Canning the Meaties

[ChickeryChick]

Has anyone pressure canned the meaties?
Did you let the meat rest or process
right away?
Anybody have experience?
Looking for advice as we will butcher
in 2 weeks.

Thanks
ChickeryChick

 

[CedarRidgeChicks]

Yes I can mine..we butcher,clean, wash ice down in salty ice/water for 24-48 hours then can

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Oh I'm glad you asked, I've been wanting to learn how to do this. Here in South Florida there's a very good chance each summer that the electricity might be off for a few weeks or more due to a hurricane. I'd like to have my homegrown meat preserved in a way that didn't rely on a working freezer.

Could someone explain in a bit more detail? I have NO canning experience. Must you use a pressure cooker? When you say "can" you mean the meat is cooked first, then heat-sealed into the can? Must you use the regular canning jars or can you use glass mason jars like spaghetti sauce comes in? How long does the meat stay edible? Is it canned in sauce or gravy, or more like solid-packed tuna?

Thank you, I appreciate all the info you could send on this topic.

 

[Cyberous]

Fascinating,.. subscribed to this post.

 

[jaku]

Quote:
You have to use a pressure canner for meats and non acidic veggies, because the regular water bath canning doesn't get hot enough to kill the bacteria.

 

[yotetrapper]

You will need a pressure canner. You can can in liquid, or dry, can can raw or cooked. You "can" use mayonaise jars IF your canning jar lids fit them, but you can't use mayonaise lids. Jars are cheap, especially at yard sales where I often find them for 5-10 cents a piece. Run an add in a free local classified it you have one (or craig's list) and you should get more jars than you know what to do with.

I'm gonna post you a link here... it's by a lady named Jackie Clay...she is my idol. Was in the process of building a backwoods homestead totally off the grid, when in the middle of it, her husband died. She stayed on with her son, and still lives in the middile of the minnesota wilderness with no electric, making nearly all her own stuff. Here's her article on canning meat.

This article should cover everything you need to know. http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/clay105.html But if by some chance it doesn't, you can ask Jackie anything you need to know online, and she will respond back (can take up to a week though). http://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/ I consider her the expert on canning anything you ever wanted to can.

 

[Kim_NC]

I prefer to raw pack meats that we can - chicken, venison, beef, etc.

We pressure can all meats. As mentioned above, that is the only safe and reccommended method. The basic process using raw pack is:

Fill jars loosely with raw meat pieces, leaving 1-1/4 inch headspace. Add 1 tsp salt per quart or 1/2 tsp per pint (optional). Do not add liquid. (The meat will cook in the jars during processing and make a broth of it's own.) Pressure can at 10 lbs pressure - pints 75 min, quarts 90 min, adjust for altitutes over 1000 ft.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation has additional instructions here:
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_05/chicken_rabbit.html

I also like to make a rich stock by cooking down all of the bones with onion, celery, carrots, etc. I strain and can this as well. Very convenient to have in the pantry, and much better for you than commercially canned broths.

 

[CedarRidgeChicks]

I second everything that Kim_N C posted..I use this method..I add in canning meat-especially meat I prefer the wide mouth jars as the larger pieces fit in better (this has nothing to do with what you can use just easier to keep the bigger pieces intact). I do take all my boney pieces and cook in a big stock pot, remove the bones put in jars with onion, celery, carrots.process in pressure canner for 90 min on qrts..makes wonderful stock for soups, noodles, stews. etc.

 

[jaku]

I should start canning some of my birds to save on freezer space. What does the meat taste like when canned? Is it salty? Do you make regular meals out of it, and cook it just like regular chicken?

 

[AK_Button_Mama]

Quote:

I am sorry for laughing at this very serious topic but you said CAN CAN!!! hhhhaaaaa

Also if this person who you linked to has no electricty and lives in the wilderness how does she have email? hhhhaaaa

Sorry I am in a goofy mood...