Instructions

1. Buy the leanest mince the butcher has. Fat never dries out, it goes rancid instead, and a rancid treat is one your dog will turn its nose up at long after you have forgotten why.
2. Shred the carrots finely and chop the peas roughly rather than leaving them whole. A whole pea keeps its skin intact and stays wet inside a meatball that looks finished on the outside.
3. Mix the beef, carrot, peas and powdered eggshell together with your hands until the vegetables are spread evenly through. The eggshell is calcium and it needs to be distributed, not sitting in one pocket.
4. Roll the balls small and all the same size — no bigger than a walnut for a large dog and considerably smaller for a small one. Size is the single biggest thing affecting whether the centre dries, and a mixed tray never finishes together.
5. Set them on a non-stick mat with space between each and dehydrate at 72 °C for 12 hours. That setting is what makes raw mince safe over a long run and it is not one to lower.
6. Blot the balls with paper partway through if fat has pooled around them. Whatever you take off now is fat that cannot turn in the bag later.
7. They are done when a ball cracks apart between your fingers rather than squashing, and the inside is a uniform dry brown with no pink or glossy centre. Break one open rather than judging by the outside, which always dries first.
8. Cool them completely and store them in an airtight bag in a cool cupboard for two to four weeks, or in the freezer for six months. Trust your nose over the date — these carry more fat than a plain strip of meat does and they will tell you when they have gone.