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

[Gaby]

I am using the two piece lids which are the only type I can find in the UK. They are expensive at around 2.00 pounds per jar. So if these single lid jars defiantly work, I will look into shipping a batch to the UK

I would give it a shot since they are not only approved by several European countries, its whole system seem to work as safe as the two piece lids. Then, jars and lids are usually 0,5 cents at the most. Now that you used a two piece lid, maybe you can try canning a batch of fat with the single lid to see if you notice any difference.

I was at the supermarket today and I checked the expiration date of a glass jar canned tuna with a single lid for curiosity. It said, "preferably to be consumed before 2019". In other words, it is good forever ;)

 

[Alana]

@Alana: One question though - I noticed that after I processed the jars with ground beef there was some fat in the water at the bottom of the pressure canner. And that had smeared on the outside of the jars, too. Is this normal?

Yes. We always wash the grease outside of the jars at the end and from the pressure canner. I was worried about that at first too, but then my roommate (who is more knowledgeable and experienced in canning than I am) told me that was normal, and I think that Laura said in some post somewhere that they get the same thing too when canning meats.

 

[aragorn]

@Alana: One question though - I noticed that after I processed the jars with ground beef there was some fat in the water at the bottom of the pressure canner. And that had smeared on the outside of the jars, too. Is this normal?

Yes. We always wash the grease outside of the jars at the end and from the pressure canner. I was worried about that at first too, but then my roommate (who is more knowledgeable and experienced in canning than I am) told me that was normal, and I think that Laura said in some post somewhere that they get the same thing too when canning meats.

Thanks. Fwiw, my quart jars with meat cubes didn't seal yesterday. I think the reason was that the temperature in the canner laid around 15PSI for several minutes, because I was distracted by my father-in-law who suddenly rang the door bell and wanted to chat for a while. The rubbery thing under the lids got melted and ruined the sealing.

This morning I processed them again with new lids. I hope they'll seal this time...

 

[paralleloscope]

I'm going to can bacon ala this, I've got some unbleached parchment (baking paper) but it's treated with silicone- is that safe to conserve with?

 

[Lee.T]

I am using the two piece lids which are the only type I can find in the UK. They are expensive at around 2.00 pounds per jar. So if these single lid jars defiantly work, I will look into shipping a batch to the UK

I would give it a shot since they are not only approved by several European countries, its whole system seem to work as safe as the two piece lids. Then, jars and lids are usually 0,5 cents at the most. Now that you used a two piece lid, maybe you can try canning a batch of fat with the single lid to see if you notice any difference.

I was at the supermarket today and I checked the expiration date of a glass jar canned tuna with a single lid for curiosity. It said, "preferably to be consumed before 2019". In other words, it is good forever ;)

I am going to send them an email to see if they ship to the UK and at what cost per unit/batch. Maybe some other UK members would be interested in these jars, and if the shipping is reasonable, then the savings could be spent on the product that goes inside :)

 

[Gaby]

I am going to send them an email to see if they ship to the UK and at what cost per unit/batch. Maybe some other UK members would be interested in these jars, and if the shipping is reasonable, then the savings could be spent on the product that goes inside :)

If they don't ship, there should be another European country that probably does. I found them using key words such as "sterile lid, canning", "sterilizable lid" and so forth, and eventually found it.

I already did a couple of batches, it was a complete success :) I left an inch in the first jar, and found the jar too empty for my own taste by the time it was done processing. So the second batch I filled it right to the very top. No liquid/fat came out.

 

[Gaby]

I'm going to can bacon ala this, I've got some unbleached parchment (baking paper) but it's treated with silicone- is that safe to conserve with?

I was going to do my bacon with the paper technique, then I found a guy demonstrating his result with this method. The bacon came out way too shredded. Then I found another blog post about just raw-packing it for practical purposes, the problem being that the bacon takes a wrinkly shape that makes it hard for your standard bacon strips to be cooked when it comes out.

So I rolled two big slices of bacon and raw packed like 6 rollies per jar and canned it. It stayed rolled by the time it was done processing.

 

[Goemon_]

I have made a test with liver's pâté.

400 g of pork's liver cut in dices and then put in the blender. Mix with 400 g of rendered pork's fat. Add 1 tbs of salt and 1 tsp of pepper. Canning and process.

Result : the fat was more or less at the top of the jar, so I put it out and mix it again before eat it. It taste very good to me.

I have ordered some liver and some fresh lard for sunday, and I will make a full bath : 17 quaters.

In the meanwhile, my butcher give me a liver, so I have make liver's pâté with it. But I have cook it, not processed. I didn't taste it yet.

 

[zim]

I am going to send them an email to see if they ship to the UK and at what cost per unit/batch. Maybe some other UK members would be interested in these jars, and if the shipping is reasonable, then the savings could be spent on the product that goes inside :)

If they don't ship, there should be another European country that probably does. I found them using key words such as "sterile lid, canning", "sterilizable lid" and so forth, and eventually found it.

I already did a couple of batches, it was a complete success :) I left an inch in the first jar, and found the jar too empty for my own taste by the time it was done processing. So the second batch I filled it right to the very top. No liquid/fat came out.

Hi Psyche

I found out this jars with lids but I was thinking about that one you were posted can you take a look if is good to can with them otherwise I´ll look in another place!!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VDUS8A/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=AGRO36SJYWHFN

Also with this pressure canner: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000BYCFU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_10?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

[Gaby]

I found out this jars with lids but I was thinking about that one you were posted can you take a look if is good to can with them otherwise I´ll look in another place!!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VDUS8A/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=AGRO36SJYWHFN

Also with this pressure canner: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000BYCFU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_10?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Those look to me as the double lids that are recommended for canning meat. If they ship to CR, then you are all set-up. :)

 

[zim]

I found out this jars with lids but I was thinking about that one you were posted can you take a look if is good to can with them otherwise I´ll look in another place!!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VDUS8A/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=AGRO36SJYWHFN

Also with this pressure canner: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000BYCFU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_10?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Those look to me as the double lids that are recommended for canning meat. If they ship to CR, then you are all set-up. :)

No, they didnt ship to CR but I´ll bring it from miami with some contacts :P

So they are right I´ll bring them to begin the canning :) Thanks Psyche!!!!

 

[annp]

I was going to do my bacon with the paper technique, then I found a guy demonstrating his result with this method. The bacon came out way too shredded. Then I found another blog post about just raw-packing it for practical purposes, the problem being that the bacon takes a wrinkly shape that makes it hard for your standard bacon strips to be cooked when it comes out.

So I rolled two big slices of bacon and raw packed like 6 rollies per jar and canned it. It stayed rolled by the time it was done processing.

My pressure canner is on the way and I have been catching up on the posts as well as reading books on canning. A book I have advises packing cold raw meat loosely and then exhausting air by heating meat filled jars in a pot of hot water - cooking a slow boil until meat is medium done (or 170 degrees F). Only then putting in the canner to process. I am confused because from what others are doing, it seems that this is not necessary because the pressure canner will cook the meat.

Is the book incorrect, or is it really better to cook most meats slightly before canning? This is all very new to me and I have never used a pressure canner before, so am reading everything and watching videos.

Also - is it really necessary to take the gauge in for testing on a new canner?

 

[nicklebleu]

I was going to do my bacon with the paper technique, then I found a guy demonstrating his result with this method. The bacon came out way too shredded. Then I found another blog post about just raw-packing it for practical purposes, the problem being that the bacon takes a wrinkly shape that makes it hard for your standard bacon strips to be cooked when it comes out.

So I rolled two big slices of bacon and raw packed like 6 rollies per jar and canned it. It stayed rolled by the time it was done processing.

My pressure canner is on the way and I have been catching up on the posts as well as reading books on canning. A book I have advises packing cold raw meat loosely and then exhausting air by heating meat filled jars in a pot of hot water - cooking a slow boil until meat is medium done (or 170 degrees F). Only then putting in the canner to process. I am confused because from what others are doing, it seems that this is not necessary because the pressure canner will cook the meat.

Is the book incorrect, or is it really better to cook most meats slightly before canning? This is all very new to me and I have never used a pressure canner before, so am reading everything and watching videos.

Also - is it really necessary to take the gauge in for testing on a new canner?

I think both methods are ok. I have done both raw packing and pre-cooked. Of course raw packing is faster, but pre-cooked slightly decreases bulk, so you can pack more into a single jar. It is important with both methods to vent air before pressurizing the jars for around 10 minutes to avoid having air pockets in the can.

I usually pan-fry the meat a bit before putting them into the canner, which I think improves the flavour of the meat.

Either way it is good practice to cook the meat when opening the preserved jars before eating it, which just adds another layer of protection against botulism, as the toxin is heat-labile and is destroyed by temperatures over 80 deg C.

Hope that helps.

 

[anart]

My pressure canner is on the way and I have been catching up on the posts as well as reading books on canning. A book I have advises packing cold raw meat loosely and then exhausting air by heating meat filled jars in a pot of hot water - cooking a slow boil until meat is medium done (or 170 degrees F). Only then putting in the canner to process. I am confused because from what others are doing, it seems that this is not necessary because the pressure canner will cook the meat.

Is the book incorrect, or is it really better to cook most meats slightly before canning? This is all very new to me and I have never used a pressure canner before, so am reading everything and watching videos.

I think that's just complicating things. We've been raw packing with salt and pepper and that's it. The canning process itself cooks the meat just fine. I'm also not sure why pockets of air in the meat would make any difference at all since, once again, the 90 minutes canning at 10 PSI is more than sufficient to cook the meat and kill bacteria, so why would pockets of air matter? I might be missing something big on that one, so, if I am, let me know.

Also - is it really necessary to take the gauge in for testing on a new canner?

Not to my knowledge.

 

[Gaby]

For practical purposes, I just raw pack everything right to the very top and over-process if necessary. My first batch shrank by a few inches due to overprocessing, so now I'm stuffing the jars to the very top and stick to the recommended timings and so far, no jar has broken. All of them have sealed and their has been no spillage.

It cooks the meat just fine and even though the food might still bubble as it comes out, according to the book, that is normal. It is due to the processing/heating and as it cools down, it seals all air pockets.