Air Fried Pork Strips for Dogs

In my never ending quest to make the perfect homemade dog training treat, I have discovered a new, time saving tool — the air fryer!

You can think of an air fryer as a compact, countertop convection oven. It’s estimated that over 40% of households in the US have this handy gadget, which can cook anything from frozen foods to bacon to cookies, faster than a conventional oven. And nothing re-heats last night’s pizza as well as an air fryer!

Air fryers come in variety of shapes and sizes. Basically, they heat the cooking basket, and circulate hot air around the food. Cooking spaces can be round or square, or even have multiple baskets and racks. Most are priced between $79 and $150, depending on features. My choice, the Ninja, had a large number of positive reviews on Amazon, a spacious basket, and a size that fit easily on my counter.

Now, on to the treats. As you likely know, I’m a fan of ground meat jerky made in the dehydrator. The down side to that is the time it takes, five or more hours. And, for my puppy’s training class, I wanted something I could make faster.

Pork chops were on sale at my local market, so I grabbed a package, and using my amazing Serbian chef’s knife, cut the pork chop into long strips. (If you have never used one of these knives, what are you waiting for? They are super sharp, cut cleanly and with little effort. Heavy enough to be used like a cleaver, yet smooth for vegetables, and even tomatoes. And cool to look at!)

Once I had the strips, I arranged them in the basket, with room for airflow all around them. Note that I left the fat on strips where it was present — that keeps the meat moist and flavorful.

For cooking, I chose a low temperature, and started with 40 minutes. As the meat starts to cook, I did turn the strips to keep the cooking even.

Depending on the meat you choose (chicken cooks faster, beef about the same), and how thick/thin your slices are, choose temperatures between 175 and 200 degrees. Cooking time can vary from 40 minutes to 75 minutes. I like to have the strips moist enough to tear easily. If you want something more crispy, add an extra 10 minutes at 400 degrees to finish the cooking process.

In the finished product, much of the fat will have cooked out of the meat, and there may be some crispy edges where the strip was thinner. From here, I place them on paper towels and roll them up to blot off excess fat. The end result is a fairly bait bag or pocket friendly, super tasty, easily torn into small pieces, training treat!

Feel free to add some fresh chopped or dried herbs (basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley, or cilantro would be great) prior to cooking. Stay tuned for an update on how to make these into yummy pill hiding delicacies!