Canning, should it be more popular? Where to begin?

[180ls1]

I am looking into canning as it seems like it could simplify my processing/storage/cooking/consumption of wild game as I grind almost everything anyways. This would be used on typical western game.

How is the consistency and how much does it break down sinew? Soft enough for meat pasta?

Any tips/tricks for making it easy? I am OK paying more on the front end for equipment to save time.

 

[SuperDUECE22]

canned venison is amazing and very easy. Get yourself a Pressure cooker, some clean sterilized jars with lids and some fresh venison and you'll be off and running.

Consistency is very soft, it becomes incredibly tender and basically falls apart. Great for stroganoff, tacos, pot pies, stew, hot sandwiches or basically anything.

 

[PredatoronthePrairie]

Can a whole deer every year.

Highly encourage you to take the plunge.
Easy to due, and a great option for those days u forget to take something out of the freezer. My picky kids love it. So that's saying something.

I'd suggest looking into the all American canner, made in Wisconsin. Will last a life time.

 

[Burch]

We can at least 1 full deer each year as well using the All American pressure canner. Having canned meat bon hand is nice. In the same time it takes to cook a pot of rice you can have deer roast with rice and gravy. Youtube has a lot of how to videos.

 

[CorbLand]

We dont can a lot of red meats but we did a bunch of chicken back when you could get it for 1-1.50 a pound. We use it in a lot of tacos and casseroles. Its a good way to store stuff when you run out of freezer space.

Watch estate sales for jars. Get name branded lids. The off brand ones are iffy on sealing correctly.

 

[Desert_Muley]

This may help.

National Center for Home Food Preservation - National Center for Home Food Preservation

The National Center for Home Food Preservation is your source for home food preservation methods.

nchfp.uga.edu

 

[ScreamingPotato]

I find regular ground to be more useful, but we always have a small amount of canned venison and canned hog on hand for quick meals. Canned wild hog gets used a lot more, makes for much better carne guisada tacos, enchiladas, etc. I find the canned venison isn't quite as good so tend to grind and freeze more of that, though when we do something like a gravy roast over rice/taders we tend to prefer venison over the hog for that.

It's easy but pay attention so you don't kill your family, very important to do it right. I like the All American canners as somebody else brought up. I like not needing a gasket and feel like it'll last longer and be more useful in a SHTF scenario.

Watch estate sales for jars. Get name branded lids. The off brand ones are iffy on sealing correctly.

100% this.

 

[Quercus]

Get at least the 25qt All American. The batches take a long time (75 to 90 minutes plus time to purge air at the start and time to cool down at the end), so the more jars you can fit, the better.

I don't really like the canned chunks of meat--they get really soft and almost mushy. I much prefer to cook the chili, meat sauce, stew, etc. up front and then can the finished product. You can take those on base-camp hunts more easily as well.

If you fish tuna in SD it will come in handy as well. The reef fish don't turn out very well, they just turn to mush.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

Popular at my house...somebody hit the nail on the head 25qt cooker on an outdoor cooker is the way to go, I use my turkey frier base...we do more vegetables from the garden than meat...canning outside keeps the house cooler in the summer.

 

[180ls1]

I find regular ground to be more useful,

Care to elaborate as to why?

 

[MallardSX2]

We tried to can a bunch of stuff last year with a pressure canner and the jars leaked and made a terrible mess. We followed the directions we had and didn’t tighten the rings down hard or overfill the jars.

I didn’t trust any of it as the jars didn’t seal. We were taking lids off and wiping jars and putting new lids on. It was a disaster!

Anyone have a good video they could point me to that would help?

Sorta embarrassed that we failed at it so badly.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Care to elaborate as to why?

I like it better for all sorts of things, and most recipes if you're googling them up don't use canned. I like the flavor better if for example I'm making regular hard shell tacos, can make burgers or meatloaf, etc. It's also easier for me to toss a frozen vacuum sealed bag in my cooler to go on a trip than worry about a glass jar rattling around. Stuff like that. I like canned for what it is and always have some around, but we don't use it as much as we use ground.

 

[180ls1]

I like it better for all sorts of things, and most recipes if you're googling them up don't use canned. I like the flavor better if for example I'm making regular hard shell tacos, can make burgers or meatloaf, etc. It's also easier for me to toss a frozen vacuum sealed bag in my cooler to go on a trip than worry about a glass jar rattling around. Stuff like that. I like canned for what it is and always have some around, but we don't use it as much as we use ground.

Got it. Learning to brown/char ground was a game changer for me when it came to flavor and combating gamey taste.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Anyone have a good video they could point me to that would help?

There's a ton of them, but I like this old one the dude has a good presentation IIRC (haven't watched it in 2 years).

 

[Wetwork]

Impulse buy, I had been canning for a few years already the old fashioned way and got this thing on sale. It does a pretty good job, its kinda fire and forget. I use it at the same time I'm using my other old canners. But for a beginner its pretty fool proof.
https://www.amazon.com/Presto-02144...ix=Prestp+pressure+canner,aps,291&sr=8-2&th=1

 

[Quercus]

We tried to can a bunch of stuff last year with a pressure canner and the jars leaked and made a terrible mess. We followed the directions we had and didn’t tighten the rings down hard or overfill the jars.

I didn’t trust any of it as the jars didn’t seal. We were taking lids off and wiping jars and putting new lids on. It was a disaster!

Anyone have a good video they could point me to that would help?

Sorta embarrassed that we failed at it so badly.

Proper headspace, finger tight rings, canning funnel, good quality lids, and making sure chamber pressure backs down completely to 0 before you remove the weight and unlatch the lid.

 

[Agross]

canned venison is amazing and very easy. Get yourself a Pressure cooker, some clean sterilized jars with lids and some fresh venison and you'll be off and running.

Consistency is very soft, it becomes incredibly tender and basically falls apart. Great for stroganoff, tacos, pot pies, stew, hot sandwiches or basically anything.

Exactly what he said. We love canned venison. Do it every year now. You can make so many different things with it. You don’t have to have a pressure cooker but it speeds things up. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different things , fat, onions, peppers, beef bouillon in the jar as well. Some of our favorites to use it for are burritos and enchiladas as well as mixing it with brown gravy over home style noodles.

 

[ozyclint]

Canning is a great way to preserve meat and have a pantry full of non perishables that doesn't require refrigeration. It should be more popular for that reason alone.

I can venison, goat, pork, kangaroo, potatoes, corn, rabbit, some I can't remember.
I make venison Stew and then can it for an instant meal later.
Chilli con carne is great for instant nachos

 

[rookieforever33]

When learning to can it is best to start out with small batches. Then let it cool, try it in a day or two, and learn from your mistakes/successes

 

[Sccritterkiller]

We tried to can a bunch of stuff last year with a pressure canner and the jars leaked and made a terrible mess. We followed the directions we had and didn’t tighten the rings down hard or overfill the jars.

I didn’t trust any of it as the jars didn’t seal. We were taking lids off and wiping jars and putting new lids on. It was a disaster!

Anyone have a good video they could point me to that would help?

Sorta embarrassed that we failed at it so badly.

https://www.ballmasonjars.com/canning-preserving-guides.html

They sent us a little booklet with most this info when I ordered a couple cases of jars probably 10 years ago, it's a little dog eared now but we still use it every year.

Starting with steam dried jars out of the dishwasher and a cooling rack for jars with a towel over the top of them to cool gives us the best seal results.