01/06/2026
Canuary Day 6
Catfish & Sardine Dog Food
I started Making this for our older dog Casper a few years ago. Traditional canned dogfood made him itch uncontrollably. In fact, I taught myself to pressure can making dogfood and Bean recipes. Don't judge me, but, big dogs have strong stomachs, and well, they were my Guinea Pigs. As it turns out, it is not rocket science. You should know, this is not a "approved recipe." It has rice and that is frowned upon. It's dogfood. I have been feeding this and a few other recipes to my dogs for not quite 5 years now. Also, this is not a "complete diet" for dogs. I still give them kibble as well, just less. They love this. I typically make 2 recipes at a time. This will make about 7 quarts or 14 pints per recipe, give or take a little. I start off with 3 lbs of Catfish Nuggets and 5 cans of Sardines. The sardines MUST be in water. Unflavored! I purée each. Then I peel and dice 3 lbs Sweet Potatoes. I add an additional 2 -3 lbs of veggies. Sometimes I will just buy a Normandy Blend bag of frozen veggies. I grew a lot of vegetables this past summer. So here I am using squash and zucchini. I have used green beans, broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower as well in these recipes. I just add these veggies to the food processor and give it a few zooms! My dogs love all that, yours may not. They literally beg me to throw chunks of sweet potatoes as I prepare them. 🤣 I cook 2 cups of white rice. I usually combine the rice and fish first, using gloves I just blend with my hands while wearing gloves. 🧤 then incorporate the rest of the veggies, mixing thoroughly. This mix is cold, so it needs to be placed in cold jars. You're going to leave about 1 inch headspace. I add water then using a wood skewer, I tamp out any air bubbles, allowing the water to fill the voids. Add more water if needed. I initially did Quarts since I have super sized dogs, but I have swapped to Pints now. Wipe the jars with vinegar or water towel to clean them prior to adding lids and rings. Tighten finger tight. Place your jars in your pressure canner. I have an All American 1930 pressure Canner that I LOVE. I can process 14 pints at a time in it. Quarts will be processed at 90 min and Pints at 75 min. I process mine at 10 lbs pressure since I am at sea level. You need to make sure you use the proper pressure for your elevation. Once you have brought the temperature up and cooked to the proper time, turn it off. Let it depressurize back to zero. Remove the top carefully, and remove the jars and place on towels to cool for 24 hrs. Then remove rings and wash the jars checking your seals for failure. I will tell you to expect some siphoning with this recipe especially for some reason. I think it the fat in the sardines? It's ok as long as the seals hold. Most will. If they don't seal, place them in the fridge and use them first. No biggie.
