We had some awesome demonstrations by Ann Harker (Canning) and Randy Steenblik (Cooking) meats and I'm finally getting them up. I'll do them in 3 parts Canning, Cooking, and Halloween Treats.
Canning Meats - handout from Ann Harker-
MEAT ROTATION: If you are storing one pint (or quart) of meat per day, you will bottle 365 jars of meat. While this sounds like a lot, I once used 3 pressure canners to bottle 150 pints of meat in 12 hours. To rotate, place 50 jars of bottled meat in your kitchen pantry and place the rest in your food storage. If you use 3 jars per week, those 50 jars will be gone in about 4 months. You will then bottle 50 more jars, place them in your food storage and take out another 50 jars for your pantry. Your entire stock will be rotated in about 2 years. If you use 2 jars per week, it will take about 3 years to rotate your supply.
BOTTLING MEATS
(Caution: If you have a glass-top stove, you may want to use a propane camp stove outdoors to bottle meats. I have a glass top stove and have had no problems, but I still need to caution you.)
Bottling your own meats is extremely easy and it's what makes this food storage system so unique. It's real chicken in your sweet and sour and real beef stew. The meat is tender, juicy, ready to eat and needs no freezing or refrigeration ...just like your tuna fish from the store. The shelf life is at least 3 years, but the process is so easy, you may want to rotate your meats more often to be sure the nutritional quality is high. You can bottle any kind of meat; chicken, turkey, beef, hamburger, fish, ham. ..I've even had moose.
PRESSURE CANNERS: You must use a pressure canner to bottle meats. Pressure cookers will not safely can meats. Canners come in quart sizes, meaning they hold a certain amount of liquid quarts, but don't purchase anything smaller than a 15 quart canner, which will usually hold 7 quart jars.
for used canners, check the internet. If you buy a used canner, be sure to have the gauge tested at your County Extension Center or buy a new gauge. This will ensure that you are cooking at the right pressure and your food will be safe. Try to avoid canners with the rubber gasket in the lid because the gasket will eventually leak. A good canner will have a metal to metal lid, a pressure gauge, a pressure release valve, wing nuts to hold the lid down and an inside tray. A canner is a great investment even if you're not doing food storage because canning meat will save time (no more defrosting chickens) money (shopping the sales) and a good canner will last forever. I have one that is over 70 years old and it still works.
CANNING MEATS: A pint bottle will hold 1 pound of meat, a quart will hold 2 pounds. Jars from thrift stores or yard sales are fine for vacuum sealing dry foods, but not for bottling meats. Old jars might crack under the pressure. Invest in some new jars when you first start canning and reuse them over and over.
Many books will tell you to cook the meat before you bottle it. With the exception of ground meats, I prefer the raw pack. Put your raw meat and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of salt into a clean jar. Jars do not need to be sterilized. Fill jars to 1/2" from the rim. No other spices should be added. With the exception of ground meats, no water is added to the meat. In a small pan, boil the lids for about 2 minutes to soften the rubber seal. Make sure the rim of the jar is completely clean before you put the heated lid and ring on. Tighten the ring down finger tight. Pour about three inches of water into your canner and place the tray inside. Place your jars in the canner on the tray, screw down the canner lid, making sure the top is even, and turn your stove on high. Don't put the weight on the pressure valve until steam has spouted out of the valve for about 10 minutes. This expresses the air out of the jars and the canner. After expressing the air, put the weight onto the pressure valve. In desert altitudes, can meats at the 10 pound mark. For other altitudes, check your manual. If you have an older canner, there may not be a weight but there will be some kind of pressure release mechanism. Keep this mechanism open to express the canner then, close it to begin your pressure. When the gauge gets to the correct pressure, (according to your altitude) begin timing ... 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts (Fish is 15 mln longer), This is the formula for all meats. You will need to immediately start turning down the heat to keep the pressure stable and continue turning it down over the allotted time. Keep the gauge at the correct pressure. When the pressure drops or increases, a vacuum effect causes the juices in the jar to be pulled out. Do not leave your canner. At the end of the 75 or 90 minutes your heat should be at a very low level and you will then turn the heat completely off. Don't move the canner; just let the pressure go down on its own. When it's back to zero, release the pressure valve (or remove the weight) take off the lid, put the jars on the counter away from cool drafts and wait for them to seal. You'll hear a "plink" when the lids seal correctly. If a jar doesn't seal, you can either refrigerate it for later use or re-bottle it using a new lid. When they are cool, wipe the bottles clean, remove the ring and put them back in the box for storage.
Ground meats have a better texture if you brown them first, pack loosely in the jars, cover with water and process. When canning cooked meats like leftover turkey, add a soup broth before canning. Ham makes very little juice, so don't worry if the juice doesn't cover all the meat. Don't bottle spiral cut hams, use a shank cut and don't add salt. Don't bottle turkey hams or other processed meats like bologna or hot dogs.
Info collected from other sources-
CANNED MEATS
Pressure canning is recommended by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture as the ONLY SAFE WAY to can meats. Even when canning any mixture of foods (stews, soups, etc.) that contains vegetables, make sure the time you use, which is recommended in your pressure canner instructions, is the longest processing time.
EQUIPMENT: Before starting to prepare your meats, it's important to have all of your equipment ready that will be used during the process. One of the biggest purchases of equipment for this is a pressure canner. A pressure canner is used for low-acid foods such as meats, fish, poultry, and vegetables. This tvpeof canner has a jar rack, a locking lid with a gasket, a pressure gauge or weight, a safety release, and a steam vent.
If you buy used replace the o-ring and pressure gauge, just to be safe.
JARS: Use only standard mason jars. These canning jars are tempered and designed just for canning, and have a specially threaded mouth for proper sealing. Jars from commercially prepared foods may not seal properly and may break during processing. Discard canning jars with chips or cracks. The edges of jar rims must be smooth to ensure a good seal.
LIDS: Two-piece closures, consisting of screw bands metal lids with sealing compound, are the most widely used for home canning. Follow the manufacturer's directions carefully when preparing them. to use flat metal lids, place the prepared lid on the jar rim with the sealing compound nest to the glass. Screw the band firmly by hand to hold the lid in place. The flat lids are designed for one-time use, but screw bands can be reused if they're not bent or rusty.
OTHER EQUIPMENT: Besides a canner, lids, and jars, other needed items are a wide-mouth funnel, a jar lifter, a table knife, liquid measuring cups, tongs, and a timer.
PREPARE MEATS: Choose a good quality cut of meat and trim excess fat. Cut into 1-11/2 inch cubes and cook until at least halfway done. When using hamburger, cook thoroughly, drain excess fat and place under very hot running water to remove any other fat.
CANNING PROCESS:
1. Wash jars and rings thoroughly in hot suds. Rinse. Or run the bottles through a dishwasher cycle and use the sterilized jars hot from the dishwasher.
2. Use a medium sized pan full of hot water with both the lids and rings.
3. Use a large pot full of boiling water to fill up the jars after meats have been added.
4. Fill jar with meat up to neck of bottle leaving a 1" headspace. DO NOT FILL PAST THIS POINT. IT IS THERE FOR EXPANSION AND CAN CAUSE EXPLODING.
5. Add 1 tsp and 1/2 tsp pepper on top of meats, if desired.
6. Pour hot water over meats to bottom of neck of bottle.
7. Use table knife to place down inside of the jar around the meat to release any air bubbles.
8. Wipe the rim with a clean cloth.'
9. Place a lid and ring onto the jar and twist firmly.
10. Follow directions in your pressure canner manual and it will specify how long and how many pounds are to be used.
WHEN PROCESSING IS FINISHED, NEVER TRY TO REMOVE THE LID FROM A PRESSURECANNER IMMEDIATELY AFTER PROCESSING- IT WILL EXPLODE AND BE DANGEROUS. Turn the heat off and allow it to coolon its own time. At least 30-45 min.
after processing has been finished, remove the lid carefully and remove the jars from the canner with your jar lifter. Let cool, check to see if lids sealed by pushing down on the lid and it not popping back. Write a date on the jar and store for future use.
SAFETY REMINDER: Always boil home canned vegetables (except tomatoes), meat, poultry, and fish for 10 to 20 minutes (20 minutes for corn or spinach) before tasting or using. Add water, if necessary, to avoid sticking. Do not taste these products cold from the jar.
---(This can be avoided through proper canning)
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