Canning meat/what Equipment is needed, how much canning is necessary

[nicklebleu]

I am still not completely clear how to can broth.

Last time I did it, I did the broth firat and then canned it the same as meat, that is 90 minutes at 11 psi. It kind of altered the content a bit, so not sure what to do.

On this thread there have been different suggestions, that the canning of broth required less time/ pressure, but I am not sure where this information came from and if there is a consensus about this?

According to the Presto canning manual that came with the 23 Qt canner, on page 39 it says:

Beef Stock​

Saw or crack fresh trimmed beef bones to enhance extraction of flavor. Rinse bones and place in a large kettle, cover bones with water and simmer 3 to 4 hours. Remove bones. Cool broth; skim off and discard fat. Remove bits of meat from bones and add to broth, if desired. Reheat broth to boiling. Fill jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Adjust jar lids.

Process at 11 pounds pressure -- Pints 20 minutes and Quarts 25 minutes. For processing above 2,000 feet altitude, see page 34 for recommended pounds of pressure.

I haven't done it yet, but I plan on crock potting the bones for 24+ hours, then add salt, then canning the jars with their recommendations. Be sure to remove all that dangerous fat! :P

Thanks a lot for that, Foxx. I'll try it this weekend.
Without the evil fats, of course ...

 

[SeekinTruth]

A farmer from the Pyrenees told me that in the good old days, when there were no freezers, they would preserve their pork by putting them on special jars that will hold up to 60 liters of lard. Then, they would put the meat submerged on that fat and voilà, pork for the entire year. It was not even covered, the only protection was the lard. It was basically a thick giant jar (forgot its name) which some families living in the mountains still have. They took the meat throughout the year as needed along with its lard to cook it, it was always good, and it would feed the entire family.

There's something very similar in my country. When I was young, my father told me about how meat, in huge quantities, was cooked and covered in fat. Families ate it for a whole year. And now I've run into it again. They even serve it in some restaurants. It's also supposed to be delicious. My brother tried it a couple of years ago and really liked it.

So, when I start all the canning, dehydrating, and freezing (when I have enough space), I'm also going to learn how to make this fat submerged meat and experiment with it like all other preservation techniques. The person my brother ate it with told him that in centuries past, whenever there were difficult conditions, this meat submerged in fat is what got everyone through hard times.

 

[Gaby]

So, when I start all the canning, dehydrating, and freezing (when I have enough space), I'm also going to learn how to make this fat submerged meat and experiment with it like all other preservation techniques. The person my brother ate it with told him that in centuries past, whenever there were difficult conditions, this meat submerged in fat is what got everyone through hard times.

It is pretty amazing. Fat is really a miraculous thing. The farmer told me that they would raise pigs, sheep and other animals, and kill some only at one point of the year when they were very fat. But with those preserving methods, they would have meat and fat throughout the entire year. Nothing from the animal went to waste, they used absolutely everything.

 

[Chrissy]

,

So, when I start all the canning, dehydrating, and freezing (when I have enough space), I'm also going to learn how to make this fat submerged meat and experiment with it like all other preservation techniques. The person my brother ate it with told him that in centuries past, whenever there were difficult conditions, this meat submerged in fat is what got everyone through hard times.

It is pretty amazing. Fat is really a miraculous thing. The farmer told me that they would raise pigs, sheep and other animals, and kill some only at one point of the year when they were very fat. But with those preserving methods, they would have meat and fat throughout the entire year. Nothing from the animal went to waste, they used absolutely everything.

This reminds me of my childhood. We made homemade sausage every year and dried it in our attic. It was stored in large jars of olive oil. My mother said some people melted lard and stored it in that. What I remember most was the sausage was usually ready around the time of my birthday. While some kids dreamed of birthday cake, I asked for sausage. :)

 

[Gawan]

I did today a test run with just two glasses and I'm not entirely satisfied, because I cannot fine adjust the stove. Either it is about 9 or about 15 psi and 10 would be recommended. So I did switch from a bigger to a smaller cooktop with the same result. The only solutions are to adjust back and forth the heat that it is about above 10 or leave it at about 15. But I don't know if this is recommended.

But I will open the glasses and taste it :).

Edit:

I could only open a glass with putting a hole in the lid and it tastes delicious :).

 

[Alana]

I could only open a glass with putting a hole in the lid and it tastes delicious :).

You could open the lids with a flat-headed screwdriver

or one of those beer-bottle-openers (it's called church key, if you want to google it).

 

[Jacques]

Or a can opener like this one:

 

[Cosmos]

I did today a test run with just two glasses and I'm not entirely satisfied, because I cannot fine adjust the stove. Either it is about 9 or about 15 psi and 10 would be recommended. So I did switch from a bigger to a smaller cooktop with the same result. The only solutions are to adjust back and forth the heat that it is about above 10 or leave it at about 15. But I don't know if this is recommended.

where did you get the information that 10 psi would be recommended? from the booklet of you canner?
meat should be canned at 15 psi.

the general rule is the higher the pressure the higher is the temperature inside the canner wich means the longer you have it in the canner on a pressure as high as possible the more bacteria are killed and you can store it longer. and that's what we want don't we?

I could only open a glass with putting a hole in the lid and it tastes delicious :).

when you do that you can't reuse the lids again.

I have a old lid tongs to open them, in that way you do not damage or deform the lid so it can hopefully be reused (I haven't tried it yet but I think it should work)

that's the tongs:

the methods Alana and Gandalf mentioned to open the lids will likely also deform the lid in a way that you can't reuse them.

 

[Alana]

the methods Alana and Gandalf mentioned to open the lids will likely also deform the lid in a way that you can't reuse them.

I thought Gawan was talking about the flat lids as seen in the pictures that Laura posted here. And those are not to be reused.

 

[anart]

I did today a test run with just two glasses and I'm not entirely satisfied, because I cannot fine adjust the stove. Either it is about 9 or about 15 psi and 10 would be recommended. So I did switch from a bigger to a smaller cooktop with the same result. The only solutions are to adjust back and forth the heat that it is about above 10 or leave it at about 15. But I don't know if this is recommended.

where did you get the information that 10 psi would be recommended? from the booklet of you canner?

These are Laura's initial instructions on canning meat. I also can at 10 to 11 psi for 90 minutes.

 

[Gawan]

Thanks for the answers.

the methods Alana and Gandalf mentioned to open the lids will likely also deform the lid in a way that you can't reuse them.

I thought Gawan was talking about the flat lids as seen in the pictures that Laura posted here. And those are not to be reused.

That's what I thought, so I did make a hole in it, cause I was not sure if I could reuse it anyway and I have spare lids. I didn't like to leverage the lid so that I don't damage the glass. An alternative could be putting the glass in hot water, cause it would expand the lid again too.

I did today a test run with just two glasses and I'm not entirely satisfied, because I cannot fine adjust the stove. Either it is about 9 or about 15 psi and 10 would be recommended. So I did switch from a bigger to a smaller cooktop with the same result. The only solutions are to adjust back and forth the heat that it is about above 10 or leave it at about 15. But I don't know if this is recommended.

where did you get the information that 10 psi would be recommended? from the booklet of you canner?
meat should be canned at 15 psi.

the general rule is the higher the pressure the higher is the temperature inside the canner wich means the longer you have it in the canner on a pressure as high as possible the more bacteria are killed and you can store it longer. and that's what we want don't we?

I followed the instructions of the canner and most of the websites do suggest it too according to the altitude.

 

[Gaby]

I think it is just the question with wich term you must search to find those manufacturing firms of jars and lids in your country. try to you use words like lids, jars and such. I'm pretty certain that many countries have those firms where you can get the jars and lids much cheeper! I get mine for a little ofer 0,50 € each (with the lids)!

Thanks. Indeed I'll keep shopping around over the next few weeks whilst I wait for the canner to arrive :)

For Spain I found a supplier from La Rioja where a quarter jar costs 0.35 cents each and you have to buy the lids separately which is 0.10 cents each.

The lids are the ones Pashalis got. The information is all on the website, they are twist off lids but specifically designed to can meat and they can be sterilized or pasteurized at 120 degrees Celsius. They have their inner seal which functions as the seal of the mason jars and/or double lids. In Spain that is simply what is available as far as I can see. And I phoned everywhere, even the French supermarket here doesn't have French jars. Or you can get the mason jars at 5 times that price shipped from another country, unless you drive to the French border to get them there.

Here is the link for the quarter jars:
http://www.tapasrioja.es/frascos/144-quarter-galon.html

There are ALL sizes and shapes, but I'm going for the quarter ones.

The lids for the quarter jars:
http://www.tapasrioja.es/tapas/165-rts-esterilizable-77mm.html

I will call that the best sale of the week :)

 

[nicklebleu]

I did today a test run with just two glasses and I'm not entirely satisfied, because I cannot fine adjust the stove. Either it is about 9 or about 15 psi and 10 would be recommended. So I did switch from a bigger to a smaller cooktop with the same result. The only solutions are to adjust back and forth the heat that it is about above 10 or leave it at about 15. But I don't know if this is recommended.

But I will open the glasses and taste it :).

Edit:

I could only open a glass with putting a hole in the lid and it tastes delicious :).

Gawan,

What I do is to put the pressure cooker eccentrically onto the plate, that means, I only put part of it onto the cooktop (so that the cooker effectively stands on two cooktops). That way you can pretty much adjust the temperature anyway you want. It also works if you have a gas cooktop, but then you have to be careful not to burn off handles and such and you may have to build some kind of ramp to sustain it.

Hope that helps!

 

[aragorn]

I did today a test run with just two glasses and I'm not entirely satisfied, because I cannot fine adjust the stove. Either it is about 9 or about 15 psi and 10 would be recommended. So I did switch from a bigger to a smaller cooktop with the same result. The only solutions are to adjust back and forth the heat that it is about above 10 or leave it at about 15. But I don't know if this is recommended.

where did you get the information that 10 psi would be recommended? from the booklet of you canner?

These are Laura's initial instructions on canning meat. I also can at 10 to 11 psi for 90 minutes.

Yes, I use ca 11PSI, too. For example, 11PSI is recommended in the Presto manual for 'meat chunks'. It isn't good to use too much pressure for too long, either; if the temperature gets too high, it can do funny things to the meat. A pressure of 10PSI or slightly over will usually get you a temperature of 240F, which, according to studies will destroy the botulinum and it's spores. Also, as I've understood, the 90minutes of processing time is an "exaggeration" for safety reasons. But I think it's a good idea to stick to that time, just to make sure.

ADDED: Gawan, have you considered buying the 3-piece pressure regulator set for your Presto (you have a Presto, right?) I don't have those yet, but I've understood that it makes things a lot easier. Here's a link:
http://amzn.com/B000HMBVQ8

 

[sebbe]

I did today a test run with just two glasses and I'm not entirely satisfied, because I cannot fine adjust the stove...

I had the same problem with my presto.

To resolve the problem this is what i did: i took the sealing ring and i put oil on it, all around. I noticed doing that, the air vent/cover lock is more quickly up.

When the air vent/cover lock is up, i look the vent pipe and i wait for 15 mn for a strong and continued steam, it is very important.

I put the pressure regulator, and i wait . When pressure i want is ok i reduce the heat very low. The pressure dial gauge will stop.

I have to adjust fire one or two time sometimes to not let the pressure dial to low.