One of the things like about pressure cooking something is that it takes the toughest hunk of meat and turns it into -cut-it-with-a-fork tenderness. Pressure is also how you can meat. So, if you can meat you are going to , de facto, turn whatever meat you are canning into nice, tender chunks.
I went ahead and bought a tray of stew meat from CostCo the other day to experiment on. First off, I’m never doing that again. It would have been about a buck a pound cheaper to have bought the base meat and cut it up myself.
However, the results were rather nice. I had two jars that did not seal properly so I’m using those over the next few days and I’m pleased with the results. I had browned the meat rather thoroughly before canning and I snuck a chunk or two for my own immediate consumption. And it was…tough. Chewy. Not exactly what you would call tender. After the canning process, however….perfect.
So, I guess I’ll keep my eyes open for deals on roasts or other cuts that can easily be cut up into pint-jar-sized bits for stew, stir fry, and the like.
By the by, I used my supermegaawesome All American Canner. Bought it new years ago and in has never given me a lick of trouble. And it holds a lot of jars. Yeah, you can pay a lot less and get the Presto or something similar. And it’ll work. But for capacity, quality, and long-term, the gasket-less AA is the way to go. Pay once, cry once, and then go can all the things.
Speaking of, as you know, canning lids are a bit hard to find these days (or they were, anyway).And while canning lids should be something you have in, literally, case quantities, don’t overlook the fact that those jars don’t last forever. If the rim gets nicked? Can’t use. And they do break. While they are obviously quite reusable, and a bit bulky to store, you really do need hundreds of them. If you canned something in a one-pint jar…which is not a huge amount of food…you’d need 365 of those jars for just one year. And thats assuming no jars get nicked, broken, or otherwise damaged. On the bright side, the jars store well – stick ’em in a cabinet and forget about them.
I like commercially canned meats for long term storage simply for convenience and durability…I’m more comfortable throwing a ‘tin can’ of meat into a pack and running out the door than a glass jar. But thats an expensive way to live and for a static location that has good storage space, why not use the glass jars?
And for those of you with no canning experience…it isn’t rocket science. The technology was developed for Napoleon’s armies so that means it’s so simple a Frenchman can do it. Go get the big Ball book of canning and give it a read.
What size canner do you use?
What size pressure cooker did you get ?
I believe its the 21 qt.
Recommendation noted.
If you follow the Ball book of canning directions canning them (Oh the shortcut results I’ve seen in the ER) keep the product cool, DRY and out of sunshine AND well secured as they are HEAVY. You have lots of meals ready to eat (Napolean’s MRE’s).
Lids are a real problem, as even Commander Zero scored a butt load 🙂 because of that (Yes, I remember “What part of ALL OF THEM do you misunderstand, LOL). And for the most part almost impossible to re-use well.
DO Secure them well, even out of earthquake prone areas. Last summer someone I know was heartbroken when a large truck bumped her home and the shock doing minor damage to her place caused her shelves of canned foods to fall to the concrete floor. Shelves like dominos fell in sequence.
Good work Commander.
I also use an AA pressure cooker – good stuff. I use it for soups, stews, bone broth – and canning, of course. One suggestion: Look into sous vide for the cheaper cuts of meat. The advantage is that one can cook the meat for longer periods – but at lower temperatures, which breaks the collagen down similar to what the higher temperatures do in the pressure cooker. Cheap round cuts can come out similar to prime rib – and still medium rare. Yum
One shortcut that’s safe is to can the meat without browning it. Saves the washing up of the skillet. We experimented when I was teaching a canning class – 1 load without browning & one load with. Couldn’t tell the difference.
Because there are only 2 of us now I can most things in pint jars. I use the quarts for when I can bone-in rabbit – those bones take up a lot of room. But I’ve never gotten the hang of boning rabbit.
And for those who are just getting started, buy wide-mouth jars only – unless you have dainty hands. The regular mouth jars are a pain to clean, except in the 1/2 pint jam jar size. `
Bottle brushes do wonders for cleaning regular mouth jars.
We only raw pack meat with a teaspoon of salt. Works great, meat is tender and it is simple. No need to brown the meat prior to canning or add any liquid.
Purchased a used AA canner years ago. Never had any problems with it.
Raw pack works best with lean meats like chicken, because the fat is trapped in the jar along with the meat. Pork sausage, for instance, has quite a layer of fat at the top of the jar if you raw pack it. However, the up side is that it is preserved fat, and if you are making biscuits to go with your pork sausage, there’s your shortening for the biscuits!
Around here, I can get sirloin steak for less than ground or stew… Very odd.
When I’ve canned meat, I didn’t brown it – the drawback is that it can look absolutely disgusting in the can!
Same here. I’ve been pressure cooking pot roasts for years — makes a cheaper cut tender, and it’s faster than simmering a pot roast for half a day to make it edible. I also pressure cook chicken legs, then broil for 10 or 15 minutes to brown them, the pressure cooking is a little faster and keeps them moist.
I’ve pressure canned some cheap bottom round roast a couple times, just to know how to do it. I can some vegetables every year too, I have an old National canner for that. Gaskets are still available.
I have seen canning lids back on the shelves at Walmart lately. I pick up a few boxes every time I get to a store.
Purchased my AA model 940 new 35 years ago and never looked back. Chose it for the ability to double stack quart jars because I’ve always had a least a 1/4 acre garden or more and plenty of fruit trees. I don’t even water bath tomatoes or pickled products anymore. Just bring them to 5 lbs pressure for half the time of boiling.
Canning has always been the standard in our family. However, you MUST follow the rules on pressure and altitude without fail. As a nurse, I have seen the results of botulism poisoning…..terrible way to go. BUT, having said that, know that meats and non-acid veggies do so weell in the pressure cooker that it shouild be on every persons “to do ” list. The Ball book is my canning “bible”. Follow the tables to the letter! I used the “hot pack” method. I bring the water or broth to a boil and put in the meat chuncks and simmer a bit, then load the jars with the meat and pour fresh broth or water over the chunks, seal, and process. Get busy folks.
Amen! When I was teaching canning classes (sponsored by Extension) I was appalled by the people who would argue with me about safe methods. The refrain was “We’ve done it this way for generations and nobody died.” Never could figure out why they came to the class.
At my Costco the stew meat and the chuck roasts (pretty sure that’s what they make the stew meat from) cost the same so I tend to just pick through and find the best marbling which is usually quite good since they only have Prime.
For anyone who doesn’t know, there are scam websites out there claiming to be one of the big jar companies and selling lids. None of them are real. If you go to the real sites (Kerr, Ball, etc) they state that they do not sell directly. I found out the hard way, ended up with a bunch of VERY cheap lids from China.