Have A LOT of offal/organ meat, need information!

[Fundog]

Hey Y'all!

My family just purchased a locally raised lamb/sheep (it was a lamb last summer when we bought it, but has grown a lot since). We just had the body delivered last night, and it is hanging in the cellar until we are ready to butcher it.... anyway, we also got all the organs/offal. I know a lot of folks like to eat organ meat, particularly the heart and liver (we also got the lungs), but in this case Mr. Fundog says he does not want it, and it is all mine to do with as I wish-- which means the dogs get it, the lucky girls!

We're talking A LOT here, as just the skinned and cleaned carcass hanging in our cellar is over 100 lbs. of meat! The organs are filling a plastic grocery sack in the refrigerator. I need to know what to do with them, how to store them, perhaps some instructions on freeze drying/dehydrating/preserving them, etc. since there is NO WAY the dogs could eat all that before it spoils! I also remember all you BARF feeders saying that offal is super rich and should not be fed more than a couple times a week or so.... I also recall some of you mentioning freeze dried lamb lung as training treats. And maybe I could make some home made dog biscuits... Need recipes, information, instructions, and advice, asap, please! (Thank you very much)

[Nettle]

OOOOH wonderful!

What we call "lights" over here - lungs and trachea - I actually cook. They stink, so I cook with a few apples which deodorise the pong somewhat. You can bake in the oven, or boil in a pot. The liquor is rich and fatty too, really good for a doggie vegetable stew as a separate meal. Alternatively you can slice the lungs thinly and dry them in the oven veree slowly, and they make a training treat that dogs will go crazy for, but - it still stinks. Great dog food, and can be fed in a lump of suitable size. Probably two or even three meals out of these. It's rich, so watch out for stinky bums

The liver - slice thinly and bake dry for training treats, or else freeze. Don't feed too much liver at once as it is rich in vitamin A and you can overdo it. How much is too much? That sheep liver should last 4 meals, and feed a couple of days apart. You could stew it with vegetables, or feed raw with other meat.

The kidneys. Oh these are delicious - are you SURE you want to give them to the dogs? One each, and you can feed raw. Leave the fat around them.

For humans bake slowly in their own fat and serve with mushrooms and grilled bacon. (I'll be round shortly ).

The heart - cut in two and feed raw, with the fat. One meal.

I think that's all you have, unless you have the tripes as well?

This stuff spoils really quickly - have you a freezer or is your weather freezing? If not, cooking will make it keep for slightly longer.

[Fundog]

Thanks Nettle, I'll get right on it! (I got a pot purri simmering pot for Christmas, so that's good, lol)

No, we did NOT get the tripe-- thank God!

[Fundog]

Nettle, just thought I would report (for the benefit of anyone else who might be new to the idea of feeding "real" food to their dogs): It turns out we don't have the kidneys--either the farmer kept them for himself, or they got thrown into my bil and sil's bag-- they got a lamb too, in addition to having one of their own goats killed. Bummer that, I would loved to have given those to the girls. Oh well. The farmer practically did this for a "steal," so I won't begrudge him a pair of kidneys.

Anyway, Mr. Fundog put the kabosh on the lungs after he read your advice (I printed it out). He was not at all keen on having me stink up the house. So the lungs got thrown out. But... I put the liver and the heart together in a roasting pan with some diced apples and frozen green beans from last summer's community garden, plus a handful of broccoli.... after it is done and cooled, I will cut up the liver and heart, and freeze the whole mixture into several measured portions. The girls will have some extra tasty meals to add variety to their kibble this month!

Add to that the wonderful bones they will get off the lamb carcass after butchering!

Oh-- and yes, our high day time temps have been at or below freezing, so the lamb carcass is perfectly safe in our cellar right now. After we butcher it (we want it to "age" over the weekend), our sil and bil have room in their big freezer to store our meat as well as theirs.

I'm just so excited: no matter what the future holds, at least we won't starve this year!

And... I have to add: thanks to all the fantastic support of everyone on this forum, our girls are enjoying a much higher quality of life and health, than I ever might have imagined-- so thanks everyone!

[wvvdiup1]

You're making me hungry, Fundog!

Expect two (Nettle and I) for dinner, Fundog!

By the way, you should have kept the lungs!