I've been asked a few questions about how I can meat so I thought I'd throw this out there.
I purchase meat in bulk whenever I find it on sale. I've canned various cuts of Beef, Pork, Chicken, Turkey, Ground Chuck, Sausage and Ham.
I NEVER can any recipe I find on the internet unless I can confirm its safety either from the Ball Blue Book or from a trusted source. We are pretty easy going when it comes to our food storage but canning is something I take very seriously. Food Poisoning and Botulism are not on my menu, if I can help it.
There are two ways to can meats, Hot Pack and Raw Pack. Hot Pack is when you partially cook your meat first. Anything that is “ground” needs to be cooked first or it will solidify in the jars and may not be safe to eat because the heat may not penetrate to the center. As for other cuts, some people say pre-cooking adds flavor. I did this in the beginning and I can’t taste a difference so now I only Raw Pack. I also don’t like the idea of cooking my meat twice because I think it breaks down the texture and probably degrades the nutritional value…and…it saves time and energy, both my own energy and natural gas for the stove.
Chicken is our favorite, by far, followed by Pork then Beef. DH could eat the Beef several times a week but I’m not a big Beef eater and since I’m the Menu Maker, I find it difficult to squeeze the Beef in.
As far as the Beef goes, I've done Top Round, Bottom Round and Sirloin Tip. While all delicious, one of the Rounds is a little drier than the other but I can't remember exactly which one because I typically just mark my jars as "Roast Beef". It's still fork tender and flavorful, like it had been slow cooking all day long, just a little drier in texture.
I've done both Pork Butt and Pork Loin and prefer the Loin. Both are delicious but if I had to choose one over the other I think I'd go with the Loin. It seems to have a cleaner "porkier" flavor. The Butts have some meat on them that look like "dark" meat and I think that's what muddies the flavor a bit.
I've canned both Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts and Thighs. Neither of us care for the Thighs. Even though it's our preferred piece of Chicken when eating fresh, after the canning process the Thighs were so tender they almost melt in your mouth, literally. Good if you're eating a piece of chocolate but not so good when eating a piece of meat. The texture is a complete turn off so I stick with Breasts now when canning.
I've only done a small amount of Turkey and think its all Breast meat. I did a SHTF Thanksgiving Dinner last year and it was delicious.
I don't care for the taste of the Ground Chuck so I don't do it anymore although DH says it tastes fine. I think it has a funky after-taste, kind of like canned Corned Beef. Canned Corned Beef is fine but when we've tested the canned Ground Chuck with Spaghetti and Taco's I couldn't finish eating dinner. The flavor combinations were a little too gross for me.
I canned some Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sausage and it was good but we've since discovered Honeyville's Sausage Flavored TVP that is terrific so I won't be canning anymore Sausage.
I also don't like the way the Ham turned out. I boiled it before canning (based on a recommendation) and I think it's really dry and tough but again, DH says it's fine. I'm actually going to dump the jars and get them off my shelf to make room for other things. I'll stick with Dak Hams and Spam as a SHTF Ham Substitute.
Whenever I purchase new jars I wash them (and give the lids and rings a swish) as soon as I get home just to make sure to get rid of any dust or dirt that may be inside. When dry, I put the lids and rings back on and put them in closet so they are ready and waiting.
Many times there has been a sale but I wasn't ready or didn't have time to can so I freeze the meat. I never freeze it whole, I always get it cubed first so once it's thawed I'm able to move forward quickly. Also, one of my groceries will debone, cut and package any way I want, free of charge. If I have a lot of shopping to do I'll get my meat first and let them get started while I shop. And, I've made it a point to become friendly with one of the butcher's. He knows I'm a "Canner" and knows what I like...2" cubes. That's a huge time saver for me so I take advantage when I can.
Some meats need to be trimmed of some fat. Fat adds flavor and will be good in a SHTF situation but I don’t like a lot of fat in my jars so I make sure to trim as needed. Pork Butt can be really fatty inside the meat so I trim quite a bit away. Pork Loin has a fat cap across the top. If it’s too thick I’ll take my knife and skim a section off the top.
When it's time to can usually the meat has either been thawing or at least sitting in the fridge overnight. If I'm canning in the morning I'll get up *very* early and set the meat out so it can warm a bit then go back to bed for an hour or so. If I'm canning later in the morning I still pull the meat out to warm a little. I do this to prevent jar breakage from putting cold meat in a hot jar. Chicken can get slimy after thawing from frozen so just recently I've started putting it in a strainer and rinsing some of the slime off then I put the strainer over a bowl so it can continue to drain while I'm processing.
I set my table up the same way every single time including my Ball Blue Book, even though I've done this hundreds of times. This way I can make sure I have everything I need, when I need it. Then I disinfect the kitchen counters just to make sure my work area is clean. Then I fill my Water Bath Canner with water and get my jars, lids and rings warming. Next is the Pressure Canner. I fill according to its instructions, add a splash of Vinegar (this helps keep the inside of the canner from getting all cruddy from mineral deposits).
I only use water in my meats, not broth. By doing Raw Pack, the meats make their own kind of broth inside the jars. I also don’t season my meats with any spices. I want my meats in their own juices, without any flavorings so I can use them any way I want. This way, I can season any way I want to when I’m ready to cook. And so far, I have literally dozens of ways to use our meats from simple BBQ sandwiches, wraps, sandwiches, casseroles, Shortcut Sunday Dinner and a variety of Mexican dishes.
After the canning process I let my canner come down to normal pressure on its own. Because our kitchen is so small DH cut me some plywood that fits across a cabinet in our living room. This is where I let our jars sit overnight to cool. If we are running the A/C I cover the jars with a towel to keep any blast from the A/C or from a fan from hitting them and potentially breaking them since they are so hot. The next morning I check all my lids to make sure they are sucked down. Then I fill the sink with hot, soapy water, let all the rings soak and I wash all the jars. I don't submerge the jars, I just use the hot soapy water and a sponge to clean them, then I rinse under running water. When all the jars are done I wash the rings. When everything is dry I put the rings back on the jars, only because I don't have a place to store a bunch of loose rings, date the lids and place on the shelf.
Here are some pictures…
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Originally Posted by bacpacker
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