akaShag

Cliff, did you cook that from scratch, no starter? If yes, please post a recipe and how-to. Doug

Works until you lose electricity............which is why I can stuff...........

The whole meat and ground meat recipes produce a canned product like cooked meat/ground meat and is NOT CURED. The salt in them is simply for flavouring - you can absolutely can the meat without salt. Sausages may or may not be cured, but in general I would only can fresh sausage, not prepared sausages. And of course bacon is cured. What you put into the jars is basically what you get out of them but of course it is cooked, and sealed. BTW all of the recipes are my own, and by all means experiment to get the flavours YOU want.

This one still makes me giggle. It still boggles my mind that I can open a jar and be eating excellent bacon in a few seconds. Note this is for side bacon, not back bacon. CANNED BACON Buy premium bacon to make this. A 5 kg/11 lb box is about right for a canner load. Lay the strips of bacon on aluminum foil, or parchment paper, on cookie sheets in a single layer. Clean-up is about the same for foil and for parchment paper, but the latter is wider and covers larger pans better. Cook the bacon in the oven at 375 for about 20 minutes per pan, until just about fully cooked but not crispy. Cooking bacon in the oven keeps the slices nice and flat. Drain the slices of bacon on paper towel and allow to cool. Take about 24” of parchment paper, cut off the top 2” or so, and lay bacon strips side by side (some overlap is OK) to about the 21” mark or so. The strips should be about ½” shorter than a 500 ml Mason jar, so trim to length with a knife. At this point, with the bacon laid out flat, you can brush it with maple syrup or other flavourings. Fold the parchment paper top and bottom over the bacon, then roll it tightly towards the paper end. It should fit snugly into the (wide mouth!) Mason jar – if it is too tight remove a slice or two, if it is too loose add a slice or two. Take the off-cuts and place them in a shallow jar like a salmon jar that will fit on top of the 500 ml jars in the canner. These pieces, NOT in parchment paper, will be used as bacon bits or whatever. Process the jars at 10 lb pressure for 90 minutes. The jars should seal with no problems, and when cooled off there will be a bit of bacon fat in the bottom of the jars. To use the bacon, open a jar and it can be eaten directly or warmed in the microwave for a few seconds and then eaten like regular cooked bacon. My first batch lasted just fine for over three years in my pantry. It’s DELICIOUS!

CANNED SAUSAGES This recipe works both for breakfast sausages and larger sausages, both types in casings as opposed to loose sausage meat. Lay the sausages on aluminum foil, or parchment paper, on cookie sheets in a single layer. Clean-up is about the same for foil and for parchment paper, but the latter is wider and covers larger pans better. Cook in the oven at 375 for about 10 minutes per pan for the smaller ones and maybe 20 minutes for the larger ones, until just about fully cooked – less so for the smaller ones. Drain the sausages on paper towel and allow to cool slightly. Pack as many sausages as possible into each jar, then fill the jars to within about an inch of the top with boiling water. Clean the jar mouths with a damp paper towel, put on the snap lids and rings, and into the pressure canner. I used 250 ml jars for the breakfast sausages and 500 ml jars for the bigger ones. If the sausages are too long for the jars, cut off enough to give about a half-inch clearance at the top of the sausages. You can add these chunks to the jars by pushing them down with a wooden spoon or similar in the air spaces between sausages. Process the jars at 10 lb pressure for 90 minutes. The jars should seal with no problems, and when cooled off there will be a layer of fat at the top of the jar contents. To use the sausages, open a jar and they can be eaten directly or warmed in the microwave for a few seconds and then eaten like regular sausages. The breakfast sausages sampled so far tended to be a bit over-cooked, so another time I would make sure they are not fully cooked when they go into the jars. The time provided above is based on that correction.

And one for canned ground beef or deer, would work for moose for sure. Not sure if I would try it with ground pork, there is a good chance the fat would seep up the sides of the jars and interfere with the seal. For that same reason you want lean or extra lean ground beef, and of course ground venison is always very lean. Note this recipe starts by BOILING the meat in a stock pot first. CANNED GROUND BEEF OR VENISON Take the ground meat and crumble it into a big stock pot. It takes about a pound of ground meat to fill one 500 ml Mason Jar. Season the meat with seasoning salt, garlic powder, onion flakes, whatever. Cover with water and boil, for about twenty minutes until the meat is cooked and no longer pink. With a slotted spoon ladle the meat into clean 500 ml or 1 litre jars, leaving a solid inch for head space. Add ¼ tsp (500 ml) or ½ tsp (1 l) seasoning salt on top of the cooked meat. Boil some beef broth (or water) and fill the jars to within an inch of the tops. Wipe jar mouths with a clean cloth and seal with a snap lid and sealing ring. Process at 10 lb pressure. 75 minutes for 500 ml jars, and 90 minutes for 1 litre jars. Note: The broth and remaining ground meat in the stock pot make an excellent base for a soup!

I am happy to share recipes. ALL of mine are for use in a pressure canner, not a hot water bath. Here is one that works for deer or moose, or of course beef: CANNED MOOSE OR DEER Start with good clean boneless lean meat, nothing shot-damaged and no fat at all. Cut into chunks of about an inch, and season with seasoning salt, garlic powder, and anything else you like, for example Montreal Steak Spice. Place RAW chunks into 250 ml or 500 ml clean jars, topping each jar with a quarter teaspoon of seasoning salt per 250 ml. Press firmly on the meat so there is little to no air in the jars. Leave about a half-inch of head space, put the lids and sealing rings on the jars, and process for 90 minutes at ten pounds pressure. The meat forms its own liquid in the pressure canner. Jars are good for at least two years.

I have been pressure canning for decades. I did start with salmon and trout, but have canned goose, duck, moose, deer, chicken, turkey, ground meat, meat sauce (like pasta sauce), sausages, side bacon, ham, tomatoes, green and yellow beans, carrots, apples, applesauce, lasagna, soups (but not with noodles), and probably other stuff I am not remembering. I probably would not can vegetables again, I can buy better canned veggies than I can make myself. I use the All American canner with the metal to metal seal and dial gauge, but a smaller size than the one in the top photo. Other than replacing the top rubber over-pressure plug a couple times, it has been maintenance-free.

RIP John. Fair winds and following seas.

When I lived closer, this one was a MUST ATTEND. I am not surprised by the cancellation, however. Quite a few memories of the Sportsmen's shows............😉 We are supposed to attend weddings on 20 June and early September, I am thinking both of them might be in jeopardy. Like you say OIM, the loving couple has to think about the old farts that would be attending, and act accordingly. Doug

Hmm, I've just spent half an hour reading up on canning breads..............pro and con. I am going to give this one a pass I think. Doug

see my next.......

I just use what comes out of the tap, so room temp is fine. Back to Brian I didn't watch the video either,. am I missing anything?

tap water is just fine.

Try the second link I posted..........

Just about anything will work, as long as the lid fits tightly and can take the heat. I use a heavy enamel covered dutch oven like these ones: https://www.lecreuset.ca/bakeware/covered-casseroles/ On a lot of dutch ovens or covered casserole dishes, the lid handle is made of bakelite or some kind of hard plastic - they will not take the heat, so you want to make sure the lid handle is metal or similar. And I am not a baker, but this recipe is very forgiving. Doug

That's odd, I don't think I have an account with the New York Times...... Here's another site with the same recipe: https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/no-knead-bread/ Doug

No-knead bread is awesome: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11376-no-knead-bread I go a hair light on the water. When I put in the full amount of water, I got a slightly doughy bread...

Bunk, please see your e-mail........... Doug

Pack a lunch, it isn't short.............😉

I have been retired since 2003, so work did not get in the way. I have pulled a tent trailer and a travel trailer, and I have driven (and owned) a class C motor home. For me, a truck camper is the best way for a solo trip, just as long as the truck has four wheel drive and enough power to haul the camper as if it is not there. I wrote blogs on both trips. Not sure where the 2011 blog went, but here is the 2016 version: http://gwrt2016.blogspot.com/ Read it in chronological order to make the best sense of it...... I have no idea if writing can pay for such a trip. Based on what I used to get for Ontario Fisherman articles back in the day, I am guessing that writing might pay some beer money but not much else. But who knows, it is a different world out there these days. Doug

I see you'd like to do an RV trip to Alaska (after you are 50, you young pup!😉) I hunted and fished my way from southeastern Ontario to the Yukon and back in 2011, and did the same, but to the west coast of Vancouver Island and back in 2016. Both solo trips, with my Ford F-250 and truck camper. Both were exceptional trips, and I might yet do it once more. The Yukon is spectacular, as are the parts of Alaska that I have visited. Doug

Schweine haxen are one of my favourite German dishes. I tried to make them once, but they just didn't hold a candle to the real thing served in Germany.............but I CAN make spatzele that tastes just like the stuff I ate over there many times! Doug

all very interesting indeed, but I can't see myself going to Mrs Sauga for meat. So will you make schweine haxen with the smoked hocks?

Brian, do I understand you made the smoked pork hocks into meatballs? And where did you get those nice meaty hocks? Doug