Canning meat/what Equipment is needed, how much canning is necessary
- Thread starter Cosmos
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So yesterday I canned some butter. I'll quickly share my experience as I have a question about the end result.
As this was my first time, I only canned 6 350ml jars, a bit smaller than a pint-sized one. Instead of heating up the butter in order to pour it into the jars, I left it at room temperature overnight and used a spatula to put the softened butter inside.
While it does save some time, it can get messy as I had to clean the rims of the jars thoroughly before placing the lids on top. I might try heating it up next time.
Once done, I placed the jars inside the pressure canner. One concern here I didn't think about earlier is that the jars are small enough that when placed inside the canner, the water level rises up to the height of the lids.
Before closing the canner, I removed a bit of water so that it didn't reach the height of the lids, but I wonder if some water may have entered the jars when I first placed them inside?
When it comes to timing, pint-sized jars are generally canned for 75 min with meats. While these are slightly smaller, I kept to that timing to be on the safe size. Here's a picture of the jars just out of the canner. As you can see, there's a white layer at the bottom which comes from the solids of the butter.
Once they had cooled off a bit, I went on to shake the jars every 15-20min for about 5 hours to make sure the solids and liquids mixed well for the butter to be homogenous. Here's the final result.
Now the jars seem to be properly sealed. However, I noticed quite a few small brownish spots inside which were already present when I picked them out of the canner.
Is it normal to have these spots or is it a sign of something wrong in the canning process?
As this was my first time, I only canned 6 350ml jars, a bit smaller than a pint-sized one. Instead of heating up the butter in order to pour it into the jars, I left it at room temperature overnight and used a spatula to put the softened butter inside.
While it does save some time, it can get messy as I had to clean the rims of the jars thoroughly before placing the lids on top. I might try heating it up next time.
Once done, I placed the jars inside the pressure canner. One concern here I didn't think about earlier is that the jars are small enough that when placed inside the canner, the water level rises up to the height of the lids.
Before closing the canner, I removed a bit of water so that it didn't reach the height of the lids, but I wonder if some water may have entered the jars when I first placed them inside?
When it comes to timing, pint-sized jars are generally canned for 75 min with meats. While these are slightly smaller, I kept to that timing to be on the safe size. Here's a picture of the jars just out of the canner. As you can see, there's a white layer at the bottom which comes from the solids of the butter.
Once they had cooled off a bit, I went on to shake the jars every 15-20min for about 5 hours to make sure the solids and liquids mixed well for the butter to be homogenous. Here's the final result.
Now the jars seem to be properly sealed. However, I noticed quite a few small brownish spots inside which were already present when I picked them out of the canner.
Is it normal to have these spots or is it a sign of something wrong in the canning process?
I can't see clearly what the brown spots are, but maybe they are also parts of the milk solids?
I haven't done butter yet though, so others might have better a better guess. But it looks good overall, bravo!
Nice work Eboard!
Don't worry too much about the brown spots. That is due to the heating of the solids, just same as if you were browning butter in a frying pan. It might affect the taste a bit, but not in an unpleasant way. For the next batch, maybe take five minutes off the time? They are small jars which heat up quickly. Another idea would be to raise the jars up a bit further from the bottom of the canning pot. I use two bases when canning, or maybe you can find something to put under the rack that came with your canner.
Did you have a guide for the process, and what did it say?
Don't worry too much about the brown spots. That is due to the heating of the solids, just same as if you were browning butter in a frying pan. It might affect the taste a bit, but not in an unpleasant way. For the next batch, maybe take five minutes off the time? They are small jars which heat up quickly. Another idea would be to raise the jars up a bit further from the bottom of the canning pot. I use two bases when canning, or maybe you can find something to put under the rack that came with your canner.
Did you have a guide for the process, and what did it say?
That's good to know, thank you! I couldn't find anything about canning butter or other fats in the instructions manual so I just went with the standard canning process for meats.
Next time I will try taking off 5 minutes from the processing time and stacking two sets of jars with the extra rack to see if there's a difference between the top and the bottom jars.
There are videos around about canning butter. They will all have disclaimers that this is what the producer does, but because the USDA has no guidelines, they are making no claims, etc. Just keep everything super-clean, and you should have no problems.
Here's a few to get you started:
Here's a few to get you started:
mugatea
Jedi Master
I've now canned 32 x 1lt jars. Got two jars packed with sausages I got cheap today 'canning' now. Think that's enough for now and I'll try some pickling. I also have got a veg garden so want to try doing something with fruits, jams as well as pickling my own veg later in the year.; So far canning is surprisingly easy. I'm gonna basically just can meat from now on and not waste storage space and on veg as it stores reasonably well, esp potatoes, onions, garlic etc. Plus it's expensive. I only know 1 person who is sort of prepping. Scotland is in big trouble if/when there are food shortages.
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Good job MaT!
The thing about adding vinegar is to increase the acid content, which keeps microbial growth down. You'll come across canning recipes for tomatoes that recommend extra vinegar or citric acid, because the hybrids have a lower acid content than the heirlooms. But it never hurts to add some anyway. The higher acid content makes a water bath a safe processing method, and won't turn your veggies to mush. Your canning manual may have some pickling recipes. They are tested and should be fine. Sometimes recipes will specify the vinegar strength you need. In the States we can sometimes get 'pickling vinegar' which is slightly stronger than 'household vinegar' (7% vs 5%), but I believe 5% should be enough. Apple cider vinegar will add its own flavor, so that will figure into whether or not you use it vs. white vinegar.
On a side note, some older pickle recipes call for adding alum which helps keep them crisp, but it is has aluminum as part of the chemical, so yeah, no.
I believe there are better substitutes, but I haven't done much pickling so I haven't researched it. The interwebs are your friend!
So I bought that pressure cooker and I must say that the process is easier than I thought. After getting used to it, you can tell if the heat needs to be lowered by hissing sound coming from the weighted gauge. A 10 liter one from the link is also perfect for my small family's needs (I use 0.5-liter jars to not waste any food after opening) and compatible with my (also small) induction stove. I must say, that I really enjoy the process of preparing the food.
pork neck with tomatoes
mugatea
Jedi Master
Looks awesome, better than mine. A nice thick layer of fat. I'm canning drumsticks and diced beef as I write this. I'm using the two-part lids, With those lids you are using can you tell if there is a vacuum? Is the lid sucked down in middle? Did they all seal? I'm asking cause two-part lids are expensive and one use only.
Goemon_
The Living Force
I use those kind of lids. They generaly all seal well. If I remember well, I had a few that didn't sealed well in the beginning, and I think the problem was solved by thightening the lid a bit more than for the two-part lids.
mugatea
Jedi Master
Thank you! Are they special lids with a name or just standard jar lids?
Goemon_
The Living Force
They are from a german website. I provided the link in previous posts. No brand's name is provided, OSIT.
To be honest, the jars were quite cheap, and the lids aren't as elastic to be able to visually distinguish if there is a vacuum or not. I'm just not turning them tight before the canning process, and I try to open the jar after the cool-down. With those that I did recently, I'm unable to do that without using a knife, so I guess the jars are OK
