Meat-containing, strip shaped food product and method of making same

A method of making a baked chicken jerky food product, comprising:

• (a) comminuting raw meat comprising chicken;
• (b) cooking the comminuted raw meat to at least partially denature the meat protein;
• (c) cooling the cooked meat;
• (d) admixing the cooled meat with wheat flour, a binding agent comprising a cold-water-soluble starch and an alginate gum, and at least one ingredient selected from the group consisting of a humectant, an acidic substance, and combinations thereof to obtain a dough, wherein the dough comprises about 4% by weight to about 45% by weight of wheat flour, at least about 35% by weight of the cooked meat, and up to about 25% by weight of the binding agent, based upon the weight of the dough;
• (e) rotary molding the dough to form a plurality of individual pieces;
• (f) baking the individual pieces;
• and
• (g) drying the baked, individual pieces to form a flexible, food product.

A dough for producing a baked, flexible, rotary molded pet food, said dough comprising:

• a) cooked, comminuted raw meat comprising chicken in an amount of about 35% to about 75% by weight of meat, based upon the weight of the dough,
• b) about 10% by weight to 40% by weight of wheat flour, based upon the weight of the dough,
• c) a binding agent comprising a cold-water-soluble starch in an amount of about 1% to about 20% by weight, based upon the weight of the dough, and from about 0.5% by weight to about 3% by weight of an alginate gum, based upon the weight of dough,
• d) at least one filler in an amount of up to about 15% by weight of the dough, and
• e) at least one ingredient selected from the group consisting of a humectant, an acidic substance, and combinations thereof,
• wherein the raw meat is cooked to at least partially denature the meat protein before mixing with the wheat flour, and said dough is rotary moldable into individual pieces which may be baked into flexible, rotary molded, pet food pieces.