Turgon said:My second go at it yielded some better results but with a new concern. the gauge went up to 10 PSI, and stayed there without ever going over or causing the pressure control to jiggle, so when I turned it off and tried to open it up afterward the metal-to-metal seal stayed stuck together and I can't get the lid off...
The instructions said to use a screwdriver to slowly pry it open, but instead I signed up for the canning forum Aragorn suggested earlier in the thread and it was suggested heating up the canner w/all the vents open which may loosen the hold/vacuum a bit. I just switched the stove off now and will try opening it before I go to sleep. Hopefully it works.
But either way, the entire batch of meat has to be thrown away :(
Edit: The advice I was given on the forum didn't work, but the screwdriver method was very effective in releasing the seal. It actually came off much easier than I expected.
anart said:Turgon, most of us leave the canner alone until the next day before we open it. How long did you wait before you tried to open it? Why would you think the batch of canned meat should be thrown away?
What else can I do with it other than put it in the freezer which is packed at the moment and periodically eat this batch. They seem to have sealed by testing the seals for any give when I push down on them, so there is definitely a vacuum, but I only pressure canned them at 10 PSI for about 40 minutes the 2nd time before I shut it off.canningforum said:The contents of the canner at this point should be tossed since they are no longer considered safe. I personally would toss jars and all since you may have a botulism issue since a form of vacuum may have been generated without achieving the killing temperature and time period.
furryfrog said:If your seal was good this time around I would think you are not getting enough heat from your burner/element? Do you still have steam escaping from your seal?
furryfrog said:It may be a good idea to do a test without meat and jars in your canner until all the bugs are sorted out.
Turgon said:What else can I do with it other than put it in the freezer which is packed at the moment and periodically eat this batch. They seem to have sealed by testing the seals for any give when I push down on them, so there is definitely a vacuum, but I only pressure canned them at 10 PSI for about 40 minutes the 2nd time before I shut it off.
fabric said:Turgon said:What else can I do with it other than put it in the freezer which is packed at the moment and periodically eat this batch. They seem to have sealed by testing the seals for any give when I push down on them, so there is definitely a vacuum, but I only pressure canned them at 10 PSI for about 40 minutes the 2nd time before I shut it off.
Hey, I'm wondering, did you only can that batch for 40 minutes or was that 40 minutes more after canning at 90 minutes at 10PSI? I think if when you were able to finally get the lid off, if you were able to maintain the 90min cook time at the right pressure, and the seals looked good, it might have been okay. From what I have read the problem is when at any point in the process you go below the recommended pressure, then you have to start the clock again.
hesperides said:Thank you for your advice, Nickebleu. The thing is I thought once food was frozen, you couldn´t freeze it again afterwards. Or is it possible once the food has been cooked? That would be greet news!
"Refreezing
Once food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing. After cooking raw foods which were previously frozen, it is safe to freeze the cooked foods. If previously cooked foods are thawed in the refrigerator, you may refreeze the unused portion. Freeze leftovers within 3-4 days. Do not refreeze any foods left outside the refrigerator longer than 2 hours; 1 hour in temperatures above 90 °F. "
Here's the link to the complete article on freezing
_http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FactSheets/Focus_On_Freezing/index.asp
Laura said:We've also been rendering the piles of fat we take off our very fatty pig halves and canning it. Just cut it up in chunks, cook on slow heat for several hours until all the fat is rendered out, pour in canning jars, process in a boiling bath for about 25 minutes. Wash the outside of the jars (some fat tends to leak out and make them greasy during processing) check the seals, and store in a cool, dark place with the rest of the canned stuff. We put the jars in boxes packed around with wadded newspapers.
dugdeep said:Well, I just went through a disasterous canning session that left me with only half of the bone broth I'd started with :( The first problem happened when I tried to warm up some bone broth I'd had in the fridge in order to transfer it to the jars to be canned. I had it in a glass pitcher (as I usually do) and put it into a water bath on the stove to try and heat it gently to melt down the gel and pour it into the jars. I obvioulsy wasn't gentle enough with the heating, though, because the pitcher cracked and the whole bottom fell out of it, spilling the broth into the water bath. Grrr
I decided I didn't want to waste the broth so I set it on to boil until it reduced to about the amount of stock I started with. Of course, this was less than ideal since the water bath had been tap water, but I figured in an emergency situation where I'd need canned broth, I probably wouldn't be so picky. I really didn't want to waste it.
Hi Dugdeep, I was wondering if you made sure your canning jars were hot that you poured the broth into.dugdeep said:But then, upon canning, I ended up with 2 (!) cracked jars. I don't really get what went wrong there. Oddly enough, I've done several canning sessions now, and this is my first broken jar.
Oh well. Can't really say there was a lesson there, because I'm pretty clueless as to why this canning session seemed doomed from the getgo. I suppose it might have been the difference in temperature in both cases, but it's hard to say.