Sous Vide Catfood?

[sargon]

My wife and I love sous vide chicken breasts, but less so some of the dark meat, so I was thinking of getting whole organic chickens and carving them, keeping the breasts and maybe thighs for human cooking (my wife likes thighs), and the rest or catfood or chicken stock.

In any case I was thinking of using a sous vide bath to pasturize the chicken for Freya, since that would kill the pathogens while altering the meat as little as possible. The idea is to get close to raw in texture and chemical makeup while killing all the pathogens. From what I can tell, this may be best achieved a little over 130f, though i will need to do more research to be sure.

Anyhow my questions are as follows...

1. has any one tried it, and if so how were the results
2. traditionally cooked bones become brittle and cant' be ground into the food, any idea whether sous vide chicken would have that issue, and or where to find out?
3. given the low temps, can a raw mix be used, or does it still need a cooked one?
4.mostly unrelated, but I have a weston #8 (bsically the Weston version of the Tasin grinder), can that grind bones (officially, it doesn't say it is warranteed for it, but in practical terms, can it?)

For those whoa are unfamiliar with sous vide, it involves cooking foods in food safe vacuum bags in a precisely controlled water bath for long periods of time at low temperatures. i definitely recommend giving it a try (I i bought a circulater for 50 on a Monoprice black Friday sale, so the equipment doesn't have to be expensive.)

And if any one is wondering why all the extra steps to get "near raw" instead of completely raw, it is because I tried raw and it just didn't work out.

 

[orange&white]

Sous vide probably is the closest thing to raw. The low temps would prevent more nutrient degradation than any other cooking method, and the vacuum packs would keep any nutrients in the liquid without dilution.

I'd be leery of feeding sous vide bones though....still think they would get brittle and splinter. Just guessing, but I'd err on the side of caution. Egg shell calcium or organic bone meal would be my choice.

EZ-Complete and Alnutrin can be used with raw or cooked meats.

Not sure if the Westin 8 would hold up like the Tasin. One Stop Jerky Shop directly warranties the Tasin for one year against damage, including bones. I haven't seen them provide that same warranty with any other grinder. You might check out their site for the Westin. Or send them an email and ask.

Are you considering mixing sous vide meats with raw ground bones? You could cook the bones for such a long period of time (or in a pressure cooker) that they turn to complete mush, like a clay texture. That is essentially what bone meal is (before drying and powdering).

 

[sargon]

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I'd be leery of feeding sous vide bones though....still think they would get brittle and splinter. Just guessing, but I'd err on the side of caution. Egg shell calcium or organic bone meal would be my choice.

I suspected that might be the case. I'll probably just go with a no bone mix, I just like to explore options and research before leaping.

EZ-Complete and Alnutrin can be used with raw or cooked meats.

Splitting the difference and using a "works for both" probably is wisest. i do that with my washing machine (it is a standard/HE hybrid model, so I use 'works with both types" detergent. The same theory applies. And thanks for your take on things.