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

[ODB]

Just curious why you grind almost everything? Sounds like you don't braise much? I'll take any roast from any leg and braise it and it's awesome. Whole cuts last a long time in the freezer.

 

[Harvey_NW]

Ball Blue Book and a Presto 23QT pressure cooker is a smaller investment to get started and feel it out. I've done quite a bit of canned meat but I don't really like it as much as I thought I would. To me it's just fairly bland and I'd rather just cook meat fresh, maybe I haven't found the right recipes. Have canned a ton of fish, stew, pickles, and bone bone broth though. One of my favorites is canned smoked salmon, when you get a good brine and capture the oils it's fantastic.

 

[WiscoHoundsman]

We can a bunch. Venison cubed up, green beans, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, and apple sauce.

Once you make your own you won’t want to buy it.

 

[Harvey_NW]

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.

All of that, but I'll add make sure you wipe the rims very clean before putting lids on even if you use a funnel, just a wash rag with hot water is fine. Some people use vinegar but I've read it can compromise the sealing compound. I go finger tight but snug on the rings, they will loosen up during the process. Some people boil the lids to soften the compound first, but I only do that when waterbathing or reusing. New lids on pressure canned jars get sterilized during the process and have sealed fine. I think I've had 1 or 2 lid failures in hundreds of canned jars.

 

[rayporter]

one of the great things about canning deer is that you dont need to trim much off. the tissue disappears along with the fat. neck and shoulder can be cubed with little trimming.

we put up 28 qts every year.
won first at the fair [ but she told them it was beef]