm (about 1 inch) cubes (1-2 cm / ½ inch for small dogs).
Chop the liver
Chop the liver very fine, almost to a paste, so it does not end up concentrated in a single portion.
Mix in the calcium
Combine the meats, organs and vegetable paste, and sprinkle in the eggshell while you stir, until you cannot see any clumps of white specks.
Portion and freeze
Weigh out the daily portions, label them with the date and keep only the next two days in the fridge. The rest goes in the freezer.
How much should I feed?
Approximate daily portion for a "spayed or neutered adult" profile. Split it into two meals (three or four for puppies).
— g a day
| Weight | 3 kg | 5 kg | 10 kg | 15 kg | 20 kg | 30 kg | 40 kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grams/day | 215 | 320 | 535 | 725 | 900 | 1,215 | 1,510 |
Puppy, senior, very active or on a diet? Calculate the exact portion.
- Energy
- 118 kcal/100 g
- Protein
- 65 % dry matter
- Fat
- 18 % dry matter
- Calcium:phosphorus
- 1.5 : 1
Values estimated from the ingredients (BEDCA/USDA data). An everyday meal. To feed it daily as the only food, add a vitamin and mineral supplement for homemade diets.
Storage
Fridge: 48 hours at most, tightly closed and on the bottom shelf. Freezer: up to 3 months at −18 °C / 0 °F, in one-day portions labeled with the date. Thaw each portion in the fridge the night before; never at room temperature, in hot water or in the microwave. Do not refreeze anything that has thawed.
If you don't have…
- You cannot find chicken gizzards
- Chicken hearts, in the same amount
- Your dog has or has had urinary stones
- Zucchini instead of spinach, in the same amount
- You want to swap the beef
- Leg of lamb with no visible fat, in the same amount as the shank
Cooking tips
- Before feeding this menu, check that your dog tolerates chicken BARF and beef BARF separately: if something disagrees with him, you will know what it was.
- Make a double batch in one session: cleaning the board and kitchen takes the same time, and you have food for about ten days for a 10 kg / 22 lb dog.
- To feed it every day as the only food, add a vitamin and mineral supplement made for raw or homemade diets.
- Spinach is an extra, not the base: if it does not agree with your dog, swap it for zucchini without a second thought.
Safety
- Raw-meat hygiene: wash your hands before and after, use a board and knife only for raw meat, do not rinse the meat in the sink (splashes spread bacteria) and wash everything with hot, soapy water when you finish.
- Freeze all the meat and organs for at least one week at −18 °C / 0 °F before using them: this is against parasites, not bacteria. Salmonella, Listeria and Campylobacter survive freezing; only strict hygiene or cooking deals with them. Always thaw in the fridge.
- Raw chicken is the meat that most often carries Salmonella and Campylobacter: keep it on the bottom shelf of the fridge and do not leave it out any longer than necessary.
- Stick to the amount of spinach and always blanch it: in excess, its oxalates interfere with calcium absorption and encourage some kinds of stones.
- Never use raw pork or wild boar: they can transmit Aujeszky's disease (pseudorabies), which is fatal to dogs. And never give cooked bones.
- This recipe is not designed for puppies: while they are growing, calcium and phosphorus need to be adjusted with your vet, and raw meat carries more risk.
Frequently asked questions
Can you mix meats in a raw diet for dogs?
Yes, you can mix meats in a BARF diet once your dog tolerates each one separately. Combining poultry and red meat in the same portion balances the fat and adds different minerals, such as the iron and zinc in beef. What you should not do is start BARF with mixes: if there is a problem, you will not know which meat caused it.
Can dogs eat raw spinach?
They can, but it is better to blanch it for a minute and throw the water away, because that removes some of the oxalates and makes it easier to digest. Always give it in small amounts and blended, never as the base of the meal. If your dog has had oxalate stones or kidney problems, avoid it.
What are gizzards and why are they used in raw feeding?
Chicken gizzards are the bird's muscular stomach, not a secreting organ like the liver. That is why in BARF they count as muscle: they provide protein, iron and zinc, little fat and a firm texture that makes your dog chew. They are cheap and easy to find at any butcher or poultry counter; peel off the tough yellowish lining if it is still there.
How many vegetables should be in a raw dog food diet?
In our BARF recipes, 10 to 15 % of the batch is vegetables or fruit, always blended so your dog can make use of them, or cooked in the case of pumpkin and sweet potato. The rest is muscle (around 75-80 %), 5 % liver and another 5 % kidney. More vegetables do not make the recipe healthier: they dilute the protein.
What's in it, in detail
If they liked it, try
The fridge list
The foods your dog can eat, can have in moderation and must never eat, on a single printable page.