Gently Cooked Turkey Grind for Dogs - 9 lb
Raw Bistro
$59.39
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Raw Bistro
Gently Cooked Turkey Grind for Dogs - 9 lb
This isn't extruded kibble pretending to be meat — it's turkey, turkey heart, turkey gizzard, turkey liver, and bone, steam cooked low and slow to an internal temperature of exactly 165°F, then ground into a complete patty. The recipe is unsupplemented on purpose: no synthetic vitamin packs standing in for real organ meat. Every batch is cooked in a privately owned facility in Cannon Falls, Minnesota that carries NICS Certified Organic status — a bar almost no pet food, raw or cooked, clears.
- Formulated as a complete meal or mix-in for dogs transitioning off high-heat kibble or managing sensitive digestion
- Sourced from free-range, Minnesota-raised turkey — no factory farms, no feedlots, no antibiotics or added hormones, ever
- Whole-prey style formula (meat, organ, bone) built for dogs on a grain-free, species-appropriate diet
Gently Cooked Turkey Grind is a steam-cooked dog food built on one idea: cook just enough to make food safe, and no more. Turkey, turkey heart, turkey gizzard, turkey liver, and ground bone are steam cooked low and slow to an internal temperature of 165°F — hot enough to eliminate pathogen risk, cool enough to leave the nutrient profile of the raw ingredients largely intact.
Each 9 lb case is packaged as two 4.5 lb bags of 2 oz patties, portioned for easy feeding and simple to thaw one meal at a time. The turkey is free-range and raised in Minnesota, and the entire batch is cooked in Raw Bistro's privately owned, NICS-certified organic facility in Cannon Falls, MN — a level of facility oversight that most raw and gently cooked pet foods, organic-labeled or not, don't have.
Most bagged pet food — even the ones marketed as premium — starts with rendered meat meal cooked at extrusion temperatures north of 300°F, a process that strips out heat-sensitive amino acids and enzymes before synthetic vitamins get sprayed back on to hit a label minimum. This recipe skips that trade entirely: turkey and its organs are cooked once, gently, and nothing is added back in to compensate for what was lost. The Never Ever standard behind it — no factory farming, no feedlots, no antibiotics or added hormones — reflects how the turkey is raised, not just what's on the label.
Nutritionally, this grind runs 1,358 kcal/kg (77 kcal per 2 oz patty), with calcium and phosphorus coming from the ground bone itself and taurine, iron, and vitamin A supplied naturally by the heart, gizzard, and liver — not from a supplement premix. With meat, organ, and bone as the only ingredients and nothing carbohydrate-based added, it fits naturally into raw, grain-free, and prey-model carnivore feeding approaches for dogs.
Serve thawed as a complete meal for dogs on its own, or spoon over kibble to add moisture and organ-meat nutrition to an existing diet. Keep frozen until ready to use; thaw a portion in the refrigerator 24 hours before feeding and use within 3-4 days of thawing.
Ingredients: Turkey (includes bone), Turkey Heart, Turkey Gizzard, and Turkey Liver.
Common Questions
How does this turkey grind compare nutritionally to a typical grocery-store ground turkey or conventional pet kibble?
This grind runs 1,358 kcal/kg, or about 136 kcal per 100 grams, which is close to what you'd expect from a whole-bird grind that includes skin, bone, and organ meat rather than trimmed breast muscle alone. A standard 93/7 lean ground turkey sold for human consumption runs closer to 120 kcal per 100 grams raw because it's almost entirely lean muscle with the fat trimmed out, so the calorie gap comes from the added organ fat and bone marrow here, not from any additive. Extruded dry kibble, by contrast, typically runs 3,500 to 4,000 kcal per kilogram because the cooking process concentrates calories by removing nearly all moisture. That means a dog eating this grind is getting roughly a third of the calorie density per bite compared to kibble, so portion sizes look larger for the same energy intake, which is normal for a fresh, high-moisture diet.
Why does gentle steam-cooking at 165°F matter for nutrient retention compared to extrusion cooking?
Extrusion, the process used to make most dry kibble, runs at temperatures north of 300°F under high pressure, which triggers the Maillard reaction aggressively enough to degrade heat-sensitive compounds like taurine, thiamine, and several B vitamins, and it also promotes formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) linked to oxidative stress in some studies. Cooking to exactly 165°F internal temperature is the minimum threshold recognized for eliminating pathogens like Salmonella and Listeria in poultry, so this recipe hits that safety mark without going meaningfully higher. Because the ceiling is 165°F instead of 300°F+, taurine from the heart and gizzard, vitamin A from the liver, and the natural enzyme activity in the raw tissue survive the cooking process largely intact. That's the mechanical reason gently cooked and raw diets test higher on nutrient panels than extruded ones, even when the starting ingredients are identical.
Does this fit a keto, paleo, or prey-model raw feeding protocol for dogs?
Yes. The ingredient list is turkey meat, bone, heart, gizzard, and liver with nothing else added, which puts it at essentially zero carbohydrate and aligns with prey-model raw (PMR) ratios that aim for roughly 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, and 10% organ by weight. Calcium and phosphorus come from the ground bone itself rather than a synthetic mineral premix, and taurine, iron, and vitamin A come from the heart, gizzard, and liver rather than a supplement blend, which is the same sourcing logic behind carnivore-style and paleo-inspired canine diets. There's no grain, starch, or plant filler in the recipe, so macros run high protein, moderate fat, and negligible carbohydrate. If you're already feeding a PMR, BARF, or low-carb raw rotation, this drops in as a complete single-protein meal without reformulating ratios.
Can I substitute this for beef or pork grind in an existing raw feeding rotation, and does it need any different handling?
Yes, it swaps in directly for any other 2 oz-patty raw or gently cooked grind you're rotating through, whether that's beef, pork, or chicken, since the patty format and portion size stay consistent for feeding math. Turkey runs slightly leaner than beef chuck grinds and slightly fattier than a pure beef round grind, so if you're tracking fat intake across a rotation, expect it to land in the middle. Because it's already cooked to a food-safe temperature, you don't need to cook it further, and reheating or microwaving it will only degrade the taurine and vitamin A you're trying to preserve, so just thaw and serve. It also works well spooned over kibble as a topper or mixed into a puzzle feeder, exactly the way you'd use any other single-protein grind.
What does the Certified Organic label and NICS certification actually verify?
NICS, the National Independent Certification Services, is the USDA-accredited certifying body that audits this facility and confirms it meets National Organic Program standards, which means the turkey has to be raised without synthetic pesticides, antibiotics, or added hormones, and the facility itself has to maintain documented separation between organic and non-organic production lines. This matters because a lot of raw and gently cooked pet food brands co-pack in shared facilities where they don't control the cooking process or the sourcing chain directly, so an organic claim on the label isn't backed by a facility-level audit. Here, the entire batch is cooked in a facility that Raw Bistro owns and operates in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, so the organic certification, the free-range sourcing, and the Never Ever standard are all verified at the same site rather than asserted by a label printed after the fact. You can confirm NICS accreditation status directly through the USDA's National Organic Program database if you want to check the certifying body independently.
What does 'free-range' mean here, and how is it different from the USDA's minimum definition?
USDA's free-range label rule for poultry only requires that birds have access to the outdoors for some unspecified period each day, which in practice can mean a small door leading to a limited concrete or gravel pad rather than genuine pasture. The turkeys used in this grind are raised on Minnesota farms under the Never Ever standard, meaning no factory farming, no feedlot-style confinement, and no antibiotics or added hormones, verified at the farm level as part of the same organic certification process rather than a separate marketing claim layered on top. Because the certification and the sourcing are audited by the same NICS-accredited process, the free-range claim carries more weight than a bare USDA label alone would, since it's tied to documented farm practices rather than the minimum legal threshold.
How much of the calcium and phosphorus in this recipe comes from the bone versus a mineral supplement?
All of it. The ingredient list is turkey including bone, turkey heart, turkey gizzard, and turkey liver, with no added calcium carbonate, bone meal powder, or mineral premix anywhere in the formulation. Ground bone naturally provides calcium and phosphorus in roughly the 2:1 ratio that's considered biologically appropriate for canine skeletal health, and because it's whole bone rather than a processed mineral additive, it comes packaged with the same trace minerals and marrow fat that would occur in a natural prey-model ratio. This is worth knowing if you're already supplementing calcium in a home-prepared raw diet, since adding further bone meal on top of this grind could push the ratio out of range.
Each 9 lb case is packaged as two 4.5 lb bags of 2 oz patties, portioned for easy feeding and simple to thaw one meal at a time. The turkey is free-range and raised in Minnesota, and the entire batch is cooked in Raw Bistro's privately owned, NICS-certified organic facility in Cannon Falls, MN — a level of facility oversight that most raw and gently cooked pet foods, organic-labeled or not, don't have.
Most bagged pet food — even the ones marketed as premium — starts with rendered meat meal cooked at extrusion temperatures north of 300°F, a process that strips out heat-sensitive amino acids and enzymes before synthetic vitamins get sprayed back on to hit a label minimum. This recipe skips that trade entirely: turkey and its organs are cooked once, gently, and nothing is added back in to compensate for what was lost. The Never Ever standard behind it — no factory farming, no feedlots, no antibiotics or added hormones — reflects how the turkey is raised, not just what's on the label.
Nutritionally, this grind runs 1,358 kcal/kg (77 kcal per 2 oz patty), with calcium and phosphorus coming from the ground bone itself and taurine, iron, and vitamin A supplied naturally by the heart, gizzard, and liver — not from a supplement premix. With meat, organ, and bone as the only ingredients and nothing carbohydrate-based added, it fits naturally into raw, grain-free, and prey-model carnivore feeding approaches for dogs.
Serve thawed as a complete meal for dogs on its own, or spoon over kibble to add moisture and organ-meat nutrition to an existing diet. Keep frozen until ready to use; thaw a portion in the refrigerator 24 hours before feeding and use within 3-4 days of thawing.
Ingredients: Turkey (includes bone), Turkey Heart, Turkey Gizzard, and Turkey Liver.
Common Questions
How does this turkey grind compare nutritionally to a typical grocery-store ground turkey or conventional pet kibble?
This grind runs 1,358 kcal/kg, or about 136 kcal per 100 grams, which is close to what you'd expect from a whole-bird grind that includes skin, bone, and organ meat rather than trimmed breast muscle alone. A standard 93/7 lean ground turkey sold for human consumption runs closer to 120 kcal per 100 grams raw because it's almost entirely lean muscle with the fat trimmed out, so the calorie gap comes from the added organ fat and bone marrow here, not from any additive. Extruded dry kibble, by contrast, typically runs 3,500 to 4,000 kcal per kilogram because the cooking process concentrates calories by removing nearly all moisture. That means a dog eating this grind is getting roughly a third of the calorie density per bite compared to kibble, so portion sizes look larger for the same energy intake, which is normal for a fresh, high-moisture diet.
Why does gentle steam-cooking at 165°F matter for nutrient retention compared to extrusion cooking?
Extrusion, the process used to make most dry kibble, runs at temperatures north of 300°F under high pressure, which triggers the Maillard reaction aggressively enough to degrade heat-sensitive compounds like taurine, thiamine, and several B vitamins, and it also promotes formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) linked to oxidative stress in some studies. Cooking to exactly 165°F internal temperature is the minimum threshold recognized for eliminating pathogens like Salmonella and Listeria in poultry, so this recipe hits that safety mark without going meaningfully higher. Because the ceiling is 165°F instead of 300°F+, taurine from the heart and gizzard, vitamin A from the liver, and the natural enzyme activity in the raw tissue survive the cooking process largely intact. That's the mechanical reason gently cooked and raw diets test higher on nutrient panels than extruded ones, even when the starting ingredients are identical.
Does this fit a keto, paleo, or prey-model raw feeding protocol for dogs?
Yes. The ingredient list is turkey meat, bone, heart, gizzard, and liver with nothing else added, which puts it at essentially zero carbohydrate and aligns with prey-model raw (PMR) ratios that aim for roughly 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, and 10% organ by weight. Calcium and phosphorus come from the ground bone itself rather than a synthetic mineral premix, and taurine, iron, and vitamin A come from the heart, gizzard, and liver rather than a supplement blend, which is the same sourcing logic behind carnivore-style and paleo-inspired canine diets. There's no grain, starch, or plant filler in the recipe, so macros run high protein, moderate fat, and negligible carbohydrate. If you're already feeding a PMR, BARF, or low-carb raw rotation, this drops in as a complete single-protein meal without reformulating ratios.
Can I substitute this for beef or pork grind in an existing raw feeding rotation, and does it need any different handling?
Yes, it swaps in directly for any other 2 oz-patty raw or gently cooked grind you're rotating through, whether that's beef, pork, or chicken, since the patty format and portion size stay consistent for feeding math. Turkey runs slightly leaner than beef chuck grinds and slightly fattier than a pure beef round grind, so if you're tracking fat intake across a rotation, expect it to land in the middle. Because it's already cooked to a food-safe temperature, you don't need to cook it further, and reheating or microwaving it will only degrade the taurine and vitamin A you're trying to preserve, so just thaw and serve. It also works well spooned over kibble as a topper or mixed into a puzzle feeder, exactly the way you'd use any other single-protein grind.
What does the Certified Organic label and NICS certification actually verify?
NICS, the National Independent Certification Services, is the USDA-accredited certifying body that audits this facility and confirms it meets National Organic Program standards, which means the turkey has to be raised without synthetic pesticides, antibiotics, or added hormones, and the facility itself has to maintain documented separation between organic and non-organic production lines. This matters because a lot of raw and gently cooked pet food brands co-pack in shared facilities where they don't control the cooking process or the sourcing chain directly, so an organic claim on the label isn't backed by a facility-level audit. Here, the entire batch is cooked in a facility that Raw Bistro owns and operates in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, so the organic certification, the free-range sourcing, and the Never Ever standard are all verified at the same site rather than asserted by a label printed after the fact. You can confirm NICS accreditation status directly through the USDA's National Organic Program database if you want to check the certifying body independently.
What does 'free-range' mean here, and how is it different from the USDA's minimum definition?
USDA's free-range label rule for poultry only requires that birds have access to the outdoors for some unspecified period each day, which in practice can mean a small door leading to a limited concrete or gravel pad rather than genuine pasture. The turkeys used in this grind are raised on Minnesota farms under the Never Ever standard, meaning no factory farming, no feedlot-style confinement, and no antibiotics or added hormones, verified at the farm level as part of the same organic certification process rather than a separate marketing claim layered on top. Because the certification and the sourcing are audited by the same NICS-accredited process, the free-range claim carries more weight than a bare USDA label alone would, since it's tied to documented farm practices rather than the minimum legal threshold.
How much of the calcium and phosphorus in this recipe comes from the bone versus a mineral supplement?
All of it. The ingredient list is turkey including bone, turkey heart, turkey gizzard, and turkey liver, with no added calcium carbonate, bone meal powder, or mineral premix anywhere in the formulation. Ground bone naturally provides calcium and phosphorus in roughly the 2:1 ratio that's considered biologically appropriate for canine skeletal health, and because it's whole bone rather than a processed mineral additive, it comes packaged with the same trace minerals and marrow fat that would occur in a natural prey-model ratio. This is worth knowing if you're already supplementing calcium in a home-prepared raw diet, since adding further bone meal on top of this grind could push the ratio out of range.
- __Storage_Location:
- Dry
- __Volume:
- 500
- __Owner:
- Raw Bistro
- __badge:
- Organic