You’re probably looking at the picture, reading the headline, and thinking, “Drew has lost it.” But I’m telling you, this stuff is super-easy to make, cheaper than canned food, better for him, and … it’s pretty tasty. The first time I made it the girls asked if they could try it. Then they asked if they could have it for dinner.
It’s really, really close to chicken fried rice, but heavier on the chicken. It tastes great. And Woodie likes it, too. But more important, it agrees with him. Woodie’s 17 years old, and he doesn’t do well with canned food any more. Since I started making this, he’s much happier. (And so are we.)
Ingredients
1 pack boneless chicken thighs (5 thighs, ~1 pound)
1 cup rice
1/2 cup olive oil (I use olive pomace)
2-3 teaspoons salt
Directions
Put the rice, two cups of water and a teaspoon of salt in a pan over high heat.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
While the rice is going, heat the oil over high heat, and add the chicken.
Open up all the pieces so they’re laying flat, and salt the side facing up.
Cover the pan, and cook for about a minute or two, until the bottom starts to lightly brown.
Flip the thighs over, put the lid back on, and turn the heat down to medium.
Give it about five minutes, then pull the thighs apart. If they don’t come into pieces easily, let it cook another minute or two.
Turn the heat to low and put the lid back on until the rice is done. The chicken should be cooked all the way through at the same time. Test the thickest piece to make sure.
Transfer about a third of the rice to a food processor. Add all the chicken, letting it drain, but reserve the fat in the pan.
Pulse the food processor until the chicken is all shredded.
[Note: The Ninja
Pour the rest of the rice into the pan you cooked the chicken in. Toss it to let it soak up all the olive oil and rendered chicken fat.
Add the processed chicken and rice to the pan and mix.
Look at your dog, waiting patiently.
Call his name (kind of loud, because he’s a little hard of hearing) and tell him it’s almost ready.
Let it cool a little, because once you put it in his bowl — not all of it, this is enough for a whole week — he’s going to suck it down in about two-and-a-half seconds.
And that’s it.
Oh, this is also a great meal for someone trying their first solid food after being sick. Tasty but mild, and the rice helps keep everything … uhhh … together, if you know what I mean.
25 Comments
Ahh, cat food?
Will you make a cat food that my kitty cat won't vomit?
I know you have cats, Drew; you post photographs of them.
Otherwise, that's right up my alley!
Looks pretty tasty!
May I suggests adding carrots to the mix? When we run low on dog food, I whip up rice and carrots for the dogs, and they love it. And of course baby carrots make excellent treats for dogs.
we made something pretty similar to this after our dog had surgery-they had to cut open his stomach and intestine, so had to have something very mild that will digest well.
@Josh, both our dogs will eat COOKED carrots, but only like raw ones to play with!
Rachel- I make something like this for my moms cats but they like it all the way pureed. And add some stock in as you are blending it to give it a bit more flavor.
Drew- I do this for my little Shadow all the time as he has allergies. He also loves organ meat from lambs, goats and cows. So my butcher always saves me some of it. I do add veggies to the mix. I am currently looking for recipes for wheat free dog treats for Shadow. Cute little Shih Tzu. And hubs wants to get another picky and fussy face washer!
Thank you I love your blog but now I really love your blog!!! Your dog is lucky to have you ….if only they were all that lucky!!
I make dog food too; but as a supplement. I boil 10# of chicken legs/thighs at a time, until cooked. Pick the meat off, and then cook the bones in the stock for a while longer. (BTW, it makes a VERY rich stock)! Then, I grind up the bones in the blender with stock, and use that mixture in their food too. I don't use all the stock, so there is some left over. It's very rich – full of marrow. My dogs have gorgeous coats since I've been feeding them this way. You could also use the bone puree to make dog biscuits too.
I used to make something very similar for my boxer Cleo. She came down with the cancer and was put on a diet chicken, rice and cottage cheese (then at a later stage just the rice and cottage cheese). It was well received and miraculously cured her of her HORRIBLE dog farts. Alas she did succumb to the cancer but it work so well on the gas problem we started feeding it to our lab. Since she was not sick we added a little frozen peas and carrots to it to increase the vitamin content. From that day forward I could no longer blame it on the dog, luckily I have a 12 year old son I can now blame it on.
Hi,
Love this post. I made something similar to this for my chihuahua too only I ground the raw meat (I used a variety of muscle and organ meats) and made them into meatballs with rice, veggies and egg that I poached in bone broth. He lived to be 23 years old and did very well on it. Much better than regular dog food that made him sick.
Rachel, cats are pickier than kids. Sorry, you're on your own.
(But check out what Jonica said after you.)
Josh and Matt, I'll be checking with my uncle, the vet, about nutrition before adding veggies. Woodie does better having the exact same thing every day, so I want to make sure he's getting everything he needs from one recipe, but still keep it as simple as possible.
Amy, did he go back on "regular" food after recovery? A few days ago we ran out of Woodie's new food, but still had a can left in the cupboard. I gave it to him, he sniffed it, and looked at me like, "What's this? Where's my real food?"
Jonica and Mary, I've got a great butcher. I'll talk to him about saving organ meats for me.
Nancy, you grind the bones in the blender? I'd be afraid I'd break mine.
This is similar to what I make for my 14 year old dog who has cancer, because I needed to add something to the kibble to encourage her to gobble it up and not notice the pills hidden in there. The main difference is I start out by simmering the chicken in a big pot with carrots and celery if I have it (no onions, they're bad for dogs) to make broth, and use that to cook the rice in. I pick out the bones and toss them, and put the rice and meat and veg through a food processor. It is well received! I do continue to feed high quality kibble just because I don't know if the rice/chicken has all the nutrition she needs.
PS: Your dog is adorable!
What a sweet looking dog and good for you for taking such good care of him! This is a great idea. I'm contemplating going the all natural route for my two "kids." Just got finished reading "Amazing Gracie" by Dan Dye and Mark Beckloff – owners of Three Dog Bakery. I just got their cookbook and haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but am glad I came across your post (though I read you all the time!). This just gives me all that much more confidence. Thanks, Drew!
Just be aware that this is NOT a nutritionally complete food! If you feed this to a dog without any other supplements or other dog food long term, they will have problems. Calcium, vitamins, and lots of other things are very deficient in a simple chicken-and-rice recipe.
That being said, this sounds great for short term use for dogs with stomach problems, dogs who are old or sick enough that it doesn't matter any more, and as an addition to dog food that is complete nutrition.
Careful on cat foods too– cats have very specific nutritional needs and it is very hard to make a homemade food that is good for cats. Taurine especially will likely be deficient.
That is a seriously cute little old man you have there.
Stef, Kelley and Caren, I know this is too limited a diet for long-term use. That's why I'll be talking to my uncle. The problem for now is that he won't eat dry food any more (we suspect his teeth aren't so great), and the three kinds of canned we've tried either come back up or … Let's just say he doesn't have great control of when or where it goes.
Kristin, shhhhh! Don't let him hear you say that. He's already incorrigible.
I do this for my dog too! She is my baby and spoiled. I also hand feed her Liverwurst!
I do wonder how all the dogs and cats survived BEFORE dog and cat foods. I am of the age where I did not grow up on formula. It is amazing how the human race has survived without formula, hand sanitizer, bike helmets, and Tylenol! Sometimes I get so mad I want to run with scissors in my hand!
I says live and enjoy and same for the pets too. BTW, I know plenty of nutritional deficient people. Just look at all the junk food and school lunches people eat. Now that is deficient!
My goodness, there are more comments on the dog food than any other post! lol
That's really neat & does look tasty, thanks for sharing! I'm saving this for my dogs.
Reminds me of the 'Turkey & Rice' recipe my mom makes for the humans (basically browned ground turkey, rice, and cream of mushroom soup). And I also had to post on the adorable beauty that dog is…I mean, he's so cute and still looks like a puppy face after all these years. So lucky! Is he a mix breed?
Cerise, and lawn darts! And metal monkey bars set in concrete!
Barb, I know, isn't it crazy?
Krystal, he was a stray when my wife found him, so we're not exactly sure. But best guess is he's Chow and Golden Retriever.
Drew, I've been grinding the bones for years, and the blender is still going strong. The key is to cook the bones a little longer to soften them up. It makes a Really rich glop, which has to be good for them with all that marrow!
Rachel — We had problems with our cat regurgitating all cat food until we tried one called Holistic Naturals. I get it at the pet store. It's expensive, but she has no problems with it.
I'm thinking about making Drew's recipe and adding a little to the kibble the dog eats — and the cat food, too.
I made a version of this last night using leftover roasted turkey. I added some green beans and carrots when I cooked the rice. The animals (two cats and a dog) were very appreciative!
I use chicken gizzards and hearts which are less expensive. I add broccoli florets or peas. I use brown rice (more nutritional) My dog loves it. I feed him those baby carrots as a treat.
I used to buy the Trader Joe’s bags of frozen thighs. Good value.
I just found your website tonight, and am staying up late reading it all. When I saw this, I had to comment! I’ve been making food for my animals for years, mostly raw, and then freeze it. The bones are important, as are “innards”. If the animal is in bad condition, and raw won’t work, I’ve pressure cooked everything. That gets the bones soft enough to mush up with the meat and vegies. I don’t use starches or grains, usually. When you read the ingredients on a bag of dog food, you realize it is essentially the same as us trying to thrive on a diet of only cold cereal!
Lauren, we’ll be looking for a puppy this spring. Before then, I plan on getting with my Uncle the vet to come up with a good long-term recipe. I’ll be sure to post the details.
this would be good for an older dog or a dog with stomach issues. We feed our pets a raw diet or a grain free diet when we can’t do that. dogs are scavengers and will eat anything but physiologically thy are carnivores and cats are obligate carnivores. Most vets unfortunately get most of their training in a day or week seminar that are sponsored by hills or what ever pet food company is sponsoring the work shops for their school.
I love seeing dog recipes though! we like experimenting with making different dog treats.. In fact we made a dog safe (but not out of raw ) birthday cake for them this year.