The essentials
Each recipe page lists its tools in two groups, Essentials and Recommended. Every recipe needs these:
- Kitchen scale in 1 g steps, with a capacity of at least 5 kg (11 lb).
- Instant-read meat thermometer to check doneness at 165°F (74°C).
- Pot with a lid, 3 quarts (3 L) or larger. It holds a 1x or 2x batch. For 5x, use a stockpot of about 8 quarts (7.5 L).
- Measuring spoons.
- Small cups for the measured supplements and the liver.
- Chef's knife and cutting board.
- Kitchen scissors to snip the liver.
- Large spoon or silicone spatula.
- Freezer-safe containers.
- Small pot, if your recipe has rice.
Any tool with these specs works.
What we recommend
- Precision scale reading to 0.01 g, to weigh the supplements exactly. Guide 4 explains both ways to measure.
- Mini measuring spoons (1/32 to 1/8 tsp), for the supplements by hand.
- Marked syringe or dropper in ml, for the salmon oil.
- Pill cutter, kitchen tongs, silicone portion molds and labels.
Extra tools by texture
Chunks need nothing extra. The other textures each add a tool or two, used at the end to finish the texture.
| Texture | Extra tool |
|---|---|
| Chunks | None |
| Minced | Food processor, mesh strainer |
| Shredded | Stand mixer with flat beater, mesh strainer |
| Pâté | Immersion blender or food processor |
Reading the ingredient list
- Metric and US give the food in grams or ounces, and the supplements rounded, to measure by hand.
- Exact gives the supplements unrounded, by weight, for the precision scale.
- Scale recipe (1x, 2x, 5x or Custom) multiplies every line, supplements included. Set it before you shop for a bigger batch.
Where to buy each food
- Chicken, turkey, beef, pork and salmon: any grocery store. For the reserved chicken skin, buy the thighs skin-on and pull the skin off. Freeze any spare for recipes that need more.
- Lamb: grocery stores, or a halal or Middle Eastern butcher.
- Duck: Asian grocery stores, frozen whole or as legs and breasts. Some supermarkets carry it frozen, and online Asian grocers deliver it.
- Chicken liver: most supermarkets, fresh or frozen.
- Chicken hearts: a local, halal or kosher butcher, or an Asian, Latin American or African grocery store. Farmers' markets, warehouse clubs (in bulk, usually frozen) and online meat shops may have them too.
- Beef heart: a grocery store or a local butcher.
- Beef liver: a local butcher, or some grocery stores.
- Eggs, squash or pumpkin, rice and salt: any grocery store.
Getting the cuts right
- Use exactly the cut the ingredient list names. Skinless, skin-on and lean are different ingredients.
- Trim the outer fat from lamb, pork and beef cuts, and from beef heart, before you weigh them. Leave the fat marbled inside the meat.
- Prepare, then weigh. Prepare each food as the recipe's Before you start section says, such as squash peeled and seeded, then weigh it.
- Fresh or frozen both work. Thaw meat in the fridge before you weigh it.
What you can and cannot swap
Water is the one amount you can adjust. Use more or less to suit your cat: it does not change the balance.
Everything else is measured. A different cut changes the fat, a different organ the vitamins, and an unlisted supplement product the dose.