Evanger’s Hand Packed (Canned)

by Mike Sagman
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Rating: ★★★★★

Evanger’s Grain Free Hand-Packed dog food receives the Advisor’s highest rating of 5 stars.

The Evanger’s Grain Free Hand-Packed product line includes seven canned dog foods.

However, since we’re unable to locate AAFCO nutritional adequacy statements for these dog foods on the company’s website, it’s impossible for us to report specific life stage recommendations for these recipes.

What’s more, products marked with an asterisk (*) appear to us to be for supplemental use only and may not be appropriate for long term daily feeding.

The following is a list of recipes available at the time of this review.

  • Evanger’s Hand Packed Wild Salmon*
  • Evanger’s Hand Packed Hunk of Beef*
  • Evanger’s Hand Packed Catch of the Day
  • Evanger’s Hand Packed Braised Beef Chunks
  • Evanger’s Hand Packed Whole Chicken Thighs*
  • Evanger’s Hand Packed Chunky Chicken Casserole
  • Evanger’s Hand Packed Roasted Chicken Drummette Dinner

Evanger’s Hand-Packed Chunky Chicken Casserole was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

Evanger's Hand-Packed Chunky Chicken Casserole Dinner

Canned Dog Food

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

Protein = 44% | Fat = 22% | Carbs = 25%

Ingredients: Chicken, chicken broth, carrots, peas, apples, potatoes, vitamins {vitamin E supplement, niacin supplement, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), thiamine mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), calcium pantothenate, vitamin A supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), riboflavin supplement (source of vitamin B2), folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, biotin, vitamin D2 supplement}, minerals {zinc sulfate, iron sulfate, copper sulfate, manganese sulfate, selenium yeast, potassium iodide}

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 8.3%

Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients

Estimated Nutrient Content
MethodProteinFatCarbs
Guaranteed Analysis8%4%NA
Dry Matter Basis44%22%25%
Calorie Weighted Basis36%44%21%

The first item in this dog food is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.1

Chicken is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The second ingredient is chicken broth. Broths are nutritionally empty. But because they add both flavor and moisture to a dog food they are a common finding in many canned products.

The third ingredient is carrots. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, minerals and dietary fiber.

The fourth ingredient mentions peas. Peas are a quality source of carbohydrates. Plus (like all legumes) they’re rich in natural fiber.

However, peas contain about 25% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

The fifth is apple, a nutrient-rich fruit that’s also high in fiber.

The sixth item is potato. Potatoes can be considered a gluten-free source of digestible carbohydrates. Yet with the exception of perhaps their caloric content, potatoes are of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this product.

With two notable exceptions…

First, this dog food recipe also contains selenium yeast. Unlike the more common inorganic form of selenium (sodium selenite), this natural yeast supplement is considered a safer anti-cancer alternative.

And lastly, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Non-chelated minerals are usually associated with lower quality dog foods.

Evanger’s Grain Free Hand-Packed Dog Food
The Bottom Line

Judging by its ingredients alone, Evanger’s Grain Free Hand-Packed Dog Food appears to be an above-average canned product.

But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 44%, a fat level of 22% and estimated carbohydrates of about 25%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 58% and a mean fat level of 19%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 15% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 32%.

Above-average protein. Below-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical canned dog food.

Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the peas, this looks like the profile of a canned product containing a significant amount of meat.

Bottom line?

Evanger’s Hand-Packed Dog Food is a meat-based canned product using a generous amount of beef, chicken or fish as its main sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 5 stars.

Enthusiastically recommended.

However, it’s important to note that some of the recipes in this product line appear to be all meat in design. And that could make them suitable for supplemental feeding only.

Since we could not locate an AAFCO nutritional adequacy statement posted on the company website, readers should check the label to be sure a food is “complete and balanced” before feeding it on a long term basis.

Special Alert

Rice ingredients can sometimes contain arsenic. Until the US FDA establishes safe upper levels for arsenic content, pet owners may wish to limit the total amount of rice fed in a dog's daily diet.

A Final Word

The descriptions and analyses expressed in this and every article on this website represent the views and opinions of the author.

Although it's our goal to ensure all the information on this website is correct, we cannot guarantee its completeness or its accuracy; nor can we commit to ensuring all the material is kept up-to-date on a daily basis.

Each review is offered in good faith and has been designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food.

However, our rating system is not intended to suggest feeding a particular product will result in specific health benefits for your pet.

For a better understanding of how we analyze each product, please read our article, "The Problem with Dog Food Reviews".

Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt, consult a qualified veterinary professional for help.

In closing, we do not accept money, gifts or samples from pet food companies in exchange for special consideration in the preparation of our reviews or ratings.

To learn how we support the cost of operating this website, please visit our public Disclosure and Disclaimer page.

Have an opinion about this dog food? Or maybe the review itself? Please know we welcome your comments.

Notes and Updates

03/12/2010 Original review
10/13/2010 Review updated
07/08/2012 Last Update

  1. Association of American Feed Control Officials ↩
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  • ccorrine

    for some reason my dog won’t eat the last batch of Evangers I just ordered. I was having to coax her to
    eat for the last couple of weeks. She would eat her food, but like she didn’t really have much of an appetite and then she would finally get thru the bowl, but on a few days she just left it; I had to throw it out when I got home and then I’d give her a can of their other flavor and she would eat that (although not enthusiastically).I was getting really worried. She is healthy so then I got
    worried that the food might be contaminated. So I went to store and got her
    Hill’s new dog food, “Hill’s Ideal Balance “, (chunky kind with gravy),
    since my very picky cat loves their cat food after I’ve tried every expensive cat food at the pet store. My dog loved it. She finally eagerly ate all her food, she was wagging her tail when she was eating. Poor dog, finally got something tasty to eat after weeks of forcing herself to eat Evangers. I don’t know. I read great reviews on that Brand, I thought it was top of the line. But for some reason my dog found it very unappetizing. This morning she actually waited for
    her breakfast this morning, which she hasn’t done in weeks. She was anticipating gettting more of that chunky stuff with the gravy. I didn’t find any
    recalls listed for Evangers, but I now have several cans that I’m going to have to give away. If it’s not contaminated, my dog apparently just doesn’t like the flavor. But I trust my dogs nose and senses. So this morning I put some of th Evangers on the bottom of the bowl, and the Hill’s Ideal balance on top. She spit out a couple of pieces of the Evangers out onto the floor only eating and picking out the Hill’s food. She left all the Evangers in her bowl and walked away after only eating the Hills food. They were very east to tell apart; the Evangers was the loaf stuff, and the Hills was the sliced chicken with gravy. She had no problem with the new dog food, loved it, ate
    it up like it was best meal she’s had in months. So there’s obviously something wrong with the Evangers dog food. She’s eaten loaf type food before; she loved Chicken Soup, so I thought I’d upgrade her and get her a grain free food and tried Evangers. She eats it like I’m trying to poison her. So, I don’t know what’s up with that food, no recalls were listed. But I think I’m just going to have it tossed. If it’s possibly contaminated, I don’t want to risk giving it to a dog rescue shelter either.

  • Jsnaeger

    My dogs love this too, however I have noticed a lot of fat in the food. I put the remaining food in the fridge for the next feeding and when I take it out 2/3 or the can is filled with cold fat. :-?

  • Jsnaeger

    Bovine material food in food? Beef infected with mad cow disease?? No duck or lamb found in cans sold as duck & ?, or lamb & ? Confused because my dogs really love the wild salmon but this concerns me. Has anyone else heard anything more about this? Or please correct me if I misread the FDA letter.

  • doggonefedup

     I to was using evangers “hand packed”  hunk of beef, chicken thighs, and chicken drumettes for at least the past ten years. I would mix them with dry food. I to found that if I placed the cans in warm water before opening them it would melt all the fats and mix better with the dry food. Like you I began to notice over the past couple of years that some of the cans would bulge a little bit and “pop” when I opened them. It took me a while until I realized that my dogs would not touch the food that came out of those “popped” cans. For a while I was bringing them back to the store and exchanging them for other cans. That was until my supplier said evangers started to refuse to take those cans back insisting there was nothing wrong with the contents. Well there must be some thing wrong with those cans if my dogs refuse to eat only the contents of the cans that popped. If I replaced the food from a popped can with food from a can that didn’t pop they would dig right in.  apparently it wasn’t just me having that problem. I’ve stopped using evangers since they obviously don’t stand behind their product. There are to many reputable manufacturers out there to waste my money on food that may not even be safe for my dogs to eat. Needless to say my dogs will never taste any evengers food again. I would rate evangers a minus five stars.

  • Liz

    i have question to ask, is anybody feeding/mixing with evanger’s hand packed brasied beef chunk to poodle puppy, is this too rich for my puppy, and is this safe and is this real pure meat and natural ings??? i heard ppl saying can not trusted this product no more is this true???

  • Rheseyj

    Hunk of beef !!!

  • Nancy Cohen

    This isn’t necessarily a direct answer to your question, but I hope you’re feeding something besides the chicken thighs.  That’s one of the products meant for intermittent or supplemental feeding … it’s not a complete and balanced meal.  If you are feeding it alone … you should switch to the chicken drumettes.  They have whole pieces of chicken with bone, just like the thighs, but it’s also a balanced meal (vegetables, minerals, etc. in there) and you’ll find there’s definitely MORE MEAT in each can (drumettes must be cheaper to buy than thighs?).  I’ve been buying Evanger’s for the last 10 years and there’s always been more meat in the drumettes, plus as I said, you don’t need to mix it with anything.

    Nancy C.

  • dog lover

    I used the “hand packed” evangers for a long time. I was in the habit of setting the cans in hot tap water (unopened) to melt all the fats in the can for easier mixing with dry foods. I’ve noticed that some of the can would bulge when warmed. I couldn’t help but notice that my dogs would not touch the contents of those cans (that bulged). Evangers insists there is nothing wrong with the cans, but, who am I to argue with mys dogs sense of smell and taste? I no long feed Evangers to my dogs. If they ever get there processing corrected I may consider using their foods again, until then I give them a no star rating….

  • sharron

    i have lexee eating orijen chicken and fish formula (just started) and feeding her 1/4 cup per day – can she lose the extra little bit of weight on this food or should i be giving her the NOW weight management.

    thanks

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi VR… I’m not aware of anything about the quality of Evanger’s products. However, you may wish to scan the comments section of all the Evanger’s foods on our website to see if anyone else has made a similar observation.

  • VR

    I’ve been feeding my standard poodle Evanger’s whole chicken thighs grain free canned food and she just loves it. However I have been noticing lately that the can contains increasingly more broth and less meat. I’m starting to get concerned that my dog may not be getting the nutrition promised on the can.
    Have you heard anything about the quality of their products lately?

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Lynne… Be sure to check every can or bag of every dog food you serve to be sure it says “complete and balanced” for either “adult maintenance” or “all life stages”. If it says “supplemental or intermittent use only”, then you must supplement the food accurately. Or just use it intermittently with other complete and balanced dog foods.

    By the way, assuming you’re referring to Nature’s Variety Instinct, you should be OK. Hope this helps.

  • Lynne

    My dog, Candy, is a 12 year old cockapoo. She loves Instinct brand of raw rabbit. Should this be supplemented with another food or is it ok to feed all the time. Thanks
    Lynne

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Frank… Many dog food companies make weight management products… but (as you’d expect) all are not equal.

    To narrow your choices, click on the menu tab at the top of our website labeled “Tag Cloud”. On the next page, click on the phrase “Weight Management”. This will give you a list of all brands reviewed on our website that contain at least one weight loss dog food.

    As you click on each one, remember these are only the brands… and not the specific weight loss products made by those companies. Click on each review until you find only the 3, 4, or 5 star brands. Then look for the name of the weight loss product in the list near the top of each review.

    This should give you plenty of choices. Hope this helps.

  • Frank M Rich

    The dog food info provided is grate. Can anyone tell me what or which foods are considered or can be rations as diet food. My dog (small beagle) is 25 lbs and needs to get down to about 15-18 lbs. Any advice would be appreciated.By the way my Vet prescribes Hill’ Prescription Diet R/D Canine.

    v/r frich