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

[herondancer]

Lard has a long shelf life so when sealed should last a very long time.

Yep. When they are well sealed fats have a very long shelf life. The trick is to make sure you've filtered the fat well enough to get all the protein out of it as best you can. I've even seen some youtubers mention that if their jars are hot enough, the sealers warm enough (and dry, super important), that the jars should seal just from the lard/tallow cooling off.

That makes me a little nervous, so I still processed them in a water bath for 20-30 min. or so

This gal does just use heat for the seal, but she hits all the points on rendering, making sure all the moisture is driven off (and what that looks like), keeping the jars hot, etc. It's a really good outline of the process.

 

[cassandra]

Hi cassandra. I've not canned lard exactly but what I did was get suet from the butcher. I cut into cubes and rendered down under very low heat until totally melted in a large saucepan
Whilst this was going on I heated the jars in the oven so they could take the hot fat.
I put my lids and rings on and returned them to the oven for about 5mins just so the lids could warm up.
Taking the jars out and left them for 48 hrs to fully cool. All lids sealed as they cooled.
Lard has a long shelf life so when sealed should last a very long time. I can't see the need for a canner but I've also not seen any do's or don'ts on Y-tube or anywhere else with regards to lard storage.
Hope this helps.

Thank you! I'll give this a try.

 

[Tuatha de Danaan]

This post is indirectly about canning,

Hi Joan, Interesting finds. I'll do a search on those and see if they crop up on Supermarkets here in the UK. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[Tuatha de Danaan]

This gal does just use heat for the seal

Yes, I've watched her a few times. She has some very good ideas.

 

[Persephone]

I got a half a pig few weeks back and i got 20 pound uncooked and unsmoked ham in it. All the video's I saw for ham canning are for cooked or smoked. Is it possible to can the ham without pre-cooking? any experience or suggestions?

I canned knuckles of jam without pre-cooking filling the gap with fat (in the past, here in France they used to do that). It tastes quite good and lasts for a long time (3 years they told me). They need about 3 hours of pressure can.

 

[Eboard10]

Before starting to use my pressure canner, I was hoping I could get some feedback on the jar lids I bought.
Here's the link to the German site where I got the lids. It includes the following description:

Twist-Off closure 82 mm blue-white check pattern sterile
- Muzzle type: Twist-off muzzle (goes with the jars I bought)
- Application: pasteurisation, sterilisation

Are these lids ok for pressure canning? If so, when placing the jars in the canner should the lids be closed tightly?

 

[herondancer]

If so, when placing the jars in the canner should the lids be closed tightly?

The lids look fine, just like those for commercial canning for pickles and such.

I've never used that sort, but when canning with lid-and-ring type lids, you tighten them firmly, then back them off about an 1/8 of a turn. It keeps the seal in contact with the jar rim, but allows the air in the jar to vent under pressure. As the jar cools, a good seal should develop.

Hope that helps. Did the manufacturer of the lids included any tips?

 

[Eboard10]

The lids look fine, just like those for commercial canning for pickles and such.

I've never used that sort, but when canning with lid-and-ring type lids, you tighten them firmly, then back them off about an 1/8 of a turn. It keeps the seal in contact with the jar rim, but allows the air in the jar to vent under pressure. As the jar cools, a good seal should develop.

Hope that helps. Did the manufacturer of the lids included any tips?

Thank you! No, there were no instructions or tips from the manufacturer but I will try them as it's all I have at the moment.

I will tighten them firmly enough without overdoing it and see how it goes.

 

[Eboard10]

So yesterday I finally got around to canning meat. I followed the instructions for my induction compatible pressure canner and raw-packed some beef. I was quite hesitant to try it being afraid that I would screw up but once I got to do it, it actually ended up being relatively simple when following the steps indicated in the manual.

One thing I had not expected is the degree to which I had to reduce the temperature throughout the 90 minutes processing time from medium-high to medium-low to keep the pressure stable at 11 fps so it definitely requires observing the pressure gauge the whole time.

I will open one of the jars next week before my next canning session just to be sure that the meat is edible.

 

[Konstantin]

Since I can't get any pressure cooker where I live, I found a way of canning meat without it and I think it is pretty sucessfull. I just have to put some raw cut pork meat into a jar, put some salt, pepper and any other herbs as you wish.

On the top of the meat, I put some pork bacon in tiny pieces (or rendered animal fat) so during the canning process it will melt and form air-tight can on top of the meat. For hundreds of years where I live people used to preserve the meat for a long period by placing a salty meat into an animal fat, so I used the same principle. It is not my invention. I just talked with people and saw some people do this way on internet.

At that point I hand tightened the lids and place the jars into a big pot with water.The water level should be ut to the lids level. Next, put all that on a stove on a mild temperature and left it to boil for at least 3 hours.

Then turn off the heat and leave the jars in the pot with water to cool down slowly in the next 12 hours. At the end it looks like the jar on the picture.

There is a fat, airtight cap on the top of the meat, and the lids are vacuumed on the jars during the process od cooling.

I am making this for the first time, so I will leave these jars for a month and then I will open one to see how the meat tastes.
In conversation with other people, they told me that the meat was much better like this even compared with fresh one. So wait and see.



A three weeks ago me and 2 other friends of mine, bought a fresh pork bacon, about 45 Kg so we could make pork scratchings (or how else are they called on English) and render some nice fat from it. I am doing this for years, and they taste great and can stay in the refrigerator for a long time.

The process is relatively simple. Cut the bacon on 3 x 3 cm squares, Put is in a big pot, add some water to cover the bottom of the pot up to 1 cm, place it on fire and stir well so the bacon wont stick to the bottom and burn. It will give the burnt taste to the fat at the end. When water evaporates, the bacon is already started to melt so there is enough melted fat in the pot to prevent burning of the bacon. Keep string until the bacon pieces are frying in their own rendered fat and until they get a nice golden color.

Drain the rendered fat through gauze or a strainer and put the fryed bacon pieces to the fire again. Next you can add salt or any other herbs that you want. Some people add just a little milk so the bacon will get more darker color. The milk sugars caramelize, and it gives the bacon darker color.

You can achieve the same effect by frying the bacon more. It is up to your personal prefferences.

You can see all the stages od preparation on the collage image.

The hot rendered fat is clear, with golden color and pleasant smell. When it cools down it becames white and solid. It is a great fat for frying or preparing meals. We are using it very much at home.

 

[mrtn]

Since I can't get any pressure cooker where I live, I found a way of canning meat without it and I think it is pretty sucessfull.

Because of this tread, I tried that as well 2 or 3 years ago. I just put [minced] meat, spices, some shreds of vegetables like carrots and paprika in small glasses, added some water and closed them. Then cooked them in a larger pot, them standing in water, maybe for 1 to 2 hours or so. All five or so glasses where fine later even after months, and they tasted good. I reused small glasses from the supermarket that had jam or meat or whatever in them when I bought them.

 

[Alreadyin4thDensity Love]

And if you get a little help and the right rythm, you can get up to 51 jars done per day on that cooker (17x3). We started using our smaller pressure cookers too, but leaving the jars in for 3 hours instead of 1 hour30, just to be sure. So, again, with the right timing, it's not too hard to get a few extras done.

We have negotiated good prices with our butcher, and we don't but anything that isn't under 5 euros a kilo. In fact, in average we're paying 3,5 - 4 euros a kilo. One of those 1 liter jars can feed several people for a day, so it seems like a very good deal overall. You can tell your butcher you are preparing for a conference with several people, or whatever, so that people don't get too suspicious, and negotiate good prices too. Gotta be smart to save money and get it done before prices go up, all the while not going crazy about it, because there is a balance to be found between preparing for an eventual crisis and showing the Universe that we still want to be useful in every way we can. You can't do this for greedy reasons. It has to be preparation for yourself and others, all the while "paying rent on life". OSIT.

What are the prices in France right now ? On this page I saw it is about 16.5 euros for 1 kg of beef.

Cost of Living in France

Average prices of more than 40 products and services in France. Prices of restaurants, food, transportation, utilities and housing are included.

www.numbeo.com

Is it possible that prices jumped so high by 2021 ? Did you buy cow meat ( meat older than 24 moths) ?

Is there any difference in canning chicken fillets and beef, in terms of how long they can last ?

Do I need to put 2-3 inches of water in the canner before the canning (because it is written in the instructions that not putting the water can destroy the canner and that is big warning for me ? Also my question is why only 2-3 inches of water and will it evaporate during 90 minutes or whatever, and if not why not ? (considering that high pressure and that long time of processing)

It is written that I should never allow canner to boil dry, also it is written that water level must be maintained during the canning process and to check water level between batches. How do I maintain the water level inside the canner ? at such high pressure and closed with all those seals I probably should not open it during the process. I got All American pressure canner. Thank you for the answer in advance.

 

[Alreadyin4thDensity Love]

To my experience canned meat lasts a long time. I have been eating beef that I canned 2014. No problem. Meanwhile I learned that the most important thing is to cover everything with a thick layer of lard. Lard seems to isolate the food.
What was not so successful was a beef pate I made - there was no lard on top and this one I had to put in the garbage.

Concerning the temperature. Although I try to keep my food in a cool place this is not possible due to weather conditions. But - to my experience - that does not make a difference. One should avoid sunlight of course, but at normal room-temperatures it should work. I would not put the glasses in the frig because I think changing temperatures often may not be good. Good luck!

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

 

[Jenn]

Is there any difference in canning chicken fillets and beef, in terms of how long they can last ?

Do I need to put 2-3 inches of water in the canner before the canning (because it is written in the instructions that not putting the water can destroy the canner and that is big warning for me ? Also my question is why only 2-3 inches of water and will it evaporate during 90 minutes or whatever, and if not why not ? (considering that high pressure and that long time of processing)

Yes, the 2-3 inches of water are absolutely necessary and should be put into the canner before canning begins. I tend to add a little more- closer to 5-6 inches just to be on the safe side (this will depend on how tall your jars are though). Sometimes lots of water remains, and other times there is very little left.

It is written that I should never allow canner to boil dry, also it is written that water level must be maintained during the canning process and to check water level between batches. How do I maintain the water level inside the canner ? at such high pressure and closed with all those seals I probably should not open it during the process. I got All American pressure canner. Thank you for the answer in advance.

No definitely do not open the canner when it has any pressure in it, only when it's on zero pressure and no more pressure comes out when you remove the weight. There could be a nasty accident if you try to open the canner when there's pressure in it!

I think what it means is, when you have finished a batch of canning, you have taken out your jars and you want to use your canner to do another batch then you will need to refill the water to the desired level again as water is lost during the process.

Did your canner come with a manual? If so, I'd suggest sticking to it as closely as possible for safety! My canner is by Presto and the manual has been so helpful. This is also a good description of the process from start to finish.

Added:

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

You can buy it separately, then gently melt it and pour it into the jars, making sure to try and get air bubbles out afterwards. This lady has a good video, you can also just use a normal butter knife.

 

[Jenn]

Since I can't get any pressure cooker where I live, I found a way of canning meat without it and I think it is pretty sucessfull. I just have to put some raw cut pork meat into a jar, put some salt, pepper and any other herbs as you wish.

Hey Konstantin, I don't think boiling the jars gets them to a high enough temperature to kill all of the bacteria in the meat. Back in the day, I guess they would've used this method but from the blogs/ canner manuals I have read so far, the general consensus is that meat should only be canned in a pressure canner. Botulism is no joke . Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?