Canning meat/what Equipment is needed, how much canning is necessary
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Pashalis said:
No, the same level for any pot you use. About two inches of water.
Here are a few pictures of our recent canning activities for those who are worried about not putting water in the jars. As Laura explained, all you need to do is raw pack them, add a bit of salt and pepper, and that's it. Once they've cooled down, a nice layer of fat forms on top.
Hi all,
A (safe) pressure canner is out of my budget for now, and my family's wishful thinking is incredible in assuming that they can rely on a freezer when the economy collapses. So, they won't help me foot the bill for that. It's a shame since that meat the Chateau made looks delicious.
Instead, I'd like to try water bath canning some pork. To help improve the odds of not developing botulism during long term storage, I had an idea that might work. (And if it's already been said, sorry for repeating it!)
What if you soak pork in some very salty brine for a few days in the fridge, put it raw in sterilized mason jars, then cover the meat in %5 distilled vinegar and boil it for a few hours in the jar? Wouldn't the meat cook thoroughly in the jar during the boiling process? Then, when you'd need to use it, you'd blanch it to make it more palatable.
On the canning pages I've looked at, people seem to only worry about the pH being below 4.5, and if it's not, you need the pressure canner. Since botulism needs water to live, I don't think you'd have to worry about the fat rising to the top carrying any bacteria.
Thanks for any feedback. :)
A (safe) pressure canner is out of my budget for now, and my family's wishful thinking is incredible in assuming that they can rely on a freezer when the economy collapses. So, they won't help me foot the bill for that. It's a shame since that meat the Chateau made looks delicious.
Instead, I'd like to try water bath canning some pork. To help improve the odds of not developing botulism during long term storage, I had an idea that might work. (And if it's already been said, sorry for repeating it!)
What if you soak pork in some very salty brine for a few days in the fridge, put it raw in sterilized mason jars, then cover the meat in %5 distilled vinegar and boil it for a few hours in the jar? Wouldn't the meat cook thoroughly in the jar during the boiling process? Then, when you'd need to use it, you'd blanch it to make it more palatable.
On the canning pages I've looked at, people seem to only worry about the pH being below 4.5, and if it's not, you need the pressure canner. Since botulism needs water to live, I don't think you'd have to worry about the fat rising to the top carrying any bacteria.
Thanks for any feedback. :)
zlyja said:
The survival of bacteria (especially Botulinum) is minimized with increased salt concentration, lower pH value (vinegar, citric acid, ascorbic acid), higher sterilization temperature and longer sterilization time. You can adjust all those parameters depending on what equipment you have or what 'recipe' you use. Botulinum is anaerobic, so a fat layer at the top won't help in this case. The Botulinum toxin (a complex protein) denaturates (breaks down) in heat, so boiling any conserved food thoroughly before eating is a good safety measure.
If you dry beef, you don't have to worry about growth of bacteria, but more about the growth of fungi. Most of the fungi are aerobic, so you could seal the dried meat in plastic to protect it against moisture and oxygen, e.g. with a vacuum sealer.
Yes, as others have pointed out, you CAN do meat in a boiling bath, you just have to do it longer. We do it 3 hours in our regular pressure cooker when we have a couple extra jars that don't fit in the big canner. I've heard that 5 hours is right for a big boiling bath canner. If you live in a place where you can do it outside (we do it with a gas ring and propane/butane tank), you could use a clean 55 gallon drum and get a LOT of quart jars in there! Just get a good gas ring that is a bit more than a camp stove because you gotta boil a lot of water, or set the drum on some kind of stand where you can build a fire under it and keep it going hot for the required time. It has to BOIL that whole time!!! So the timing does not start until it comes to a full, bubbling boil.
For those who lives in Europe, i found this french site who imports pressure canner.
http://www.conserve-autoclave-et-botulisme.com/
http://www.conserve-autoclave-et-botulisme.com/
Laura said:
Could you tell me how much boiling water you were using for the regular pressure cooker? Should water cover let´s say about half of the tins? I couldn´t find anything in google where only canner cookers are mentioned. Right now, I can´t afford one, although I´ll buy one as soon as my economic situation allows it -maybe I´m too optimist here- because at the long run the investment is worth it for sure. Also, I saw some canning cookers at a very low price in google, about 150 Euros or even less if I recall right, but don´t know if quality and security system are safe enough. I don´t want to put the health of anybody at risk. Does anybody know about its safety and why there is such a difference in the price?
Laura,
How exactly do you preserve liver paté? In pressure cooker too?
Interesting concept ...
How exactly do you preserve liver paté? In pressure cooker too?
Interesting concept ...
For canning, only put about 3 inches of water in the pressure cooker or canner.
We can the pate in the pressure canner since it is meat.
The pate is made by getting a whole load of pork livers chopped up with some other really cheap fatty part of the pork, then we chop up a bunch of bacon and mix so it is about 5 to 1 pork liver mix to bacon, chop up onions and a little garlic, and cook all that together in a big pot until it is lightly done, onions cooked. Of course, salt and pepper is added. Then some seasoning which consists of nutmeg, I think (Ailen and Andromeda will have to speak about that when they get a minute). Extra lard (freshly rendered) is added, and the whole thing is put through the food processor and then poured into a big bowl. It is kind of sloppy at that point because the lard is very liquid. Then it is tested for taste, adjusted, and then spooned into jars, rims cleaned carfully, seals put on, lids tightened, and put in the canner for processing.
This stuff is so fantastically delicious... When we open a jar, we often take a bunch out and mix it with even more fresh lard to make it even fattier as a way of getting more fat palatably. It is divine on a lettuce leaf rolled up, glopped on about anything else you eat, or straight out of the jar with a fork!
We can the pate in the pressure canner since it is meat.
The pate is made by getting a whole load of pork livers chopped up with some other really cheap fatty part of the pork, then we chop up a bunch of bacon and mix so it is about 5 to 1 pork liver mix to bacon, chop up onions and a little garlic, and cook all that together in a big pot until it is lightly done, onions cooked. Of course, salt and pepper is added. Then some seasoning which consists of nutmeg, I think (Ailen and Andromeda will have to speak about that when they get a minute). Extra lard (freshly rendered) is added, and the whole thing is put through the food processor and then poured into a big bowl. It is kind of sloppy at that point because the lard is very liquid. Then it is tested for taste, adjusted, and then spooned into jars, rims cleaned carfully, seals put on, lids tightened, and put in the canner for processing.
This stuff is so fantastically delicious... When we open a jar, we often take a bunch out and mix it with even more fresh lard to make it even fattier as a way of getting more fat palatably. It is divine on a lettuce leaf rolled up, glopped on about anything else you eat, or straight out of the jar with a fork!
cholas
Dagobah Resident
After searching around I found a Presto 23qt canner within the country but the price(over 350usd!) I thought to be ridiculous. Not even sure it was new.
Luckily a friend is driving down from the states soon and though his car is small, I think he has room for an All-American 10qt.
Is this too small? It says 7pts or 4qts per go, maybe this is too inefficient? We don't have a huge amount of time on our hands atm. It doesn't sound as though the 15qt is much bigger... should I bribe the driver?
Ebay has both, used and for a pretty good price. Used should be fine right?
Still looking for a reasonably-priced source for the jars.
Luckily a friend is driving down from the states soon and though his car is small, I think he has room for an All-American 10qt.
Is this too small? It says 7pts or 4qts per go, maybe this is too inefficient? We don't have a huge amount of time on our hands atm. It doesn't sound as though the 15qt is much bigger... should I bribe the driver?
Ebay has both, used and for a pretty good price. Used should be fine right?Still looking for a reasonably-priced source for the jars.
Laura said:
Thanks for the recipe!
i love paté and have made a lot in the past, but always put it in the freezer.
As a little aside, to spice up the taste I usually add dried currents soaked in verjus for a day or so. Gives an acidic-sweet taste to it. Classically there is also some spirits added - which I sometimes do. I think that after pressure-canning all traces of alcohol should be gone and the taste of the spirit in question still present (used cognac in the past, which I got as a present, but don't use at all).
