Some dog treat recipes are so cute and so fun to make and to photograph…with the little dog-shaped cookie cutters and all…
And then there are recipes like today’s that, well, are just plain ugly. Like dehydrated chicken liver dog treats!
A while back, I purchased a dehydrator at the thrift store for $4. (Surprisingly, this seems to be the kind of thing you can find quite often at a thrift store; since I bought mine, I’ve seen three others for sale! I guess people just don’t want give up that much room to store the dehydrator because it is fairly large.)
I’ve made dehydrated sweet potatoes and bananas for the dogs in the dehydrator but I’d never tried chicken livers until this week. I’m not sure why I waited so long to try to make them because it’s super, super simple and the dogs absolutely loved them!
How to Make Dehydrated Chicken Liver Dog Treats
To make these treats in the dehydrator, first spray the trays with no-stick spray or apply cooking oil to prevent sticking.
Space the livers at least an inch apart so there will be good air circulation throughout the trays…
If any chicken livers are too thick, use a fork to flatten the liver slightly.
The one-pound tub of chicken livers was divided between three trays. I put the trays in the dehydrator and cooked them for nearly four hours. Halfway through the cooking process, I switched the tray order. (Your own cooking time will vary with your dehydrator.)
If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can make these in the oven on its lowest temperature setting, baking on a lightly greased cookie sheet, flipping the chicken livers halfway through the cooking.
Once done, allow the chicken livers to cool completely then pop them in the refrigerator. They’ll last up to two weeks (although they didn’t last anywhere near that long here….the dogs loved them!)
Cooks: Don’t miss our My Dog Says I’m a Great Cook™ cookbook with over 100 dog treat recipes from the publishers, readers and fans of DogTipper! This paperback book is available in our PawZaar gift store!
Nicole
Thursday 14th of January 2021
Hello! Can you freeze the liver jerky? And for how long? Thank you!
Dashie07 E.
Sunday 8th of November 2020
My oven starts at 170 so that's a good setting for dehydrated!
RavRob
Saturday 31st of October 2020
You are talking about the cooking time but not the temp. What temp setting are you using?
Paris Permenter & John Bigley
Tuesday 3rd of November 2020
Use the lowest temperature setting if you are dehydrating them in your oven. My dehydrator doesn't have temperature settings; if yours does, I'd set it about 160 degrees F.
Victoria
Tuesday 6th of March 2012
Like you, I found my dehydrator at a thrift store! I have also dried chicken livers for my Yorkie and she loves them...so easy to do.
Sharon Gilbert
Monday 5th of March 2012
I have a dehydrator and I make chicken jerky and I take a piece of apple and wrap chicken around the apple every week for Schooner and Skipper. Thanks!! I am going to try the chicken livers. They loved the Chicken Liver Dog Treats Squares. I love my dehydrator. I just might try chicken gizzards too!