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

liam1310 said:
It was delicious, like it was cooked that day but nicer since it was sitting in the jar that long. I prefer the tase of canned meat, over oven cooked. Especially pork
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Yes, it does taste really good@liam1310. I was wondering how durable the Prestos were. Great that the seal lasts longer than I thought it would. The best of course are the All-American, but I'm happy with the Presto.
isparnid said:
I use the Presto pressure canner three pieces regulator weight part number 50332 on a Presto 23 QT. Once the right setting has been found (on an induction cooker), there is no need to touch it. I haven't tried gas.
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And that seems to be the solution to my biggest problem. I have an induction stove so I was a bit puzzled by the fluctuating pressure on the gauge. Thanks for the info on the 3 piece weight@isparnid.
 
I bought a canner years ago when this thread first opened up and I really enjoyed the process. What I didn't realise at the time was that storing the canned meat in a tropical climate would prove problematic and most of the 50 or so jars are still sitting in my shed as emergency dog food. Coupled by the fact that the canned meat looks un-appetising so whenever I suggested we try some everyone in my household opted for fresh meat from the farm instead. The meat I had canned is waaaaay past its due date now and probably poses more danger to our bellies than sustenance but I have the skills and equipment and like I said, the process is enjoyable since I love being in the kitchen and learning new things anyways.

I feel like the time has come to revisit canning as we watch meat prices beginning to take off so I have ordered a freezer full of locally sourced beef and will resume canning again this week.

I have decided this time round I will stock the canned meat under my bed instead of in the shed. At least we generally have the air con on at night and even during the day the house never warms up as much as it does outside.

I'm also opting to make bolognaise meat sauce and rogan josh instead of just packing the meat straight into the jars. It will be a little more tedious but I'm more confident my family will be happy to eat the product if it's palatable straight from the jar (I realise in emergency palatability won't be the issue) and since the jars need to be eaten within a certain time and the future is still open but seems to be getting more dire the plan is to build up a decent store and rotate it into our family meals now rather than put it aside as a just in case.

I'm interested to know who else on the forum is still canning or has taken it up lately and what are your experiences?
 
I'm curious: Which canners work on induction stoves? I'm not aware of any stainless steel canners.
 
KTC said:
Coupled by the fact that the canned meat looks un-appetising so whenever I suggested we try some everyone in my household opted for fresh meat from the farm instead.
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Yes, this can be a problem, especially when having to do "plain" canning to take different food sensitivities into consideration. I've canned mostly just with pepper along with the required salt, so that the product isn't completely tasteless, but we've also made sure to have different seasonings such as mild curry powder, and those needed to give an Italian or Mexican flavour around. There's a lot of good stew recipes out there too. With the meat already cooked, it's almost like fast food!
 
Yeah, the meat can look unappetizing next to the glass. My family and the few friends that see it think it looks gross, but all that have tasted it are hooked. Very tender. I use salt, pepper and a piece of a bay leaf in each jar.
I'm planning to move house around the holidays. I want to put in some small (discreet/quiet) meat production at the new place, maybe squab, quail, rabbit. Seems like these would not take too much room or investment to get going. They would also be fairly easy to process and suitable good for canning. People say tilapia are easy to raise, too. One step at a time.
Theoretically, properly canned goods would be safe to eat for a very long time. Best stored in a dark place.
Mylar bubble wrap sheeting is available. This could be used to make tubes/sleeves to protect food jars 3 ways:
  • impact protection from falls
  • light protection
  • (some) thermal protection
I wish silicone rings were available for the reusable lids, as I can taste the red rubber ones.

Not USDA approved, but I use salsa and other jars all the time for canning. My mom had a Pace brand salsa habit, saved her jars for me. The lids last for 4 canning cycles, typically (so far). The shape is odd, so these I use mainly for soups, stews and such.

Off topic, but I'm thinking to start some dry-canning of staples into large glass jars. Had some raccoons get into some of my plastic buckets about 6 months ago. For this, I won't waste good (new seal) lids. I'll use older lids and keep the rings on. That should be enough to keep any bugs out.
 
Yupo said:
I'm curious: Which canners work on induction stoves? I'm not aware of any stainless steel canners.
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I use Presto 01784 23-Quart Induction Compatible Pressure Canner. Always aluminium but the bottom is stainless steel, necessary for induction stoves.
 
"I wish silicone rings were available for the reusable lids, as I can taste the red rubber ones."

I just saw some silicone rings on Amazon, made for sealing the plastic lids. I ordered some to try with the tattler reusable lids, both budget and premium. They are all returnable. I might get lucky. They are not for this purpose, but that just means (possibly) that they are not USDA tested/approved. I will report back as to success vs failure.
Curious: Does anyone else have an issue with tasting the red rubber rings in food?
 
I really like this and I'm going to give it a try. Pemmican was mentioned in this thread last year and here's more info on that. I like it because it can have a very long shelf life, if stored properly, compared to canning your meat. Both would be good to have. The meat needs to be dehydrated at 120 F. then ground into powder. Rendered fat is mixed in then formed into the shape you prefer and allowed to cool. Sounds like the perfect combo! Here it's placed in muffin tins and stored in Mason jars with an O2 absorber. He says an adult only needs one muffin a day since the nutrition is dense. You can add extras like berries, nuts, maple syrup but that will cut down on the shelf life.


Donald Porta,

Pemmican is a Native American food that is extremely nutritious, compact, easy to make and long storage life. A complete meal in itself. Let me review the entire process. buy grass-fed tallow here; https://amzn.to/2ND1lvQ buy food saver vacuum lids here; https://amzn.to/2BOaNtW buy food saver here; https://amzn.to/2Vq8HXY
 
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Yupo said:
"I wish silicone rings were available for the reusable lids, as I can taste the red rubber ones."

I just saw some silicone rings on Amazon, made for sealing the plastic lids. I ordered some to try with the tattler reusable lids, both budget and premium. They are all returnable. I might get lucky. They are not for this purpose, but that just means (possibly) that they are not USDA tested/approved. I will report back as to success vs failure.
Curious: Does anyone else have an issue with tasting the red rubber rings in food?
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My silicone rings arrived. The expensive and budget ones appear to be identical in quality. I'm sad to say that they are just as advertised, and not made for pressure canning. I fiddled with them a bit, stretching them (easy!) to go around the groove on the Tattler lids, but then the rings would not fit over the jars. There is the option to carefully trim the inside or the outside curve or the lids, but that would negate the option of returning them. Then I got the bright idea of just setting them under old metal lids (which I almost never throw away) which I use for general dry storage in jars. Bingo???? Some of these have very slight dents and might not make good seals. I've reused such canning lids in the past with little problem. The silicone rings are fairly thick and more cushy than the red rubber ones, so possibly more forgiving.
Plan is to try a few jars of something cheap in a small pressure cooker, maybe some pre-cooked rice, just to see if they make a decent seal with regular metal lids, both new and gently used. Will report back soon. If there is success, this could be a game changer for lids with very minimal damage. Obviously, one would have to keep an eye on seals.

I apologize in advance for violating USDA standards. I'm only sharing, not recommending. I'm hyper-frugal and love to experiment. Hate being told 'You can't do that'.
 
Rather than potentially waste some rice, you might try canning some water. I've been watching vids on the reusable rings, and usually the gal will can water just to get the hang of the differences from normal lids. Once they got the techniques down of how much to tighten the bands before and after, then they went for food. One gal did something sloppy (tomato sauce) to test how well the rings did against something like that. Apparently it takes a little time to adjust from what we're accustomed to doing with regular lids. Happy experimenting!
 
herondancer said:
Rather than potentially waste some rice, you might try canning some water. I've been watching vids on the reusable rings, and usually the gal will can water just to get the hang of the differences from normal lids. Once they got the techniques down of how much to tighten the bands before and after, then they went for food. One gal did something sloppy (tomato sauce) to test how well the rings did against something like that. Apparently it takes a little time to adjust from what we're accustomed to doing with regular lids. Happy experimenting!
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Good idea. Thanks for the tip.
 
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