Many of us who grew up in homes where food was canned like, peaches, pears, applesauce, etc. probably know something about what it takes to can some foods. Often there is peeling and blanching, coring and slicing. Not to mention the extraordinary amounts of sugar and other ingredients that go into canning something like this. I have done some in the past few years but one canning adventure that a lot of people balk at is canning meats. I by no means am perfect at it but have tried my hand at a few things and found the experience different but not very complicated. Aside from a few additional tools like a pressure canner, it isn't a lot different.
Canning tip #1: Experiment only on what you are willing to lose. I have tried some of the meat I canned that day and aside from a funny taste that may be the freezer burned nature of the meat, it wasn't bad. Nobody got sick! ;)
Some may wonder why pressure canning is necessary. With fruits, a hot water bath canning process is OK because fruit is typically high in acid and low in proteins. Vegetables are not acidic despite low protein. These conditions influence bacteria growth among other things so the temperature needed to ensure the bacteria is completely killed and any adverse elements are neutralized is much higher than boiling water. One principle of physics is when you increase the pressure, you also increase the freezing and boiling points. This higher pressure and temperature does the job.
Tip #2. Can in amounts you can use fairly readily. Half-used jars of canned items placed in the fridge tend to be forgotten and wasted. Can jams and jellies into half-pint or pint sized jars. Quarts are just too big. Can fruits into quarts or pints, half pints only hold about 2 slices -- not worth the effort. If there is something you use for several different things and in different amounts can some in different sized jars. I have a goulash sauce that I use to make goulash, a recipe I may share in the future. I also use it as the "tomato sauce" on top of meatloaf. For goulash, I use a quart, for meatloaf I use a pint. I can both sizes.
I am canning sixty pounds of ground beef today. (Yes that is 6-0 pounds). The extra lean ground beef (85%) was on sale for $1.99 and I had a budget left over for food storage. There was no limit so I bought forty pounds at one store and then another twenty at another. I could have gotten all I wanted at one store but that would have almost cleared them out so I was nice and split the trip. I was concerned that if I didn't get it on the first day of the sale, I would not be able to get the amount I wanted. I can fit ten pint jars in the canner at a time so this will take me six cycles to can it all. As I type this, I have batch 2 in the canner, Each cycle takes about three hours from start to start. Which means I will be done around 5am this next morning.
Tip #3 (Betcha' saw this one coming) Plan enough time to can what you need to can or conversely, only buy what you have time to can. In my case, I am pulling an all nighter to ensure it doesn't ruin my New Years weekend. Veteran canners know this but also know when it can't be avoided. Some fruits, vegis, etc, don't last long off of the vine and so they need to be canned quickly, sometimes a canning all nighter is necessary. Fortunately, not all such things need so much time in the canner. Another way to do this is to have enough canners to get it done quickly. If I had the money, I would have three pressure canners and two boiling water canners so I could go almost non stop. However I don't can everyday so borrowing one from a kindred canning spirit might do the trick as well.
OK, now you have all the tools, you have what you want to can, you've read up on canning what you want to can, now what?
First, start in a clean kitchen with lots of counter space. I am speaking relatively as some of us have smaller kitchens than others. I am one of those with a relatively small kitchen. Move some of the regular counter clutter out if you don't need it for the canning job. Wipe everything down. Also remember some of the basic culinary rules. When handling and preparing meats, they carry bacteria and other organisms that can cause disease. Always prepare them separate from anything else. If you need to cut or slice or otherwise prep your meat before canning, keep that area isolated from the rest. If you are canning different meats like beef and chicken, clean and sanitize between types to prevent cross contamination. Use a cutting board that you use for meats and meats only. If this is not a normal kitchen practice, begin now. Designate one that is only for meats and scrub it thoroughly after use. Clean kitchen equals good food.
Tip #4. Canning takes a while, be comfortable as you do it. I have a couple of bar stools that hold my girth without complaint. (Yes, GIRTH!!) If I have to sit at a sink peeling or at a stove stirring, I will often use those stools. Sit when you can. It will be a while.
Tip #5 Many jars have a "shoulder" or ridge right below the threads of the jar.it is the last ledge before the jar curves out to its shape. That is typically the 1/2 inch mark. A good estimate based on that line is often sufficient. Measure with a simple ruler to be sure if you have doubts.
Caps and rings. the cap is the flat jar lid that creates the seal, The ring holds it in place. The ring is only necessary during the canning process. Once the jars have cooled and you have verified the seal is good, take the ring off. Some think that it is double protection to be sure the cap stays on. Trust me if it is a good seal the cap is not going anywhere. The down side to leaving it on is water, from the canner, gets trapped in the rings and can rust the ring to the cap over time. I have had a few when I was young, be so rusted it took channel locks (monster pliers) to get the ring off, The ring was ruined, the cap was rusted, (yummy) and the jar could have broken. Take the ring OFF!
Before putting the caps on you need to prepare them. At least five minutes before using them, put the number you need for your current canning batch into a small pan of water, place it on the burner of the stove and bring the water to a boil. You don't need much water, just enough to cover the lids scattered over the whole surface of the pan. I use an omelet skillet or a small saucepan for this. After they have boiled for a couple of minutes, use a lid lifter, (a small wand about 6 inches long with a magnet on the end. Very cheap but so worth it,) to lift each cap out one by one and place them on the jar. Put a ring in place and just snug the ring down onto the cap, not too tight but tight enough to hold the cap firmly in place. Repeat with the rest until all caps are in place. The boiling sanitizes the caps and softens the rubber a little bit to ensure a good seal.
Tip # 6. The key to doing canning at a good pace is to keep things moving, time each thing so it is ready when needed. keep things hot and clean, jars, caps, rings and the canner water, Once you get jars in place, if the water is almost boiling the heat up time is not nearly as long. Save time.
Hot jars, hot food, hot liquids. This is important as temperature differences can be dangerous. If you put hot food in cold jars, it can cause the jars to shatter. If you put cool jars into a hot canner bath, they can shatter, if you add cold water to a hot canner bath to top it off, the jars can... wait for it... SHATTER! Be careful and keep things the same temperature,
Tip #7 Use jars in good condition. There is nothing wrong with reusing canning jars. be sure they are in good shape though, jars with chips on the rims, chips or cracks in them, Nicks or gouges in them, like your windshield, will crack and shatter in extreme pressures and temperatures. The jars int he canner go through these extremes. Replace jars that need replacing. they are less than $1 each even when not on sale. it is worth my time to not have to clean shattered glass and food out of a canner or box or shelf when a jar gives out to not use suspect jars. Well worth my time.
With a canner filled with preheated water, (hot water, hot food in hot jars,) use a pair of jar tongs (inexpensive and prevents you burning your hands in taking jars in and out of the hot water in the canner.
Now the jars are filled, into the canner. The water should just cover the tops of the jars about 1 inch. Refer to the canner instructions on this. I generally fill the canner with water up to half the height of the jars I am putting in if I am putting a full load in. After the jars are in, I adjust with hot tap water. Tip # 8 If you have hard water, then the pressure canning process will leave your jars with a hard water film after they are done processing. Sometimes the lid gets this. To avoid this, make sure the canner is well clean before beginning and put about 1/4 cup vinegar in the water. This will solve this problem. If you find it isn't enough, use filtered/bottled water or more vinegar.
Place the lid in place. Lock the lid in place and place it on the stove. Most canners have two or three valves. if yours has a gauge on it, then the valves are opposite each other along the edge. One is a metal pop up valve and the other is a rubber safety valve. Once the pan begins to heat the pressure builds inside. While the flow of steam is small, the metal valve stays down allowing the steam to come out. As the heat builds, the steam increases until the pressure pushes the metal valve up. Once up the pressure begins to build. NEVER remove the lid if the metal valve is up and the canner is hot. The rubber valve is a fail safe. if the canner get too hot or builds too much pressure, it will blow the rubber cap out and release the pressure. it is a monster whistling teakettle when this happens so be careful. Never hangout around the canner while it is cooking. Check on it and stay in the vicinity, but don't stand right over it. Watch the gauge and adjust the heat on the burner to get and keep the reading where it should be.
If you have a canner with a small set of weights instead of a gauge, you have three pressure options, 5, 10, and 15 psi. If your pressure setting is in between 5,10,or 15, round up. Remember to also account for altitude, generally this is one pound per 1000 feet above sea level. Again check your manual. If you have this weighted kind, the weights snap loosely onto a tube protruding from the lid of the canner, Set your weights before heating and then once the main valve pops up monitor the weights, eventually the weight will begin to rock, move and spin as steam pushes out from underneath it. Once this begins you will need to turn down the heat bit by bit to keep it acting right. You should hear a variable spurting sound like an oscillating lawn sprinkler as steam escapes. If it is one constant unbroken "shhhhhh" sound, it is too high, turn the heat down a little. If the weights no longer move and dance, it is too low, turn it up a little. Get to know your canner and how it behaves.
Once the canner has come up to pressure, start a timer for how long it should stay at pressure. Stay in the room, read a book, monitor the canner. the behavior should stay fairly regular once set. Adjust as necessary. If ANYTHING seems odd, turn off the heat and check everything, it is better to overdo it and lose a batch than blow up your kitchen. Well, usually.
After the timer goes off, turn off the heat and let the canner cool down naturally, this could take over an hour so be patient. Trying to cool down the canner with cold water or ice could be dangerous so don't do it. Also don't disable the valves, weights, etc. as steam shoots out at high pressure, like a super hot radiator on a car. Burns result. Be patient and wait for the main valve to drop back into the lid all on its own. The jars are under high internal pressure too so releasing the heat and pressure too quickly could damage the jars or food. if anything breaks, big mess.
Now the canner has cooled off, the valve has dropped and you are ready to take off the lid. Do so carefully. the contents are still hot though no longer under pressure. Move the lid aside and look to see if any of the jars appear damaged. The color of the food may have changed, the water may have become slightly cloudy, the metal of the canner may have tarnished. This is all normal. If the water has become sludgy or filled with all kinds of debris, look for a broken jar, ring or cap. A jar probably blew. Use the tongs to search. Again, do not put cold water directly onto the jars or in the canner when hot. Jars will break.
Assuming success, carefully lift the jars one by one out of the canner with the jar tongs and set aside on a counter to cool. As you do this, take a look at each jar for any unexpected contents in the jar or new damage to the jar. if it looks good set it aside. Let them cool naturally.
Was the canner only after it has thoroughly cooled. Use soap and water and make sure the tube for the pressure gauge or weights is clear. Many places will test your canner lid and canner for proper measurement of pressure and service as necessary.
As your jars cool, you will hear a metallic pop as each jar cools and the vacuum inside the jar takes over. Each jar should do this though some jars do it quieter then others. This is the opposite of the pop when you open a jar. After they have all cooled, sometimes overnight, push the button in the metal of the cap. it should be firmly down. If they pop up and down at all, and the jar is still hot, you can take the lid off, clean the rim again, make sure the rim is chip-free and reprocess with a new cap. If more than a few do this, the rims were likely not properly clean, do better next time. The rims must be clean.
More often than not, if you were careful and meticulous through the process every jar will look clean, uniform in appearance and hopefully appetizing. Relish in your success, and make a note of things to do different next time. Food safety is important, but food availability, freshness and a sense of accomplishment are too. Enjoy your food, you worked hard for it.
