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

[Konstantin]

I'm not sure, my guess would be that it helps preserve it, I just had a quick look online and this article says:



There's also the added bonus of having the extra fat. When times are tough and you need to eat canned food you'll be getting fat along with protein.

I did the same as Yupo- either washed them in hot water and dish soap or put them in the dishwasher.

Add that to the grease, which isn’t a great environment for bacteria growth either, and you’ve got a decent preservation method. The fat essentially seals out the bacteria, much like waxing your jellies.

But recently, I heard about meat being preserved in just lard. Lard has no salt or other chemicals in it – just fat. Specifically, pork fat.

So is there some magic quality to this that makes it keep meat from going bad? Can you preserve meat in simple lard? If so, that could be great for those of us who are worried about survival when SHTF.

The place where I live and the whole Balkan peninsula, in general, was always a place where people worked on their land and have their animals. The first electric bulb was on for the first time in 1909 in Macedonia.
A Balkan peninsula is a place with a lot of wars also. So the true electrification started after the WW2

People here know a lot of methods to preserve their food without refrigerators for a long time. Preserving food in lard is one of them.
Until recently and a lot of people even in present times are preserving their meat in lard.
They just put meat in a big container, put salt, then they use melted animal fat and they pour over the meat until the meat is submerged in liquid fat. When fat cools and solidifies, the meat is perfectly sealed inside the fat.

 

[naorma]

Did you buy lard separately and put it on the beef ?

Yes, I always use lard for cooking so I have it at home and put it on the beef. In German we say Schmalz, this is simple the pure fat from porks/swine. I am not quite sure whether lard does not mean something different in English so I give all the translations I found on dict.leo.org
�

lard		das Schmalz Pl.
			schmaltz auch: schmalz [ugs.] jiddisch			der Schmalz [ugs.] - etwas Sentimentales
			shortening - lard for baking [KULIN.]		das Schmalz Pl.
			corniness

I always put the twist-off glasses in the oven and heat them to about 120° C and let them there until I see it making bubbles which takes some hours normally.

 

[Jenn]

Yes, there is a possibility but it is very unlikely that it will happen. The jars are boiled at 100 C for 3 to 4 hours.
After all, even if Clostridium botulinum develops in the food, the botulinum toxin is easily destroyed by even lower temperatures.
Here is what I found:




Nobody will eat that meat straight from the jar. It is semi-cooked or coked meat and in 15 minutes, any dish with meat can be prepared with it.
So, before consumption, it will be coked for another 10-15-20 minutes. Even if botulinum toxin is present, it will be deactivated and meat will be safe for eating.

The content in the jars is clear. It is not muddy inside. When opened, if there is some unusual smell, it will be discarded into the trash.
So, in the end, I am not worried that something like botulism can happen.

Thank you for pointing out because we must be sure that the canned food is safe for consumption.

Well, that's good to know in case my canner ever breaks down, thanks for sharing.

 

[Yupo]

Classico sauces come in various sizes of mason jars with a one piece lid. Some of the jars take a standard lid and some take a smaller lid. I save those jars (and lids) anyway, if the seals look good. I'm going through some older food stocks in the moving process and finding that some of these one piece lids sealed a bit too well! I tried everything to open the jars, finally resorted to a swing-away can opener to cut into the lids, break the vacuum and open the jars. Contents were good.
Lids and jars were free, anyway. Not USDA approved, so consider as entertainment purposes only.
Couple of days ago I was at my local Walmart. No canners, pressure cookers, jars, canning supplies at all on the shelf. Manager had no idea when stock would be back in, a situation I've never encountered before. Never seen a bare section like that there before. I guess word is getting out to brace for a storm. Also missing were food sealers and dehydrators. I've also heard freezers are suddenly in short supply, but I did not look to see.

 

[Yupo]

I don't know of I mentioned it, but pouches are available for canning. They are not cheap or reusable, but neither are they fragile. The foods store (and pack) very easily. They come in many sizes. Tuna, pet foods and some convenience foods are sold in these pouches.
Retort pouches. You'll need a vacuum sealer for the pouches.

 

[Eboard10]

Asking for help to find jars in Europe. So far, I have used the twist-off ones from German supplier Flaschenbauer. They have worked fine for me but for the next batch I would like to try the canning jars with 2-piece lids so I was wondering if anyone based in Europe knows where to buy them at a good price? Couldn't find them on Flaschenbauer and the ones for sale in a store nearby are very expensive.

 

[Alana]

Asking for help to find jars in Europe. So far, I have used the twist-off ones from German supplier Flaschenbauer. They have worked fine for me but for the next batch I would like to try the canning jars with 2-piece lids so I was wondering if anyone based in Europe knows where to buy them at a good price? Couldn't find them on Flaschenbauer and the ones for sale in a store nearby are very expensive.

If you mean something like this:

https://www.amazon.fr/Parfait-1659603-Familia-Terrines-Transparent/dp/B00381IJJM?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1

in France you can get them locally at Comai or Leclerc. I bought a pack of 6 1L recently from Leclerc, for 16-17 euros.

Do you have these stores close to you?

 

[Eboard10]

in France you can get them locally at Comai or Leclerc. I bought a pack of 6 1L recently from Leclerc, for 16-17 euro

Thanks! That's exactly what I was looking for. I ended up going to a local Leclerc store in France and found those jars at a very reasonable price of 14-15 euros for a pack of 6 so I bought a few of them to keep me occupied for some time.

 

[mugatea]

I am waiting for my canner to arrive from the States to the UK. Learning lots and watching loads of vids. It seems very much an American thing. It's so much pricier here than in the US, 12x1 litre jars cost me £33 so not that cheap. I've got 48 in total. I think Americans will do much better at coping should the SHTF since places like the UK we dont consider preserving anything except maybe bagging portions into a freezer.

I bought this cause realistically we cant just buy cans of spam to last, we have to think about sustainable, circulatory living, growing veg, getting meat, and canning what we cant use (in case of no freezer options) for later while keeping tinned processed foods as a backup emergency food . The thought of powdered soup and noodles for months would get me depressed so I'm gonna 'can' amazing foods that will motivate me be healthy & delicious. While thinking about this, I thought if I ever came across really delicious meals I could say "that's good enough to can".

So anyone got any great recipes "that's good enough to can"? So far I'm thinking Chilli and Irish strew.

 

[cinnamon]

I am waiting for my canner to arrive from the States to the UK. Learning lots and watching loads of vids. It seems very much an American thing. It's so much pricier here than in the US, 12x1 litre jars cost me £33 so not that cheap. I've got 48 in total. I think Americans will do much better at coping should the SHTF since places like the UK we dont consider preserving anything except maybe bagging portions into a freezer.

I bought this cause realistically we cant just buy cans of spam to last, we have to think about sustainable, circulatory living, growing veg, getting meat, and canning what we cant use (in case of no freezer options) for later while keeping tinned processed foods as a backup emergency food . The thought of powdered soup and noodles for months would get me depressed so I'm gonna 'can' amazing foods that will motivate me be healthy & delicious. While thinking about this, I thought if I ever came across really delicious meals I could say "that's good enough to can".

So anyone got any great recipes "that's good enough to can"? So far I'm thinking Chilli and Irish strew.

Got started with pressure canning because I was doing "SHTF prepping", but, uh, I don't think the cans are meant to be kept for too too long, the quality does degrade with time and food storage needs to be rotated. Now it's more of a thrift and quality thing - I have never seen canned anything in stores featuring grass fed beef or pastured pork, I've never seen a really thick meaty bolognese or chili for sale, the grocery store canned soups are almost all adulterated with wheat, dairy, vegetable oils, and/or soy, they add too much sugar to their cranberry sauce, so on and so forth... So, either I DIY it or I'm stuck with store bought quality/prices if I want a meal ready to enjoy.

This is the chili recipe I use:

Source: Grace’s Chili

3# (1.4 kg) ground beef
2 (8 oz/225 g) cans tomato sauce
2 (6 oz/170 g) cans tomato paste
2 sauce cans water
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (Ro-tel tomatoes)
1 medium onion, minced
¼ cup butter (½ stick)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) chili powder
2 tablespoons (30 ml) brown sugar
1 tablespoon (15 ml) Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons (10 ml) paprika
½ tablespoon (7.5 ml) black pepper
1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
1 teaspoon (5 ml) granulated garlic*
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) prepared brown mustard
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) sage
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) mace
Tabasco sauce to taste

*If you don’t have granulated garlic, use half as much garlic powder or twice as much finely-minced garlic or garlic flakes.

Brown ground meat thoroughly in a large, deep skillet, then add onions and saute until tender. Transfer to a large pot and add all other ingredients, stirring well after each addition. Simmer over low heat for one hour, stirring occasionally.

I assume a ratio of roughly 4.5lbs beef in chili to 6 pint size jars - after simmering for an hour, the chili is hot packed into the jars and pressure canned at 11-15 lbs pressure for 75 minutes. I usually replace the butter with either tallow or lard. Recommend knocking out 12 pint size cans at a time.

 

[mugatea]

That's a lot of canning. So is it best to actually have the chilli cooked before it's even canned? Thanks for the reply and recipe.

 

[cinnamon]

That's a lot of canning. So is it best to actually have the chilli cooked before it's even canned? Thanks for the reply and recipe.

My understanding is that "raw packing" ground beef is an issue because the ground meat can form chunks that are too large for pressure canning to adequately sterilize in a normal pressure can time. I prefer the flavor and texture from the meat being browned before it gets canned. Raw packing is an option for strips and cubes of meat though!

 

[iamthatis]

Botulism spores are only killed at temperatures above 120 deg C (250 deg F). While botulism is something that is quite rare, I still would advocate to be very careful with not adequately canned meat. There is no treatment for botulism, if you get it, you might end up on a ventilator for a few weeks until the disease has run its course.

While botulism toxin is destroyed at 85 deg C (185 deg F) after about 5 minutes, it is hard to judge if the meat inside has really reached that temperature. And if it has, it is by then for most cuts dry and hard.

If it was me, I probably would discard the non-pressure cooked meat and replace it with properly canned ones. Botulismus has not smell or taste, the meat still tastes perfectly ok.

Just my 2 cents.

So a quart of pressure-cooked meat boiled for 5 minutes at 85C nullifies the risk of botulism toxin? That's an important piece of information as I've start pressure canning meat. Just to clarify... 5 Minutes at 85C would be the minimum safety standard in order to reduce botulism poisoning?

 

[Andromeda]

From what I've gathered, quart sized jars of meat need to be pressure canned for a minimum of 90 min. (sometimes a little more) under the pressure indicated by the recipe for your altitude to kill any possible botulism spores. Either that or boiled (hot bath) for several hours. Because the seal can stay good for years without someone having observed the proper procedure, and because botulism doesn't necessarily smell or discolor the meat, if ever in any doubt, boil whatever it is for 10-15 minutes to neutralize any possible botulism toxins there may be. The toxins being much more sensitive to being destroyed by heat than the spores. It might be a little of an overkill in some cases, but it sounded like an easier and safer rule of thumb than measuring the temp and time if it ever comes to that.

 

[Ant22]

I'm planning to buy a pressure cooker in the next week or so to remove the risk of botulism spores surviving in my jars and I have 3 questions to seasoned canners here.

1. Not all pressure cookers are created equal: Pressure cookers that heat up to the required 120-130 C are around £500. The affordable ones have a limit of 100 degrees Celsius, I take it that's not enough - even though the food is cooked under pressure? It would be great to save money if possible.

2. Oven canning as an alternative? Some time ago someone mentioned oven canning to me and I've been wondering if this could be an alternative to buying an expensive pressure cooker? Does anyone know whether it is the temperature that kills off botulism spores? Or does the pressure generated by the pot have a role to play too?

It would not be a problem to reach the required 120-130 degrees Celsius and it seems to be a good alternative to buying a pressure cooker. But I found sources that say that dry heat (air in the oven) is different to wet heat (water) because water conducts heat better than air. And just because the temperature in the over reaches 130 degrees Celsius doesn't mean the temperature in the jar does too.

Here's a section from an example article I found about pressure cooking in an oven. I don't want to blindly trust random online sources so if anyone has reasons to think those concerns aren't accurate I'd love to hear your views:

1. Heat is a Concern​

The main reason most don’t support this type of canning is the temperature. When placing canned goods in the oven, the food doesn’t get hot enough to kill bacteria and mold spores. This leaves room for botulism to form – one of the most significant concerns of home canning.

When you cook a pot roast in the oven at 225°F, you must cook the roast for approximately 25 minutes per pound. As the time winds down, you insert the meat thermometer to make sure it’s done, and the roast will reach only 175°F when done.

This same theory works for oven canning. Though your oven is set for anywhere from 200-250°F, it doesn’t mean the food inside the jar will reach the same temperature.

There’s no guarantee the food will get hot enough for a long or consistent enough period to feel confident all bacteria or mold spores have been killed.

2. Dry Air vs. Moist Air​

When canning using the water bath canning method or pressure canning method, the food inside the jars get hot enough to kill mold and bacteria spores.

The reason is simply that these methods use moist heat instead of dry heat. Air isn’t a good conductor of heat. Which is why it isn’t effective at heating food in the oven thoroughly enough for it to be deemed safe across the board.


However, when canning with water, the heat is moist heat. It ensures the temperature in the canner reach greater heights.

Because there’s no pressure in the oven, even if you’re able to get the food inside the jar to boil it won’t get hotter than 212°F, not hot enough to declare the food safe.

3. Glass Safety Concerns​

Another safety concern of oven canning is the jars breaking in the oven. When jars are placed in the oven under higher temperatures, they may explode.

Not only can it harm you, it can also destroy your oven. If you haven’t been in the kitchen when a glass jar exploded under pressure, consider yourself lucky.

Glass jars have a way of shooting shards of glass many feet into the air and outward as well. Shards could easily harm those nearby and cause damage to the eyes, especially.

3. The this the one? To those of you who have a pressure cooker that goes over 100 degrees, does your cooker look more or less like this one? That's the one I'm considering buying and I want to make sure I'm buying the right thing: