Canning Meat Tutorial

Why Canning Meat is a Skill You Need to Have:

1. It’s totally convenient. Grab a jar from your pantry, pop it open, and you have wonderfully tender meat all ready to add to your recipes
2. It saves on freezer space. We have two freezers out in our barn, but they are ALWAYS too full, no matter what I do. Anytime I can store food at room temperature, it’s a huge plus for me.
3. It’s a smart preparedness measure. Lest you be stuck eating dry cereal and crackers if your power goes out…
4. It tastes darn good. Really! Home canned meat is tender, juicy, and can be seasoned however you like.

A Super-Duper Very Important Warning

You must, must, must use a pressure canner if you plan on canning meat– no exceptions. Since meat is a low-acid food, a regular boiling-water canner will not be able to heat it at a high enough temp to make it safe for storage. I know pressure canners may seem intimidating at first, but they are actually simpler than you think. I have a full pressure canning tutorial here. It’ll walk you through the process, and teach you how to pressure can without blowing up your house (always a good thing).

How to Can Meat

(Hot Pack Method)

• Beef, venison, elk, or pork
• Salt (optional)
• Water
• Canning jars, lids, and rings (quarts or pints are fine)
• A pressure canner

Trim the meat to remove excess fat and gristle. (I usually try to do this when the meat is half-frozen. It makes the trimming much easier)
Slice into strips against the grain, and then cut into roughly 1″ cubes (just eyeball it– no need to be exact).

Place the cubes into a large stockpot and brown thoroughly on all sides. If your meat is especially lean, you may need to add a bit of fat (such as bacon grease, lard, or coconut oil) to the pan to prevent stickage. (Yes, that’s a word)
The goal here is to simply brown the cubes— you don’t need to cook them all the way through.
 Place the browned meat cubes into clean glass jars, leaving 1″ headspace. If using quart jars, add 1 teaspoon of salt. If using pint jars, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Pour water (how much you need will depend on how many jars you are canning) into the pot you used to brown the meat, and bring it to a boil. This will capture all the lovely bits from the bottom of the pot and create extra flavor in your finished product.
Ladle the boiling water over the meat in the jars, leaving 1″ headspace.
Wipe the rims, adjust the lids/rings, and process in a steam pressure canner as follows:

• Pints: 75 minutes
• Quarts: 90 minutes

Use 10 pounds of pressure, UNLESS you are 1,000 feet or more above sea level. If that is the case, increase to 15 pounds of pressure.

Kitchen Notes:

• I don’t have exact amounts for this recipe, because it just depends on what you have available. You can either can your meat immediately after butchering, or save back several of the tougher cuts to can later.
• The salt is entirely optional and only added for flavor, not for any preservation benefits.
• Add your melt-in-your-mouth canned meat to soups, stews, casseroles, skillets suppers, or just warm it up and eat it out of the jar.
• It’s also possible to can ground meat, soups, and stews. Those tutorials will be coming soon!

Author: The Prairie Homestead

 

Ingredients

• Beef, venison, elk, or pork
• Salt (optional)
• Water
• Canning jars, lids, and rings (quarts or pints are fine)
• A pressure canner

Instructions

1. Trim the meat to remove excess fat and gristle. (I usually try to do this when the meat is half-frozen. It makes the trimming much easier)
2. Slice into strips against the grain, and then cut into roughly 1" cubes (just eyeball it-- no need to be exact).
3. how to can beef, venison, or elk with a pressure canner for fork-tender meat!
4. Place the cubes into a large stockpot and brown thoroughly on all sides. If your meat is especially lean, you may need to add a bit of fat (such as bacon grease, lard, or coconut oil) to the pan to prevent stickage. (Yes, that's a word)
5. The goal here is to simply brown the cubes--- you don't need to cook them all the way through.
6. how to can beef, venison, or elk with a pressure canner for fork-tender meat!
7. Place the browned meat cubes into clean glass jars, leaving 1" headspace. If using quart jars, add 1 teaspoon of salt. If using pint jars, add ½ teaspoon of salt.
8. how to can beef, venison, or elk with a pressure canner for fork-tender meat!
9. Pour water (how much you need will depend on how many jars you are canning) into the pot you used to brown the meat, and bring it to a boil. This will capture all the lovely bits from the bottom of the pot and create extra flavor in your finished product.
10. Ladle the boiling water over the meat in the jars, leaving 1" headspace.
11. Wipe the rims, adjust the lids/rings, and process in a steam pressure canner as follows:
12. Pints: 75 minutes
13. Quarts: 90 minutes
14. Use 10 pounds of pressure, UNLESS you are 1,000 feet or more above sea level. If that is the case, increase to 15 pounds of pressure.

from:  http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2015/01/canning-meat.html