Canning meat

[sumi]

I like that idea… There is a lot of good stuff in the water that would otherwise be lost. I used to pour water like that into the pig's bucket, along with whatever kitchen scraps I had for them. So they can use whatever nutrients would've otherwise been lost if I poured the water out.

 

[NH Homesteader]

That's a good idea! My pigs will thank you for that!

 

[baymule]

I canned meat for the first time this summer. Inspired by Beekissed, I canned chicken. DH and I butchered 22 roosters and I was out of freezer space. I cut the breast meat off and vacuum sealed it for stir fry. I cut the thighs and legs off the bone and hot packed them. I boiled the bones and feet for broth and canned 32 pints. I canned the bony back parts for dog food. We butchered 11 more roosters and I sold 7 of them to a neighbor. I froze 4 and later made chicken and dumplings for a neighbor after she got out of the hospital (6 people in the family).

I followed the Ball book directions.

 

[wooddustmaker]

I don't poke my snout in here often, but just wanted to say that canning meat is no different than water bath canning, the processing time takes longer.

5 years ago, I had around 3 dozen jars, and a water bath canner. Now, I have close to 3000 jars, 4 or 5 water bath canners, and I think 6 pressure canners. We also have 5 steam juicers. Al of this has been picked up from yard sales, or off of various classified ads, for pennies on the dollar. We don't need that many of each item, but we do loan the extras to those that are just learning. We keep track of who has how many jars, and what equipment. No, I don't want to sell it, but I will loan it to you, if I trust you.

More than one canner, of any type speeds the process up. Especially when pressure canning, with the long processing times. A water bath, you can dump the water, and start again. Pressure canners have to let the pressure drop naturally.

Pressure canning was something that I just had to jump into. My MIL was a source of info, but she told me I just had to do it, or I wouldn't learn.... She was right.

The older Ball Blue Books are the best! I picked up the newest edition, and gave it to the neighbor.

Follow the book, keep things clean, and sanitary, and you will never look back! the savings are huge! For meats, I would recommend a wide mouth jar though, same with beans. Canning our own dry beans has been a great thing.

Canning with your "other half" can also be a great way to spend time together, sharing in the work. Many of our "canning dates" have lasted until 3 or 4 in the morning, on a work day.

One other note to add.... All American canners are the bomb, but any pressure canner is better than no pressure canner.... Get what you can afford, and then save for the expensive one! That is the best advice I have, and I own all types.

 

[wooddustmaker]

My All American is by far my favorite, for sure. I did convert my AA to a jiggler, not just the gauge. All of the others have the jiggler. As long as I can hear it, I can be working on other things.

It kind of grates me wrong when people say to save, and only buy an AA. All of my other ones work just fine.

 

[lcertuche]

My neighbor gave me an 1940's 16 qt.Presto pressure canner. It is in good shape but needs another gauge because it is rusted and another seal after setting for the last 20 years. She also gave me all her canning jars, quarts and pints, several dozens. I have used about 20 making pickled cabbage and pintos and great northern beans.

I am going to order the parts to bring my old Presto back to life. The actual pot and lid are very heavy duty compared to my new canner. So happy to have two now when a few months ago I didn't have one.

 

[tortoise]

I think canning meat is in my near future! Freezer space is becoming precious and hubby is appreciating how much freezer space I've free-ed up by canning our produce. We have a deer and sheep hanging now to process this coming weekend. I am certainly a rule-follower when it comes to canning! I will be pressure canning from USDA and/or University Extension guidelines!

 

[tortoise]

LOL! no torts! When I joined the forum, I had a betta fish named Tortoise and was trying to do a self-contained ecosystem. Unsuccessful for my lack of research. Funny, I have a second betta fish named Tortoise (9 years later!), and am working on self-sufficient luxury fish keeping. Because... what else to do in my spare time since I left Facebook? Tortoise the Second is in a planted bowl, which I use to propagate stem cuttings too. I use fish bowl water to fertilize my houseplants. Tortoise the Second likes to eat fruit flies and tiny bits of leftover fish from our supper. I am scheming to make homemade fish food someday when I have nothing better to do.

 

[sumi]

Thanks for the info and pics and the tip about the book! I was wondering where I can get a copy. I will definitely look for one.

I plan to start breeding chickens next year, as soon as I'm on a bigger property and it's warm enough for the little ones. Extra cockerels and any culls from the flock that are not getting sold are going to end up either in the freezer, or in cans. That canned chicken sounds like a wonderful quick meal idea for this often busy, dinner-in-a-rush mom

I also plan to raise a pig or two and maybe a sheep (space allowing) for meat for our own use, as the supermarket stuff is usually fairly expensive and leaves some to be desired, after we got used to our own homegrown. So I am exploring options for preserving large amounts of meat, come processing time.

 

[Beekissed]

I have a pressure canner, a steam canner, a jar lifter, a canning funnel, a strainer, lids, rings, jars, a large stock pot, and sharp knives...can't do much of anything without a good set of sharp knives that hold an edge when sharpened. I good, stout bottle brush is also handy for when you are washing jars.

We also have various large basins for holding food during the breaking down of meats, veggies and fruits. I also find a simple blender comes in handy...we use a Ninja brand blender here and it saves me so much work that it's incredible...also saves time, as it reduces the size of food particles enough that one can skip a long, long cooking down of things to break them down to a sauce.

If you do jams and jellies and such the list gets longer but I keep it pretty simple here and we haven't done jellies and such for around 40 yrs now...we figured out that no one could ever eat that many condiments here, so we don't go through the hassle any longer.