60 replies to this topic

[dpwishy]

So, over the past month or so, I have really got into canning. For some stupid reason, and my prejudgment, I always assumed canned food taste like shit. But after canning some stuff and learning the truth, I am blown away that more of us in this hobby do not use our canners to their potential. In this thread I am going to go over countless recipes I use and how to can them. These canned items stay fresh in a cool dark pantry for over a year, they actually are safe to eat for years and years but start to lose nutritional value after a year. Most people don't realize that you can can meat. In fact, other than seasonal canning that is done with a garden. Canning meat is where you will really save your money and where canning becomes worth it.

Over the next few posts I will go over the two things I have already canned. Home made chicken/vegetable stock and beef stew. I am also getting 10 lbs of ground beef and chicken breast tonight that will be canned. So those posts will follow. My friends family owns a restaurant so I buy my meats from them. Ill pay between 1.20-1.90 for boneless chicken breast, and around 2.50 for ground beef. As you can see, if you have a connection like this its worth it to buy in bulk and can. Its over a 100% mark up in the stores.

What a lot of people don't realize is, you can't just cook a beef stew, or a chilli and can it. The cooking time inside the pressure canner would turn anything into mush. The trick is to try and can and keep a texture that is true to the normal cooked food. Thickeners such as flour and so on can not be used before canning. Also, no grains or dairy. So that rules out a lot of your normal recipes. If you had things like beans, or vegetables and you cooked that first and then canned, they would come out mushy and gross.

The two canning methods are:

Raw Packing - also called "cold packing"

Illustration of preparing a Raw Pack.Raw-packing is the practice of filling jars tightly with freshly prepared, but unheated food. Such foods, especially fruit, will often float in the jars. The entrapped air in and around the food may also cause discoloration within 2 to 3 months of storage. Raw-packing is more suitable for pickles; since pickles require minimal processing due to the very high acid content, and the need to retain the crispness of the raw vegetable. It is generally also used for vegetables processed in a pressure canner, since the additional time getting up to down from pressure ensures plenty of cooking time.



Hot Packing

Hot-packing is the practice of heating freshly prepared food to boiling, simmering it 2 to 5 minutes, and promptly filling jars loosely with the boiled food. Whether food has been hot-packed or raw-packed, the juice, syrup, or water to be added to the foods should also be heated to boiling before adding it to the jars. This practice helps to remove air from food tissues, shrinks food, helps keep the food from floating in the jars, increases vacuum in sealed jars, and improves shelf life. Preshrinking food also permits filling more food into each jar.

Many fresh foods contain from 10 percent to more than 30 percent air. this is important because how long canned food retains high quality depends on how much air is removed from food before jars are sealed.

Hot-packing is the best way to remove air and is the preferred pack style for foods processed in a boiling-water canner. At first, the color of hot-packed foods may appear no better than that of raw-packed foods, but within a short storage period, both color and flavor of hot-packed foods will be superior.



In divine friendship,
your brother,
-wishy

[dpwishy]

Chicken/Vegetable Broth

I used one full chicken carcass,
3 medium onions,
one full celery stalk
one bag of carrots,
garlic,
salt and pepper
2 gallons of water

Everything is chopped up,
it doesn't matter really on the size.
I do pretty big chops as it simmers for a long time.
Put everything inside a giant pot with 2 gallons of water.
Garlic, salt and pepper to liking.
Bring the stock almost to a boil and them simmer for 14 hours.
When you are done it will look like this.


Put everything through a strainer to get out the big pieces.


Put it through a cheese cloth to get all the small stuff and fat.


Jar everything up when you are finished,
this is what it looks like before pressure canning.


This is what they look like after canning.


These are canning at 11psi (depends on your elevation)
at 25 minutes in qt jars and 20 mins for pints.
I got 5 full qts in the end.
We made soup that night with one qt to see how it was,
and put 4 away in the pantry.
The soup we made with it was amazing.

Jars should be checked after 24 hours to see if they were sealed.
You can tell by pressing on the middle of the lid.
If it does not flex, it is sealed.
You now take off the ring band and wash the jar under soap and water.
The jars can now be store WITHOUT the ring band in the pantry.

The water stains on the bottom of the jar could have been avoided by adding a shot of vinegar to the water in the pressure canner. I didn't have any at the time so I didn't use it, but it really is recommended. It also will help the life of your pressure canner.

In divine friendship,
your brother,
-wishy

[Sidestreet]

Thank you, Wishy. I'll be tuning in; I'm interested in canning but don't really have a clue about it. Maybe this thread can help me get started.

[dpwishy]

Beef Stew

So remember, we can't just make beef stew like you normally would make in a crock pot and then can it. Well you can, but in the end it would come out really mushy and gross. We want to can food that will taste awesome. What is the point of saving gross food? Stew meet was 50% off so I got 4.6 lbs of it and decided to can some beef stew.

You will need:

4.6 lbs of stew beef
1 bag of red potatoes,
one bag of onions,
2 full stalks of celery
1 large bag of carrots.
Make a beef broth or buy some.

First thing you want to do is get your broth going to a boil.
Next we want to load the jars.
I put the meat in first at the bottom.
Then goes the potatoes, carrots, celery and onion.
I put double the amount of potatoes as carrots, celery and onion.
Once all the jars are loaded, ladle boiling brother into each jar.
You want to leave about one inch of head space.
Jar lids are twisted on by not spun tight.
You just want it holding the lid down,
if its tight and doesn't allow the can to breath during canning,
the lid will buckle and you will not have a successful seal.
In our hobby mycology we are used to tightening ring bands,
I learned the hard way that it was a bad idea.

Here are the jars filled up.


I got 9 full qt jars in the end with that amount of meat.
I still had left over potatoes and onions.
In the end this cost me 40 bucks.


They are pressure canned for 90 minutes at 11 psi.
The meat and everything is cooked in the canning process.
Once you are done, its cooked and sealed.
Wait 24 hours to check for proper seal, wash jars and store.

This is what they look like done.


I ate a can last night and it was mind blowing good.
This was made about two weeks ago.
Remember, you can't add thickeners before canning.
So proper roux with butter and flour is needed when reheating.
I had this to a stew consistency within 3 minutes.
This was amazing, home cooking amazing.
This is now good in the pantry for over a year.

Its so much easier to make a huge batch and eat accordingly.
Everyone likes to eat good,
but no one likes to work all day then cook for hours.
I literally poured this into a pan, made a roux,
brought it to temperature and had amazing dinner within 5 minutes.

In divine friendship,
your brother,
-wishy

Edited by dpwishy, 28 March 2013 - 07:59 AM.

[dpwishy]

Thank you, Wishy. I'll be tuning in; I'm interested in canning but don't really have a clue about it. Maybe this thread can help me get started.

Sweet :)

Later today I am canning 10 lbs of ground beef
and 10 lbs of boneless chicken breast.
So there is more to come for sure.
I plan on canning something new every week,
so stay tuned :)

In divine friendship,
your brother,
-wishy

[Sidestreet]

What's the shelf life of all this stuff? Oops, you already mentioned that... safe to eat for years, but lose nutritional value after about a year...

[dpwishy]

What's the shelf life of all this stuff?

They say its good for up to a year in a cold dark pantry,
but thats only at full nutrient availability.
After a year it starts to lose nutrients,
not go bad.
Its really good for god knows?
Years and years.
But to get the most worth out of your food,
consume within the first year.

In divine friendship
your brother,
-wishy

[dpwishy]

Lets get this party started!
I just picked up the meat from my friends mom.
Instead of getting 10 lbs of both ground beef and boneless chicken breast.
I got 20 of the ground beef and 10 of the boneless chicken breast.
I figure ill can some meat loaf and meat balls with the extra.
I paid 77 dollars for both the ground beef and chicken.
In my eyes the chicken and a portion of the beef was free,
as in the super market the ground beef alone would be between 100-110 dollars alone.

In divine friendship,
your brother,
-wishy

[dpwishy]

Raw packing Chicken

I started with 10 lbs of chicken breast.
They were the full breast, both sides connected with the tenderloin.
I went through it all and cut out all the fat and pieces I didn't care for.
I was left with a little over 8 lbs of good meat, and 2 lbs of stuff ill use for stock.
Chicken was cut up into chunks and cubes.


Using a canning funnel put the chicken into jars with one inch of head space.


Using canning salt add .5 tsp of canning salt to each jar, I added a full tsp by mistake.
It will still be fine.


Put in a poker tool and work around the edges to get out air bubbles,
fix head space accordingly.



Having water boiling and once it boils, drop your lids inside the boiling water.
This primes the rubber ring on the inside.
CANNING LIDS CAN ONLY BE USED ONCE!
Once the seal is made and broken it is not good for resealing.
New lids must be used every time.
They sell a magnet thing that allows you to get the lids out of the boiling water.


Tighten ring bands with finger/thumb pressure only. Do night spin tight.
Pressure cook 11psi (depending on your elevation) for 75 minutes for pints,
90 minutes for quart jars.
I got 9 pints out of my 8 plus pounds of trimmed breast.
As it cooks it will make its own broth that it will sit in.
When you use the can don't waste it!
Its pure chicken broth, un-cut.

This is what it looks like done.

Never stack your jars in the pantry, I only did it for the photo.
This stuff is very versatile. You can use it in about anything.
Tacos, fajitas, casseroles, pizza, chicken salad, soups, chowders, ect...
Its awesome in tons of things.

In divine friendship,
your brother,
-wishy

Attached Thumbnails

• 
• 

[dpwishy]

Hot packing Ground Beef

I started with 10 lbs of ground beef.
This was browned and the fat was drained.
I strained it in about 2 lbs intervals and washed each under warm water.
This pushes any extra fat off the meat.
You want as little fat as possible, you will see why later.
Here is 10 lbs browned, strained and washed.


Load them up into pint or qt jars,
I used pints as its a reasonable serving size for my fiance and I.
Boil beef broth on the stove, once it boils take it off.
Fill the jars with beef to one inch head space,
ladle in beef broth to same head space.
Use a pokey tool and go around the edges to get air out,
fix head space accordingly.
This is what the jars look like loaded up close.


Prime lids in boiling water and then secure with thumb/finger pressure only.
Do not over tighten.
I got 11 pint jars in the end out of my 10 lbs.


Pressure can at 11psi(depending on elevation) for 75 mins for pints,
and 90 minutes for qt jars.
I broke the cardinal rule of;
if you hot pack you must add hot water in your canner.
Adding cold water may crack the jars.
I had one jar break inside the canner.
So only 10 sealed successfully.
Same goes with cold pack,
don't use hot water in your pc, start with cold.
It will do the same in the opposite way.

Here is what it looks like done,
notice the small layer of fat at the top.
Its very small.
If we didn't take the time to drain and wash our meat,
that could have been really think and gross.
It also makes your meat clump together and form a mass.
That is not what we are looking for.
This is what it looks like done.


Remember to check in 24 hours to see if the seal is made,
take of the ring bands, wash the jars and store in a cool, dry pantry.

This can be used in anything;
sloppy joes, tacos, spaghetti sauce, soups, casserole, hamburger helper, ect...
The uses are unlimited.

In divine friendship,
your brother
-wishy

[eastwood]

Cool thread Wishy. I made up some pickled eggs the other day. I can fit a dozen large eggs into a quart jar. One jar has pickled beets, beet juice, cayenne peppers and i also added a tbs of cayenne pepper. The other one has pickled beets, beet juice and some banana pepper rings. I use white vinegar. After i had them assembled i put them in hot water bath for 10-15 minutes.

Edited by eastwood, 29 March 2013 - 10:29 PM.

[dpwishy]

The Ground beef texture came out alittle under my liking.
I think next time I am going to try canning without a broth.
The broth broke up the ground meet really fine.
So it was more like a ground beef chili that you would put on a chili dog,
more of a puree and less texture.
The tacos were still good, but the texture was not where I like.
So ill experiment with no broth next time.
I think it would still be fine for a chili, chili dogs, inside a soup or tomato sauce.
But as a dry meat product in tacos or sloppy joes, I don't think this is the best method.

For now on I will just be adding finished canning photos,
you guys get the picture from the last few posts.
I just made 100 meat balls and loaded 13 pints,
they are going in the pc now.
When they finish ill post pics with the canning recipe.

In divine friendship,
your brother,
-wishy

[dpwishy]

Beef stew is the only thing I would call GREAT.
The ground beef is a little soft on texture.
The meatballs taste great, but are a tad soft. (but held together)
The chicken I had last night in a quesadilla.
The texture was great, but it taste like tuna.

I guess its not a bad thing, I like tuna also.
But its chicken?
I read online this is common for everyone.
It has to be masked in a soup, sauce or spices.

I guess you cant expect grade A tasting food from canning,
its being canned after all.
But in times of need, a winter storm, economic hard time,
or civil arrest of any kind, it would be perfect.
Beggars cant be choosers and its still nutritious and tastes good,
the textures are just not what you are used to from fresh cooked.
In hard times I would feel like a king with what I had jarred,
but when you have money to eat other food, obviously do it.
Beef stew excluded, that shit is amazing.

My fiance ate the quesadilla and had seconds.
On The meat balls I asked her if she was home by her self,
would she add a jar of those meat balls to a sauce after trying them.
She said she would. To me that makes canning them worth it.

In divine friendship,
your brother,
-wishy

Edited by dpwishy, 04 April 2013 - 09:31 AM.

[Cue]

I didn't think that the ground beef would turn out good, but I was rooting for you.

I've had canned venison and was great.

I'm wondering how goat meat would turn out. I know in the crock pot it takes at least 18 hours to get tender. I've been meaning to try cooking some in my PC.

[Myc]

DP,
I appreciate your reviving these thought in my imagination.

When I was a young boy, all my family had was canned goods - home canned.
We raised a 20 acre garden and livestock. I've only ever seen produce - fruits/veggies canned. I've read that one could can meat but never actually seen anyone do it. Way thanks.
So for your next project......are you making a root cellar?
Next to each of our houses (still existing in some cases) was a dugout structure and a storm door. During tornado season we would all hide out in the center aisle and sit on buckets waiting for the storm to pass. Nice to grab down a jar of last-year's apricots and pass 'em around with stories.

[dpwishy]

I didn't think that the ground beef would turn out good, but I was rooting for you.

I've had canned venison and was great.

I'm wondering how goat meat would turn out. I know in the crock pot it takes at least 18 hours to get tender. I've been meaning to try cooking some in my PC.

I hear a dry pack is much better,
people seem to have better success without using a broth.
So ill keep this set of brothed ground beef for chili, meat sauces and such,
and make another set dry for taco and sloppy joe type stuff.
I guess I wont know until I test it out?

In divine friendship,
your brother,
-wishy

[Juthro]

I felt this thread was worthy of a bump... Does anyone else here home can food?
If so I would love to hear about it.

My wife and I do a bit, and we did so over this last weekend.

We canned up 25 pint jars of beans, a mix of pinto, pink, and navy. It turned out well, beans are usually our nemeses, and we end up with quite a few jars that don't seal. But we only had one jar from each batch that didn't seal this time, one of the pinks, and one of the pintos.

They were sorted and cleaned, soaked overnight, rinsed, boiled for 30 min, hot packed in pint jars, and then PC'd @10 psi for 75 min.


Here is a pic of the first batch (pinks, and pintos) cooling.

[Il19z8rn4li1]

epic thread Wishy. 

 

Just my kinda thread :)  Love this stuff.

[happy4nic8r]

I am going to make my first, (and my wife's) first attempt at canning this year.

 

We get a shit ton of berries and freeze them but we are now comfortable with the pressure cooker and there's suddenly a few canning jars we didn't used to have.

 

I am marking this thread so I have some nice alternative recipes to work on when we ever get surplus.

 

I accidently had the lids down on jars I was pc'ing and sealed them up.

 

They are now a test of brf/verm long term sterile storage.

 

yeah I would kick this one again, bump, whatever, let's get some ideas going here.......

[Skywatcher]

I do well with canning tomatoes, and most vegetables. Fruit of all sorts becomes jams and jellies. I make killer Pomegranate jelly.

 

Meat however I have no clue. Smoked fish or jerky yes, any other form of canned meat would be a mystery to me.

 

I will share jam and fruit syrup recipes if asked.