Post by Dixie Bushcraft on May 14, 2020 19:19:20 GMT -6
RAW PACK MEAT CANNING
Pressure Canner ONLY
- Pints yield roughly one pound of meat, which is generally good for a meal supplement of two people.
- Cut uncooked meat into one-inch cubes (neither size nor shape is important) and pack tightly into hot jars leaving one inch of air space at top of jar.
- Salt is unnecessary, but one half teaspoon is sufficient for taste.
- Water is unnecessary, but a tablespoon or two aids in filling the trapped air space around the meat. The point here is to keep any air out from under the surface of the meat liquid. A small amount of water also helps immerse the meat fully after the canning is complete.
- Use a butter knife or the handle side of a fork or spoon to work any remaining air out from under the meat or juice.
- Place the lids on the jars firmly, but not tightly. I call it finger tip tight, but the point is to allow air to escape the jar during the process.
- After adding two inches of water to the pressure canner, you can fill it with the jars. The jars will not likely be completely covered with water, which is fine since the water and the steam itself actually sterilizes the food.
- At this point, you have two options. You can preheat the canner or put everything into the cold canner and allow the jars of meat and the canner to heat up at the same time. If it's your second batch or for any reason you have a hot canner, you must preheat the jars and the contents to some degree or they could easily break when they come in contact with the hot canner water.
- Apply the canner lid tightly (do not yet add the pressure weight) and allow the water to boil until a steady stream of steam flows from the canner. This displaces the air inside the canner with steam, allowing complete heating of the food to the inside of the jars. On a small canner, it usually takes less than 10 minutes for the steam to completely displace the air inside the canner.
- After all the air has been fully replaced by steam, put on the pressure weight and bring the pressure up to a minimum of 10 pounds or more depending on your elevation. Refer to the canning elevation guidelines to find your proper canning pressure.
- When the canner reads the proper pressure, start the clock. Pints require 75 minutes and quarts require 90 minutes of cooking at a constant pressure. One word of advise, once the proper pressure is reached, it takes about one third the heat to maintain the pressure, so turn the heat down until the pressure stabilizes. More pressure is generally better than less, but over 15 pounds isn't a good idea. If your canner has a pressure gauge (highly recommended) keep the pressure just over 10 pounds (depending on elevation), and try not to allow the pressure weight to jiggle or release steam quickly. A quick release of pressure or a continual jiggle can boil water and food out of jars causing liquid loss and broken jars.
- When the time is up, remove the heat and allow the canner to de-pressurize on it’s own leaving the weight in place. Reducing pressure before the contents have cooled WILL cause broken jars. Never release pressure, but allow the canner to cool in order to de-pressurize. It is at this de-pressurizing stage that you will very likely smell the wonderful smell of your food. This is completely normal since it is necessary to exhaust air out of the jars to get a super good vacuum seal. This is why you don't put lids on too tightly to begin the process.
- When the pressure is zero remove the pressure weight only if there is indeed no more pressure escaping the vent. Slowly loosen the lid and allow it to rest if the jars are “boiling” too violently.
- At this point, the vacuum in the jars will cause them to continue to “boil” for quite a while and is completely normal as long as the contents are not hindering the sealing of the lids. If they are still boiling very bad, just give them a few more minutes to cool so they don't force food into the jar seal. If done properly, the lids should have started to pop inward at this time.
- Slowly remove the jars from the canner and place them an inch or so away from each other so they can cool. It is said to ensure that the jars do not cool too quickly or they could break. I have sat these jars in front of an air conditioner before just to see if they would, myth busted in my book. There is one more step to consider. Get on some oven mitts, or better yet, high heat silicone oven mitts. Around 5 minutes after taking the jars out of the canner, the rings tend to loosen due to a sudden cooling. Tighten them now and you have an almost 100% success rate of sealing.
Pressure Canner ONLY
- Pints yield roughly one pound of meat, which is generally good for a meal supplement of two people.
- Cut uncooked meat into one-inch cubes (neither size nor shape is important) and pack tightly into hot jars leaving one inch of air space at top of jar.
- Salt is unnecessary, but one half teaspoon is sufficient for taste.
- Water is unnecessary, but a tablespoon or two aids in filling the trapped air space around the meat. The point here is to keep any air out from under the surface of the meat liquid. A small amount of water also helps immerse the meat fully after the canning is complete.
- Use a butter knife or the handle side of a fork or spoon to work any remaining air out from under the meat or juice.
- Place the lids on the jars firmly, but not tightly. I call it finger tip tight, but the point is to allow air to escape the jar during the process.
- After adding two inches of water to the pressure canner, you can fill it with the jars. The jars will not likely be completely covered with water, which is fine since the water and the steam itself actually sterilizes the food.
- At this point, you have two options. You can preheat the canner or put everything into the cold canner and allow the jars of meat and the canner to heat up at the same time. If it's your second batch or for any reason you have a hot canner, you must preheat the jars and the contents to some degree or they could easily break when they come in contact with the hot canner water.
- Apply the canner lid tightly (do not yet add the pressure weight) and allow the water to boil until a steady stream of steam flows from the canner. This displaces the air inside the canner with steam, allowing complete heating of the food to the inside of the jars. On a small canner, it usually takes less than 10 minutes for the steam to completely displace the air inside the canner.
- After all the air has been fully replaced by steam, put on the pressure weight and bring the pressure up to a minimum of 10 pounds or more depending on your elevation. Refer to the canning elevation guidelines to find your proper canning pressure.
- When the canner reads the proper pressure, start the clock. Pints require 75 minutes and quarts require 90 minutes of cooking at a constant pressure. One word of advise, once the proper pressure is reached, it takes about one third the heat to maintain the pressure, so turn the heat down until the pressure stabilizes. More pressure is generally better than less, but over 15 pounds isn't a good idea. If your canner has a pressure gauge (highly recommended) keep the pressure just over 10 pounds (depending on elevation), and try not to allow the pressure weight to jiggle or release steam quickly. A quick release of pressure or a continual jiggle can boil water and food out of jars causing liquid loss and broken jars.
- When the time is up, remove the heat and allow the canner to de-pressurize on it’s own leaving the weight in place. Reducing pressure before the contents have cooled WILL cause broken jars. Never release pressure, but allow the canner to cool in order to de-pressurize. It is at this de-pressurizing stage that you will very likely smell the wonderful smell of your food. This is completely normal since it is necessary to exhaust air out of the jars to get a super good vacuum seal. This is why you don't put lids on too tightly to begin the process.
- When the pressure is zero remove the pressure weight only if there is indeed no more pressure escaping the vent. Slowly loosen the lid and allow it to rest if the jars are “boiling” too violently.
- At this point, the vacuum in the jars will cause them to continue to “boil” for quite a while and is completely normal as long as the contents are not hindering the sealing of the lids. If they are still boiling very bad, just give them a few more minutes to cool so they don't force food into the jar seal. If done properly, the lids should have started to pop inward at this time.
- Slowly remove the jars from the canner and place them an inch or so away from each other so they can cool. It is said to ensure that the jars do not cool too quickly or they could break. I have sat these jars in front of an air conditioner before just to see if they would, myth busted in my book. There is one more step to consider. Get on some oven mitts, or better yet, high heat silicone oven mitts. Around 5 minutes after taking the jars out of the canner, the rings tend to loosen due to a sudden cooling. Tighten them now and you have an almost 100% success rate of sealing.