I just got gifted with a bag of venison lungs. (Among other things-I got a box of venison offal from a friend of my DH.) I know I could just chop them up and feed them raw (do lungs count as organs or meat?) but I'd really rather try and make moomooqs out of them, if I can figure out how. I know (well, think) that they're smoked, but are they also freeze-dried? The bag doesn't say anything about how they're made, but from the texture I wondered if they weren't dried somehow before they're smoked. If the lungs still have the esophagus' attached, I'm going to try to make moo tubes, too.

We have good friends, but it was pointed out to me that it's not *normal* to be so thrilled about getting a box of bloody bits and bobs. I just pointed out that they were the ones that saved them for me!

Update 12/2: I made them yesterday. I did it two different ways; I parboiled one side of the lungs, then sliced and dried them in a 200º oven all day. The other side I just sliced and dried. An observation: They really *do* smell good! It was driving the dogs nuts. However.

They didn't turn out like I thought they should have. Instead of getting light and crunchy morsels of goodness, I got leathery and black on the outside, still pink on the inside lumps. Don't get me wrong-the dogs still loved them. I'm not sure I'd consider them Arbiters of All Things Yummy though-they're the ones that think poop is a delicacy.

So. What'd I do wrong? Got me. But when I see them advertised they're always freeze dried, so maybe that was it. My oven doesn't go lower than 200º, but the smoker does, so maybe next time I'll use it instead-I don't have to put wood chips in. I could also maybe have sliced them a bit thinner, but I think that would involve partially freezing them, since they're pretty mushy at fridge temp.

Or I could just chop them up and feed them raw-do lungs count as organ meat? In any case, the dogs will cheerfully eat what I've got now, so that will have to do for this batch. I'll try again next year.

I think the lung treat are simply dehydrated. A food dehydrator should work.

PS~ Lucky you, getting venison yummies. My pup would be in heaven!!

Huh-I hadn't thought about that. Dog knows I've got enough lungs to experiment with! Now I just need to figure out where I put my dehydrator...

As to the yummies, the guy responsible thinks it's cool that we feed raw and has brought us other goodies before, usually rabbits and whistle pigs from his garden. This is the first time we've gotten deer parts from him, but he apparently got his entire hunting party to save parts for us.

OMG -- what in the world are you talking about???? Venison offal...lungs...bloody bits and bobs....

When I have been given lungs, I boil them a little, then slice and dehydrate them. My houndies love them!

Lucky dogs, my guys would love to visit. Now or after you dry them, they would like them both ways.

Holly, I love your emoticons!!!!

You can tell the people that don't raw feed their dogs!

I've sliced them up and dried them in the oven at 250 with the door cracked open.
Smells wonderful btw....

I'm investing in a good dehydrator that we can put in the garage.

Is that "wonderful" like liver brownies (which really do smell good, if not at all like brownies! ) or "wonderful" like mackerel brownies (that I've been forbidden to make in the house again )?

It's that wonderful overcooked venison roast smell...kinda gamey sort of liver smelling. It is comparable to liver brownies, but not quite the same. DH wasn't severely disgusted by it, but liver brownies he is. I think if I tried to do mackrel brownies DH would kill me, he complains enough now when I make tuna tooters.

You know, I'm kind of new to this site. I hadn't really made up my mind yet if everyone here was sane or a little off their rockers. Liver brownies? Tuna tooters? Dehydrated lung? Now I'm kind of leaning toward completely bonkers...

The things we do for our dogs...come on you know you want to join us!

Brownie Thread

Tooters

Beef lung treats
They also make lamb...

I can't do chicken feet though... It creeps me out too much.

Update in first post. Summary: It didn't go so well, but the dogs think it's fine anyway.

Hey, Boogiedown! Yep , we ARE all nutzo's here. This is the only site that gives me good, roll'in belly laughs! I am back on site after being off a few months. and really missed it . My guys love the dehydrated lung treats --- smell like real gaggers. I don't think I could ever handle the chicken feet, either. I forced myself to take a small sip of a soup made out of them once ( a cultural thing- an Asian soup to celebrate a new baby) and yes, they taste like they look ! YIKES

I don't mind handling chicken feet (except for when the yellow skin sloughs off ) but I agree-they smell funny. Weirdly, duck feet don't smell like that, and you'd think they would, since there's more to them. I've seen them in soups and stuff, and I have a Filipina friend who tells me I'm missing out, but no thanks-I'll pass.

The trick with the lungs is to freeze them, and then slice them, then lay them out in your dehydrator. Don't cook them first.We make these and sell them, they are unbelievably popular. If you can keep your dehydrator below 118 degrees, you will keep a lot more nutrients too.

Good for you for trying to do this!

I didn't think of that. Ours turn out more like jerky too, but they keep and the pups don't care. I do store them in the freezer in bags and take out enough for a couple of days at a time.

I've made jerky out of venison scraps and hamburger mix too that way and the pups love it.

Guess I need to put a dehydrator on Christmas list!

The guy is already talking about both black powder season, and the late winter cull on the Peninsula, and I've let it be known that I'd love any of the parts he doesn't want. If I get more lungs, I'll definitely try again!

I got my first "cheapie" dehydrator at Walmart (gasp) for less than $50.00
It has been great for figuring out recipies and testing things but we now do enough dehydrating that we are looking at a commercial unit.

Oh come on, if you can handle lung you can certainly handle chicken feet!

Roy can't even handle when I cook chicken over night in the crockpot. He'd head for the hills if I tried to make mackeral brownies.

He hasn't quite figured it out though that I make him feed the dogs the frozen tripe when I'm particularly mad at him

We were given some as a gift and they were a huge hit - hard to find because they are always sold out!

I do the homemade liver brownies and fat balls at home - not too bad. And just got a new dehydrator so now I will have to see if someone out in this area sells the lung parts so I can try it. I love all the hints and tip tricks in this thread.

If you freecycle, post a request for hunters to save you parts. Some field dress and don't want to haul it all back to the truck, but some will!

If you really want to be convinced, google poop and you get this:

http://forum.greytalk.com/lofiversion/index.php/t190467.html

you got dehydrated lung instead of freeze dried - lol - very different indeed but the dogs i don't think could care less...
i dehydrate liver around here on a very regular basis (sell it canada and US wide) - the smell is a kind of 'wrinkle your nose up' smell - lol...enough to make you move the dehydrator out of the house and into the garage - real quick....i did lung once before...didn't really like the results and so never tried it again - it took FOREVER....
oh - mine won't eat the lung raw....if i try to fool them and hand feed tidbits of liver and then throw in a piece of lung it gets rejected every time...funny because there is nothing else i have found that they won't eat!! *sigh* my 2 little chow hounds

More power to you. Personally, I would rather buy Burpdog biscuits.

whatever you do with them, my dogs would all like to join you for the partaking of the results

HA! this is hilarious!

If DH wasnt the one doing the vast majority of the feeding, I think I'd try a premade raw food... we do RMB's - though not as often as we should - all in the quest for the perfect poo!

btw my almost 4yo DD was perusing GT over my shoulder when I clicked on the poo pics (cuz of course you have to!) and she wanted me to find more poo pics! LMAO

i was just re-reading this thread - i am SOOO gonna try the chicken feet - even though truthfully they are the nastiest thing i have ever seen - i made it through the smell of green tripe - i can make it through dreaming about being chased by chickenless feet!!!
by the way - am i the only one who is totally embarassed buying this stuff - lol - i know there are people who eat this but when i go to the butcher and order only the most nasty stuff there, lol, i always get looks...my butcher knows i'm feeding my dogs....some people ask me what i do with the tripe or the lungs....i tell them it's for the dogs and then they look at me like i'm crazy! (which probably isn't too far from the truth)!

My guys *love* chicken feet! (They love tripe too, but only get it once in awhile, when I can serve it outside.)

I know what you mean about funny looks from others when you buy it. Last time I bought beef heart (80# or so) the cashier at the grocery store was fine ringing it out until she asked me what it was. Then I thought she was going to pass out-I didn't think people could actually turn that shade of green!

Just recently I'd run out, and so was buying a tray of pig tails at the local Food Lion. There was an older woman there, waxing nostalgic about "the really long ones-you just can't get those any more." I didn't have the heart to tell her that I usually bought a 40# case of "the long ones" for the dogs. Now I'm assuming that they sort them out; short=people, long=extra/dog/whatever.

i have a favorite place where i go for liver for dehydrating and i always clear out the shelf...one day the checkout lady dropped a package on the floor and she wanted to know if i wanted a different pack...i said no sine there was none left on the shelf and it was for the dogs anyways....lol - i should have a video camera with me when this stuff happens....lol....