What are you canning now?

[mickey328]

LOL, I'm just the opposite, Puff...when I put stuff in a water bath and it gets boiling I can just set the timer and go clean up or get the next batch ready. I have to babysit the pressure canner...seems I have to fiddle with the heat almost constantly till about the last 20 minutes when it finally seems to stabilize. The good thing is that I can get so many more jars in it!

Pear honey, Erin? Do tell! That sounds interesting, and the preserves too. I have 3 grocery bags of Bosc pears waiting to be processed and I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do with them yet.

We picked up more meat today; Got 3 packages of sirloin steak at buy one, get 2 free. That's going to be cubed and browned and put up for stew meat tomorrow. Also snatched up a couple really big salmon fillets that ought to give me 12 or 14 half pint jars. Yum. Plus about 10 lbs of little, end of season 'taters. That ole pressure canner's gonna get a workout!

 

[Debbiedodo]

I can my vegetables in quarts and still have to open two jars for a meal. I feed three men and myself and we are not light eaters. Two quarts of vegetables for a meal is the norm but we usually have a bit leftover for the clean out the frig meal we have about once a week.

 

[mickey328]

DH loves his veggies, and it wouldn't take him but maybe 2 days to finish a quart, but the other fellas are sorta picky eaters, so pints work better for us. Another perfect example of using the size for your needs...thanks Debbie!

 

[off-grid hen]

As in the small red candies.

Ah, I'd forgotten about them. Glad it's not the peppers, but I've heard of stranger things.

 

[PuffyChick]

I opened my first can (jar) of my own chicken last night for dinner just to "see" what it tasted like.

It wasn't the greatest. It was sort of dry. I think I perhaps over cooked it because it did end up being in the pressure canner for like 2 1/2 hours because the pressure kept going up and down and I was doing the "first timer Noobie" thing and being overly cautious, especially since it was chicken ya know?

Anyway defo not a nice thing just straight out of the jar and I think a bit of salty broth would have gone a long way. I had just boiled the bones really quick and used that semi broth to top up the jars. I also only used breast meat. Perhaps thats why?

Maybe some of you that are more practiced can help me out here.

It did end up tasting okay once I made a creamy cheese sauce with peas in it. But to be honest I wasnt overly "happy"

Can someone share how they are doing up beef? and what they use it for?

Does anyone do chicken legs and thighs? Do they come out a bit gloppy from the fat? Leave skins on?

Help me rock this meat thing so I keep canning it!

 

[galanie]

I am about to can beef for the first time. What I want to do is a "beef stew." I figured I'd cut up and sear the beef then layer it in the jar. I guess a layer of carrots, a layer of potatoes, and a layer of beef. Then maybe 1/4 tsp onion powder, dash of salt, and pour in some water. Then in the pressure canner for... I'll have to look up the minutes.

I'll let you know how it comes out. OR, if you have a recipe for canned beef stew, do tell!

 

[mickey328]

I do a cold pack for my meat (except for stew beef which I brown first). For chicken, I remove the skin and as much fat as I can. I chose this method because I figured if the stuff was at 14 lbs pressure for 75 to 90 minutes it would be well cooked, so I see no reason to cook it first. When doing it raw like that, I only add a bit of salt (1 tsp for a quart, 1/2 tsp per pint) and no liquid. The juices cook out of the meat so it's not dry. When I do the browned stew beef, there's not much juice left so when I have everything browned, I put some water back in the pan and simmer till all the good brown stuff is mixed back in and use that to fill the jars. It comes out very tender and tasty. I have potatoes and carrots also canned separately so to make a stew I can just open the appropriate jars, dump 'em all in a pot, add seasonings and a gravy and we're good to go. Only takes a short time and one pot.

 

[galanie]

I like the idea about the simmering in the browning pan. I was going to add water because my jars won't be full of meat, they'll have vegetables too so won't make their own juice. Tempted to use broth but then I'd have to make the broth. And I don't want to unless I have some good bones.

 

[mickey328]

I did use stock when I canned my cooked ground beef...just seemed like it would add flavor rather than dilute it. I have all the stuff needed to make stock in the freezer (I keep an ice bucket in there and toss all the over ripe veggies, trimmings and bones in it), but that's a project for later when all the "gotta do it now" stuff is done. Most of my stock previously has been frozen, but it's running quite low. From now on, I'm gonna make it in batches large enough to make it practical to haul out the pressure canner. Freezer space always seems to be at a premium for us so everything I can put in a jar will be going in a jar, LOL. I hope to have lots and lots of stock around...it's so much better to add to gravies, soups, stews...gives them more flavor than water.

In a pinch, I've used bouillion and just left out the salt when I'm doing meat. It's not ideal, but imo, better than just plain water.

We're working on being able to breed meat rabbits, and I plan on canning most of that as well...that freezer "issue" again

I'm still experimenting with meats...this is the first year I've canned meat other than chili. I put up several beef roasts cut in large strips to eat as "roast" (sorta) and lots more of stewing beef, about 12 pints of cooked hamburger. I also did 6 pints yesterday of beef cut in thin slices...I plan to use it for making hot beef sandwiches.

For my chicken, I just skinned it and cut it up. I didn't debone it...probably should have since it's a better use of jar space and I could have used the bones for stock, but I was short on time that day. I stuffed the pieces into jars (I used quarts) added a tsp of salt and processed. The jars are about 3/4 full of liquid with the fat congealed on top. It should be fairly easy to remove the fat. Haven't tried it yet, but I anticipate using it in casseroles or soup or such, rather than just eating it as chicken but...we'll see.

 

[galanie]

I have read of people cooking chicken, deboning it, then canning the meat but that just sounds like you'd end up with mush. I have roast I wanted to can for eating as "roast" as well. I just got a bag of potatoes free with my meat order and I already have a new bag so I'll be canning potatoes too I guess. Which is good, I love canned potatoes lol.