Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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I've just started my two lurchers on a species appropriate diet - i.e. raw meat. They've been eating plenty of bones, chicken pieces, ox hearts, liver and minced beef and pork and are loving it all. However, when I give them raw kidneys they won't touch them - these are big beef kidneys. So I've been lightly frying them and then the dogs will eat them but I must admit when they are cooking they do give off a slight 'urine' smell (or as my son put it when he walked in the kitchen "it smells of wee in here"). I'm trying to increase the amount of offal we eat and liver - lamb's and pig's - is going down well but I'm a bit put off even trying kidney now - although there are sometimes little ones attached to the lamb chops I get and they are ok. What do you think? Are kidneys a bit dodgy? After all their job is to filter out waste. Is it just a question of cooking them properly?

flag	asked Mar 31 2011 at 21:40 queen of the stone age 2,587●2●10●23

My dogs can sometimes be finicky with kidneys and raw liver. I now freeze the livers and they gobble them up as a tasty frozen treat. Kidneys are messy and smelly and the smell stays on my hands for awhile - so I now avoid them and use pancreas or other offal to meet my organ meat percentages. I wouldn't cook anything if you are serious about raw feeding - if they don't like them find something else - there sure is lots out there! – jjs Mar 31 2011 at 22:50

My mother always told me to soak kidneys in lemon juice- which always seemed like too much work so I've not tried it yet. I did find this, though- "Marinate the kidney in 1 TBS of vinegar and ½ TBS soy sauce. You may add some finely ground pepper to the mixture and leave it for 15 to 20 minutes. It is always better to soak the kidney in vinegar or lemon water since it reduces the strong odor ...in case of Pork and large beef kidneys milk or cold salted water should be used for soaking the kidneys for at least 2 hours in order to reduce their strong taste." tipdeck.com/how-to-cook-kidney – WordVixen Mar 31 2011 at 23:19

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What about gizzards? I eat them from the chicken & turkey along with the heart. Different subject all together? BTW, my dog is thriving on the raw meat diet w/ bones and some beef gelatin., so happy because he was about to be put down! NO GRAINS For the dogs! – FanOfSunshine Apr 1 2011 at 1:42

GreenTripe organ blends solve a host of issues and make serving Raw to your furbabies much easier. I alternate plain GT and Organ Blend for my guy and it saves time and provides all the organs + all the probiotics and a little dirt for enyzmatic co-factors. Depending upon where you live, there might be a local source or a coop who sources through this supplier. (They are great ladies and were on Dirty Jobs w/my honey, Mike Rowe.) greentripe.com (AKA Crack for dogs.) – Marie Apr 1 2011 at 2:57

Stephen-Aegis · Accepted Answer · 2011-04-01 01:27:59Z UTC

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I'd trust the dogs.

Id call it similar to the Rats who wont eat GMO feed... something tells them not to eat it.

The dogs have intensely better olfactory systems than we do. Ours tells us when something isnt good to eat... if theirs is stronger, ill trust them every time.

My personal understanding, is the liver is a nutrient dense detox system, the kidneys are a filter... ever seen a used filter? gross. pass. The other offal doesnt seem to be bad, stick with it and youll have no deficiency issues.

answered Apr 1 2011 at 1:27

Stephen-Aegis
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	it is a filter, BUT it does not store the stuff it filters, it only has slight smell of it. it's the same as liver, liver filters blood but it does not store any of the filtered stuff. – aaa Apr 1 2011 at 2:16
	Actually many people have issues because they feed a meal of kidney, a meal of liver, etc. Feeding a blend is a great solution. – Marie Apr 1 2011 at 2:58
	I tried mixing things up but they painstakingly pick the kidney bits out. Mind you they do this if I mix liver into mince too and then happily eat the liver - they just don't seem to want them mixed. – queen of the stone age Apr 1 2011 at 6:41

eric · Answer 2 · 2011-04-01 03:26:46Z UTC

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I live in an area which has many slaughterhouses for pigs. It's the Jabugo area of Spain if anyone is familiar with it. In the right season kidneys will run 1 euro per kilo and my cats are thriving on them.

answered Apr 1 2011 at 3:26

eric

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Jan · Answer 3 · 2011-04-01 07:49:44Z UTC

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Maybe the kidneys are not totally fresh? I buy my meat directly from organic farm and their offal seems far fresher than anything i have bought from supermarket.

answered Apr 1 2011 at 7:49

Jan
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	Bought direct from the farm - but frozen and then defrosted. – queen of the stone age Apr 1 2011 at 11:53
	Try to get fresh off butchering day next time? Offal doesnt improve with age :) I once got a deer liver that my friend shot the same day. I have never tasted such a sweet liver. I wonder how does good foie grass taste, its just too expencive :( – Jan Apr 1 2011 at 13:47

andrew · Answer 4 · 2011-04-01 08:00:27Z UTC

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I eat kidneys often and love them. Soaking in a bicarb solution helps reduce the urine smell. Kidneys are high in choline (apart from masses of other good things) and I eat them at least once a week. Delicious cooked as a "Stroganoff", or a curry.

answered Apr 1 2011 at 8:00

andrew
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Baking soda solution? How long do you do this for/whats your procedure? – KD Apr 1 2011 at 14:52

Jan · Answer 5 · 2011-04-01 09:59:45Z UTC

I dust kidneys in Colmans mustard powder and cayenne pepper, then quickly sear them in duck fat and add some cognac to de-glace and add beef stock followed by heavy cream and dijon mustard. I prepera some caramelized shalots in other pan. Its ok eats, but not good like some wild whitetail liver which is so good that its practically paleo candy :D

My dogs won’t eat raw kidneys - do they know something we don’t?

5 Answers