Sassy’s Satin Balls
After losing Dorothy, my best mate back in September 2024, I took on a foster American Bulldog, called Lola soon after. She was with Mini’s Bulldog Rescue Group that I have been supporting for many years, and only had days left before she was going to be sent to a pound and PTS. Then, not long after she settled in, a trip to the vet revealed she had Stage 4 Lymphoma. She lost weight and condition rapidly so it was absolutely critical that I change her diet and get weight back on her as quickly as possible.
A friend had recommended I try Satin Balls - so after trialling some recipes and some adjustments, I came up with an amended recipe that reflected her condition and enabled me to give her the best shot at fighting the cancer - or at least, the best shot at living as long as possible in as good a condition as she could be.
There are no set quantities per se, but I’ve given the rough quantities I use when making a batch. Each dog is different, so don’t suddenly use a lot of a particular ingredient that they are unfamiliar with. Introduce slowly and keep a careful eye on the colour of their skin, inner ear, groin and lips. These are the areas that changes to skin colour and temperature are most easily seen. Also monitor their stools. Slight changes are normal for the first 2 days, but if they still have altered stools (either runny or hard), pull back on the ingredient that seems to be causing irritation. There are many traditional satin ball recipes that can be found online.
Key to the success of this recipe is the quality of the ingredients - especially the meat. Get the best quality beef mince with a high fat content (min 20%) which is usually what hamburger mince is. Get it from an actual butcher so you can check where it’s from. You want beef that is grass-fed and the best quality you can afford. Don’t get beef that has been raised on grain, vaccinated, or that have used hormones etc. This will introduce substances into your dogs system that you don’t want. A lot of supermarket meat are raised in feedlots. Choosing best quality without additives goes for all the products incl eggs but beef is the main protein and one most likely to have had hidden additives during its lifetime.
3 kg beef mince
8 free-range eggs, whole
4 cups rolled oats
2 cups psyllium husk
¾ cup coconut oil (usually in solid form)
Your chosen medicinal mushroom powder*, see below for the quantity
3 tsp ground turmeric**
½ cup wheatgerm
1-2 tsp Rosehip**
Omega 3 oil**
Bone marrow or collagen. (I roast grass-fed marrow bones and scoop out the marrow and try to get about 2 tbsp for every kilo of beef mince)
Roast pumpkin, skins on and any other roast vegetables they enjoy
Beef or chicken broth***
Start with beef mince in a really big bowl. Add whole eggs, shells and all, and smash into mince. Add half rolled oats, coconut oil, turmeric, wheatgerm, omega 3, and bone marrow. With your hands, mix thoroughly, crushing the shells into small pieces and making sure any solid coconut oil is broken down. Then start to add more oats and molasses. You are aiming for a consistency similar to normal meatballs. They will be a bit wet and hold together. Then add in any roasted vegetables that you have prepared and about ½ cup of bone broth. This is where the rolled oats and the psyllium husk quantities vary depending on the liquid. When everything other than the psyllium husk has been added and you are happy with consistency - you want it to be ever so slightly wet, then start rolling into balls. The size of the balls will depend on your dog. I like them to be big enough that they will have to chomp on them and not swallow whole. As I am filling them in my hands, I sprinkle with the psyllium husk and then roll them in it at the end so the final product has a fine coating and they won’t stick together.
I layer them in freezer-proof containers lined with baking paper. Use a layer of paper between layers of meatballs. Don’t press down on them. You want them to maintain their shape and not stick together.
Depending on your dog’s condition and whether they are on any steroids that create excessive hunger will determine how much you give them. My AB usually would have 700g of food a day. But she is now on 1-1.2kg per day. Depending on how many vegetables are in the mix, this can equate to around 6-8 meatballs in the morning and 10 meatballs in the evening. She also scoffs her food so I serve them sitting in about 3-4 cm of broth to slow her down her eating.
*There are many mushroom powders on the market. I use one that the vet donated to Lola, but use whichever one you feel most comfortable with.
** Quantities of these ingredients are determined by how many meals 3kg will make for your dog. For my girl, if I bulk out with vegetables, the above will make enough meatballs for around 4-5 days. I aim for 500g of beef mince and approx 1.5-2 eggs per day and then add daily dose of the mushroom, turmeric. omega 3, rosehip etc. E.g. 1 tsp of turmeric per day, so 8 tsp for 4 days of food. Giving too much of any one ingredient won’t provide an added benefit - so if in doubt, start with smaller quantities overall (e.g. just enough for one day) until you become familiar with the ratios and quantities.
*** I love making stock and make it every week for myself and friends. I modify my standard stock recipe to be dog-friendly by removing onions and leeks and just use free-range bones, celery, carrots, parsley and bay leaves. I also like to simmer for a lot longer than usual to get all of the collagen out of the bones; 8-12 hours for chicken stock and 16-24 hours for beef stock. It should have a thick, almost jelly consistency when cold. It will keep under vacuum seal for 7-10 days in the fridge, or 3 days in a clean container. It freezes well for 6-8 months.
Sassy's Satin Balls
Ingredients
- 3kg beef mince
- 8 free-range eggs, whole
- 4 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups psyllium husk
- ¾ cup coconut oil (usually in solid form)
- Your chosen medicinal mushroom powder*, see below for quantity
- 3 tsp ground turmeric**
- ½ cup wheatgerm
- 1-2 tsp Rosehip**
- Omega 3 oil**
- Molasses (you add enough of this to get the right consistency)
- Bone marrow or collagen. (I roast grass-fed marrow bones and scoop out the marrow) try to get about 2 tbsp for every kilo of beef mince
- Roast pumpkin, skins on and any other roast vegetables they enjoy
- Beef or chicken broth***
Method
- Start with beef mince in a really big bowl. Add whole eggs, shells and all, and smash into mince. Add half rolled oats, coconut oil, turmeric, wheatgerm, omega 3, and bone marrow. With your hands, mix thoroughly, crushing the shells into small pieces and making sure any solid coconut oil is broken down. Then start to add more oats and molasses. You are aiming for a consistency similar to normal meatballs. They will be a bit wet and hold together. Then add in any roasted vegetables that you have prepared and about ½ cup of bone broth. This is where the rolled oats and the psyllium husk quantities vary depending on the liquid. When everything other than the psyllium husk has been added and you are happy with consistency - you want it to be ever so slightly wet, then start rolling into balls. The size of the balls will depend on your dog. I like them to be big enough that they will have to chomp on them and not swallow whole. As I am filling them in my hands, I sprinkle with the psyllium husk and then roll them in it at the end so the final product has a fine coating and they won’t stick together.
- I layer them in freezer-proof containers lined with baking paper. Use a layer of paper between layers of meatballs. Don’t press down on them. You want them to maintain their shape and not stick together.
- Depending on your dog’s condition and whether they are on any steroids that create excessive hunger will determine how much you give them. My AB usually would have 700g of food a day. But she is now on 1-1.2kg per day. Depending on how many vegetables are in the mix, this can equate to around 6-8 meatballs in the morning and 10 meatballs in the evening. She also scoffs her food so I serve them sitting in about 3-4 cm of broth to slow her down her eating.
Recipe Notes
* There are many mushroom powders on the market. I use one that the vet donated to Lola, but use whichever one you feel most comfortable with.
** Quantities of these ingredients are determined by how many meals 3kg will make for your dog. For my girl, if I bulk out with vegetables, the above will make enough meatballs for around 4-5 days. I aim for 500g of beef mince and approx 1.5-2 eggs per day and then add daily dose of the mushroom, turmeric. omega 3, rosehip etc. E.g. 1 tsp of turmeric per day, so 8 tsp for 4 days of food. Giving too much of any one ingredient won’t provide an added benefit - so if in doubt, start with smaller quantities overall (e.g. just enough for one day) until you become familiar with the ratios and quantities.
*** I love making stock and make it every week for myself and friends. I modify my standard stock recipe to be dog-friendly by removing onions and leeks and just use free-range bones, celery, carrots, parsley and bay leaves. I also like to simmer for a lot longer than usual to get all of the collagen out of the bones; 8-12 hours for chicken stock and 16-24 hours for beef stock. It should have a thick, almost jelly consistency when cold. It will keep under vacuum seal for 7-10 days in the fridge, or 3 days in a clean container. It freezes well for 6-8 months.
