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Canning your own meats at home allows you to stock up on sales and put food up without worrying that about a power outage or freezer failure. Whether you can the meats by themselves or with other items for soups, stews, etc the steps are roughly the same and the end result will be delicious with a texture and flavor similar to preparing the dish in a crock pot.
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| photo from prepared-housewives.com |
Pressure Canning Meats With 23 Qt Presto Canner
These are my recommendations to purchase based on price and quality:
12 Pack Quart Jars (Several, Wide or Regular Mouth). Look For $10/less.
23 Quart Presto Pressure Canner Bundle. Should be $80.00.
Presto Canning Rack. Approx $10. Not Needed Unless Stacking Pints and Half pints.
Presto Regulator For Canner. Approx $10. Not Needed Right Away/Backup.
Solid Cotton Bath Towel (to place jars on). $0. Use Your Own, lol.
Canner Ring. Approx $8. Not Needed Right Away/Backup.
Canning Tool Set. This one is 5pc. Approx $12.
The first thing you need to know is what you'll need to have on hand:
- Thoroughly washed and dried canner
- Thoroughly washed and sterilized jars (can boil in canner or oven sterilize)
- Regular pot with simmering water to cover lids/rings
- Lids and rings, washed, rinsed, and added to pot later
- Approved canning recipe (I wouldn't go off on unapproved recipes until knowledgable)
- Clean towel for washed canning tools (funnel, magnet stick, etc)
- Vinegar for wiping rim of jars & adding to water
- Napkins to use when wiping rims
Pressure canning is the only safe method for canning meat. This tutorial is a step by step for meat/poultry without any extras.
- Keep meat as cool as possible during preparation for canning, handle rapidly and process meat as soon as it is packed. Use lean meat for canning; remove most of the fat. Cut off gristle and remove large bones. Cut into pieces convenient for canning.
- Decide if you're doing raw or cooked meats. If you're doing raw pack fill your canner with room temp water to your canners specification. For 23qt Presto this is 3 quarts and there is a fill line. If you are cooking your meat you'll be packing your jars hot and placing them into a canner with hot water (just hot tap, not boiling).
- Raw Pack: Fill jars with raw meat pieces, leaving 1-inch headspace. Meats may be processed with or without salt. If salt is desired, use only canning salt. Table salt contains a filler which may cause cloudiness in bottom of jar. Use ½ teaspoon salt to each pint, 1 teaspoon to each quart. More or less salt may be added to suit individual taste. DO NOT ADD LIQUID - It makes its own broth!! Wipe and inspect jars for chips & cracks. Add lids and bands to fingertight.
- Hot Pack: Sear meat until rare by broiling, or pan frying. Meat should not be browned with flour nor should flour be used in the broth to make gravy for pouring over the packed meat - this can be done once ready to use, just before serving. You can also boil or bake. Drain fats and debone/trim if desired. Pack hot meat loosely in clean, hot Mason jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Cover meat with boiling broth, water, or tomato juice (best with wild game) leaving 1-inch headspace. Using debubbling tool gently go up and down jars until you've untrapped all bubbles & add more liquid if needed. Wipe and inspect jars for chips & cracks. Add lids and bands to fingertight.
Once you're ready to can
- Add vinegar to your canner, 2-3 tablespoons is sufficient
- Look through your canners vent hole to make sure it's not obstructed
- Place the jar rack on the bottom of canner so jars aren't sitting on the bottom
- Make the correct weight regulator for your elevation (see guide in canner booklet)
- Using jar lifter put jars into canner on the rack
- Lock canner according to directions and turn stove burner up to get the water boiling
- Once you have a strong steam let it go for ten full minutes
- After ten minutes of good steam vent place your regulator on top of vent hole. Start watching for it to reach pressure now and once it does start your timer. For my presto pints are 75 minutes, and 1.5 pint/quart jars are 90 minutes. If you do a mix of jars you always go the longer temp so 6 pints and 1 quart still all go 90 minutes. Check your canner/approved recipe.
- Lower heat slowly until your regulator is gently rocking and your pressure is right about perfect for your elevation (for my electric coil stove I can stop dropping the heat once at a 5 or 6 and it will maintain pressure the whole canning process for me. Yours might be different... It probably is.
- If you can't understand the gentle rocking motion watch a few more canning videos on youtube. I watched like 30 before I felt I knew what "finger tight" meant for sure, lol.
- Keep a good eye on canner, if it drops below your pressure you have to bring it up to pressure again and restart time. For this reason I usually add an extra cup of water in my canner and let my gentle rocking rock a lil bit more so my pressure is like "10.25" instead of "10", with this I've never had an issue really.
- Once timer goes off turn off canner and move to a burner that isn't hot. Let pressure drop to zero and let the valve drop.
- Once this happens you can unlock lid, turn lid away from your face so no face of steam, and sit it aside.
- Make sure room isn't icy or windy and that you have your towel set up for jars
- Remove jars with jar grabber, place them on towel and leave alone 12 hours or so, after which inspect them by removing bands and making sure lids sealed. If not, refrigerate or freeze to eat, or reprocess.
- If they did seal leave alone another 12 hours and then thoroughly wash the jar (lid won't fall off), and put it away. I do not add a ring to my jars until 6 week mark "just in case" and you actually never should add a ring if you're in a humid area.
- Put your jars on a shelf in a cool, dark area and enjoy anytime over the next two years. The food is germ free so you can technically eat it a long time after but it will degrade to not tasting as yummy, just like most all canned goods.
Solid Cotton Bath Towel (to place jars on). $0. Use Your Own, lol.
Canning Tool Set. This one is 5pc. Approx $12.
The first thing you need to know is what you'll need to have on hand:
- Thoroughly washed and dried canner
- Thoroughly washed and sterilized jars (can boil in canner or oven sterilize)
- Regular pot with simmering water to cover lids/rings
- Lids and rings, washed, rinsed, and added to pot later
- Approved canning recipe (I wouldn't go off on unapproved recipes until knowledgable)
- Clean towel for washed canning tools (funnel, magnet stick, etc)
- Vinegar for wiping rim of jars & adding to water
- Napkins to use when wiping rims
Pressure canning is the only safe method for canning meat. This tutorial is a step by step for meat/poultry without any extras.
- Keep meat as cool as possible during preparation for canning, handle rapidly and process meat as soon as it is packed. Use lean meat for canning; remove most of the fat. Cut off gristle and remove large bones. Cut into pieces convenient for canning.
- Decide if you're doing raw or cooked meats. If you're doing raw pack fill your canner with room temp water to your canners specification. For 23qt Presto this is 3 quarts and there is a fill line. If you are cooking your meat you'll be packing your jars hot and placing them into a canner with hot water (just hot tap, not boiling).
- Raw Pack: Fill jars with raw meat pieces, leaving 1-inch headspace. Meats may be processed with or without salt. If salt is desired, use only canning salt. Table salt contains a filler which may cause cloudiness in bottom of jar. Use ½ teaspoon salt to each pint, 1 teaspoon to each quart. More or less salt may be added to suit individual taste. DO NOT ADD LIQUID - It makes its own broth!! Wipe and inspect jars for chips & cracks. Add lids and bands to fingertight.
- Hot Pack: Sear meat until rare by broiling, or pan frying. Meat should not be browned with flour nor should flour be used in the broth to make gravy for pouring over the packed meat - this can be done once ready to use, just before serving. You can also boil or bake. Drain fats and debone/trim if desired. Pack hot meat loosely in clean, hot Mason jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Cover meat with boiling broth, water, or tomato juice (best with wild game) leaving 1-inch headspace. Using debubbling tool gently go up and down jars until you've untrapped all bubbles & add more liquid if needed. Wipe and inspect jars for chips & cracks. Add lids and bands to fingertight.
Once you're ready to can
- Add vinegar to your canner, 2-3 tablespoons is sufficient
- Look through your canners vent hole to make sure it's not obstructed
- Place the jar rack on the bottom of canner so jars aren't sitting on the bottom
- Make the correct weight regulator for your elevation (see guide in canner booklet)
- Using jar lifter put jars into canner on the rack
- Lock canner according to directions and turn stove burner up to get the water boiling
- Once you have a strong steam let it go for ten full minutes
- After ten minutes of good steam vent place your regulator on top of vent hole. Start watching for it to reach pressure now and once it does start your timer. For my presto pints are 75 minutes, and 1.5 pint/quart jars are 90 minutes. If you do a mix of jars you always go the longer temp so 6 pints and 1 quart still all go 90 minutes. Check your canner/approved recipe.
- Lower heat slowly until your regulator is gently rocking and your pressure is right about perfect for your elevation (for my electric coil stove I can stop dropping the heat once at a 5 or 6 and it will maintain pressure the whole canning process for me. Yours might be different... It probably is.
- If you can't understand the gentle rocking motion watch a few more canning videos on youtube. I watched like 30 before I felt I knew what "finger tight" meant for sure, lol.
- Keep a good eye on canner, if it drops below your pressure you have to bring it up to pressure again and restart time. For this reason I usually add an extra cup of water in my canner and let my gentle rocking rock a lil bit more so my pressure is like "10.25" instead of "10", with this I've never had an issue really.
- Once timer goes off turn off canner and move to a burner that isn't hot. Let pressure drop to zero and let the valve drop.
- Once this happens you can unlock lid, turn lid away from your face so no face of steam, and sit it aside.
- Make sure room isn't icy or windy and that you have your towel set up for jars
- Remove jars with jar grabber, place them on towel and leave alone 12 hours or so, after which inspect them by removing bands and making sure lids sealed. If not, refrigerate or freeze to eat, or reprocess.
- If they did seal leave alone another 12 hours and then thoroughly wash the jar (lid won't fall off), and put it away. I do not add a ring to my jars until 6 week mark "just in case" and you actually never should add a ring if you're in a humid area.
- Put your jars on a shelf in a cool, dark area and enjoy anytime over the next two years. The food is germ free so you can technically eat it a long time after but it will degrade to not tasting as yummy, just like most all canned goods.
Thank you so much for this badly needed instruction. I watched my Grandmother and Mother can veggies, vegetable soup and pickles.. LOTS OF PICKLES! lol (we ate em up quick) but I've never personally seen meat home canned and desperately want to learn. I did have one question please,, I saw another DIY meat canning tutorial and the woman said to put a bullion cube on the bottom of jar, then the raw meat then top with another buillion cube. I suppose this might cut down a lilttle on added salt amounts but doesn't meat make a pretty great juice on it's own? Or would the cubes make a fabulous addition? Thank you so much for all your time
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't do completely salt-less myself. You can adjust down though! Another option is all natural reduced sodium better than bouillon or their organic version. Very little needed. My reasoning is completely plain comes out odd to me, somehow drier.
DeleteSomething I like to do is make my own seasoning mix, and add however much needed on top of jars. Whether its fajita, taco, curry, stew spices, etc.. It'll have very little salt but it helps guide my jars toward the recipe I will use it with. Once in awhile I'll even marinade some of my meat, for instance 1/3 in an italian dressing marinade and 2/3 plain -- drain, mix, jar up.. Since seasonings get stronger in jars I always go for weaker and it gets stronger.
Experiment! do 7 pints once day, with 7 different ways.. Then you can try each to find your favorites. Wait until you get chicken $1.99/lb or less and grab 7 lbs up. Experiment with raw/cooked meats, do a soup, a fajita, a low salt bouillon, half the recipe regular salt, no salt, etc.. enjoy them over the next 2 weeks in casseroles and chicken salad sandwiches, as soups or on tortillas, etc!