Are you guys canning?

[mamona]

I am discovering this subject for the past few days. I remember my grandpa was not using such a fancy tools, but the idea is the same.

 

[Fisherman]

I do when fish salmon/bows are caught.  Other than time consuming, it's pretty easy to do and I find it tastes just as good as the commercial tin can fish.

[dave524]

Remember guys canning fish in the parkinglot/camping area at Denny's Dam on tailgates with pressure cookers and Coleman Stoves in the eighties, how would a CO. count fish when its in little 1/2 pint jars 🤣

 

Edited April 1, 2020 by dave524

[akaShag]

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.

[ketchenany]

Very September.  And February
 

 

[mamona]

Holy crap, you guys are no @(*#ing around, seriously.

Can I pasteurize jars without a canner?

[ketchenany]

Yes you can. after jarring  them I use a 45 gal drum fill it close to  the top fill  it with water and let it boil. When it’s boiling on top keep boiling for 20 minutes or so.120 jars per drum.

to make thing go a bit quicker When filling I use about 40 L of hot water and rest cold.

we used another method many years ago after grinding we boiled the sauce in large pot and and filled the jar, closed them and turn upside down. The heat of the sauce sealed the jar.

A tad hard on the hands and could cook you:)

I’m looking for food quality steel drum:) after awhile they start to rust and have to chuck them.

 

[DanD]

32 minutes ago, mamona said:

Can I pasteurize jars without a canner?

http://www.eatingwell.com/article/15855/10-steps-to-water-bath-canning/

[misfish]

4 minutes ago, ketchenany said:

we used another method many years ago after grinding we boiled the sauce in large pot and and filled the jar, closed them and turn upside down. The heat of the sauce sealed the jar.

I remember watching my great grandmother  and grandmother doing it this way .

[mamona]

2 hours ago, DanD said:

http://www.eatingwell.com/article/15855/10-steps-to-water-bath-canning/

Thank you @DanD !

2 hours ago, misfish said:

I remember watching my great grandmother  and grandmother doing it this way .

Same here. But this method would just seal the jar, not pasteurize it.

Edited April 1, 2020 by mamona

[misfish]

1 minute ago, mamona said:

Same here. But this method would just seal the jar, not pasteurize it.

I am still alive .

[ketchenany]

1 hour ago, misfish said:

I am still alive .

So am I the wife and four kids and the rest of my relatives that ever ate at my house and we had lots! 
and yes Brian is alive, I have met him lol

[mamona]

4 hours ago, misfish said:

am still alive

 

3 hours ago, ketchenany said:

So am I the wife and four kids and the rest of my relatives that ever ate at my house and we had lots! 

I am glad you guys are alive :)

Can you share some tips, how are you guys making meat jars? Recipes are greatly appreciated :)

[akaShag]

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.

 

[akaShag]

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!

[akaShag]

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.

 

[akaShag]

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!

 

[mamona]

Mouth watering, thank you 👊
I noticed none of the recipes cure the meat before loading to a jar. First 2 actually recommend  packing the meat together with salt.

[akaShag]

1 hour ago, mamona said:

Mouth watering, thank you 👊
I noticed none of the recipes cure the meat before loading to a jar. First 2 actually recommend  packing the meat together with salt.

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.

[Old Ironmaker]

Good for you guys. The very 1st time I tried to can 5 bushels of Shepard peppers I ruined the entire batch. Never again. I'll stick to freezing stuff. I once tried to make homemade wine with Dad years ago. We ended up with about 300 bucks of wine vinegar. Never again. 

[misfish]

1 hour ago, Old Ironmaker said:

I'll stick to freezing stuff.

Works for me JD . And much less work .

[ketchenany]

You can’t can peppers! You roast  this and freeze them OR roast them, fix them with oil, garlic, parsley, jar them and boil bath! Last for years. 

wine vinegar is good, did you sell it? In the last 17 years I made 15L

 

[misfish]

 

1 hour ago, ketchenany said:

You can’t can peppers!

Who says ? LOL

https://www.healthycanning.com/canning-plain-peppers/

Edited April 3, 2020 by misfish

[akaShag]

2 hours ago, misfish said:

Works for me JD . And much less work .

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

[dave524]

Never canned peppers but pickled a lot of hot bananas and Jalapenos , 50/50 mix of water and vinegar poured  hot over the pepper rings in quarts,  pinch of pickling spice on the bottom with a clove of garlic, water bath canned for about 35 to 45 minutes but don't quote me on the time, I don't know if the acid is enough for water bath sweet peppers without the vinegar .  I always put a tablespoon of that concentrate lemon juice in a quart of water bath canned  tomatoes to be on the safe side.

Edited April 3, 2020 by dave524