# Freezing prepared pre-mix and raw meat together?



## sophie (Jul 9, 2006)

I was wondering if it's okay to portion out the girls' food for the week and freeze the mixtures using raw meat. I'd have no question if the meat was cooked, but not sure about raw. It would be ground beef or ground chicken - both organic, grain fed, no antibiotics, etc. 

Sophie is on Dr. H and Annie is still on the rolled oats.

Can I freeze the Dr. H and rolled oats with the raw meat already mixed in? I would add the oil at serving time, but assume I could add the calcium to Annie's before freezing.

I want to fix a little container for each of them for each day and thaw it beforehand in the fridge.

And, has anyone tried putting raw boneless chicken breasts in the food processor to grind it up? I can't find ground chicken anywhere.

Thanks!!!

Linda


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

Be careful with the source of where your meat was ground if you aren't grinding it yourself.


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## sophie (Jul 9, 2006)

jmm said:


> Be careful with the source of where your meat was ground if you aren't grinding it yourself.


Jackie, what should I be looking for? I bought it at the local grocery. Both the ground beef and the boneless skinless chicken breasts are labeled that it is organic, grass fed, and antibiotic free. Is there a certain certification I should look for?

The vet sells balanced frozen raw patties and also raw meaty bones and various other fresh meat including ground emu. Her prices are reasonable, but the grocery is a little more convenient with my schedule. I'm wondering if I should stock up from the vet. What would you do - I respect your opinion very much.

Linda


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

jmm said:


> Be careful with the source of where your meat was ground if you aren't grinding it yourself.


I agree. If you aren't going to cook it, you need to be very, very careful. 

My BIL owns a 4 star restaurant. Years ago I mentioned I wanted to try steak tartare when he was visiting. He made it for me, but what a big deal it was! He got the meat from a butcher and ground it himself, then served it. He said that was the only safe way to eat raw ground meat.


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## Nikki's Mom (Feb 13, 2008)

Linda,

These forums discuss raw feeding and they have been around for a while. Perhaps they might help answer some of your questions:

K9Nutrition : Dog Nutrition and Health
DogHealth : This group was started as a forum for discussions of dog health issues including nutrition, general health & disease treatments


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## sophie (Jul 9, 2006)

Thanks, Suzan. I'll check those out. I've joined a few yahoo groups this weekend that I found reference to in some of your old posts. And, I've been reading so much about raw feeding that I think I'm on info overload. I didn't realize how many differing opinions there are on this subject even among those who feed raw.

And, then I get sidetracked on something else. I just spent 15 minutes reading about Canola oil and how bad some think it is. I don't use it myself, but it was, unfortunately, a good read. 

One thing I will say is that since they've been off of kibble and/or canned food the last few weeks Sophie is looking and acting so much better. I can't wait to bring her in to get weighed. Her energy level is way up, too! 

Linda



Nikki's Mom said:


> Linda,
> 
> These forums discuss raw feeding and they have been around for a while. Perhaps they might help answer some of your questions:
> 
> ...


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

When some big factory grinds meat, bacteria gets in during the grinding process. That is why we must cook ground meat from the grocery store, organic labeled or not. You can get a food processor to grind it yourself...a really heavy duty one could grind chicken backs/necks.


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## wooflife (Aug 8, 2007)

To answer your original question. Yes it's just fine to freeze the meat and the pre-mix together. 

If you've been researching raw then you know that the food will receive an acid bath in the stomach to kill the bacteria. The food stays in a canine stomach longer than it would in a human stomach to make sure the bacteria is killed before it moves to the intestines where the nutrients are absorbed.


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## sophie (Jul 9, 2006)

jmm said:


> When some big factory grinds meat, bacteria gets in during the grinding process. That is why we must cook ground meat from the grocery store, organic labeled or not. You can get a food processor to grind it yourself...a really heavy duty one could grind chicken backs/necks.


Jackie, I did grind up the boneless chicken in the food processor last night and it came out great! Thanks!

I'll be cooking the ground beef for us. 

You made me think of a friend of mine from many years ago who serviced commercial restaurant equipment including meat grinders and the things he found when he would take them apart! Yuck!

Linda


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## gopotsgo (May 21, 2009)

Hmmm, this thread made me think of the goldmine my girls recently fell into. I ordered a bunch of Bison but the company didn't pack enough dry ice so it arrived thawed. I simply couldn't cook and eat that much meat that fast. The hubs and I don't really cook but we made and ate a bison roast, bison hamburgers, and bison sausage. Most of my family was out of town but granny was around so she got the ribs and made soup and Lomo Saltado (yum). My Lily and Nadia got raw ground Bison and cut up raw Bison Filet Mignon! They are on a raw diet but this was even better than their prepared raw medallions of Paw Naturaw. They were in seventh heaven!


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