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]

 

[syoungs]

I havent canned venison or any red meat, but I do can my own tuna and veggies from the garden. There's no comparison quality wise with store bought. I have a 23qt presto pressure canner and a water bath setup.
I'd say take the plunge and give it a try, ive noticed the 2nd hand market is pretty strong towards the equipment. If you don't enjoy it, you'll probably get 75-80% of your investment back.

This year I intend on doing some venison, as well as some beef, I've been on a super low carb/carnivore diet and would love to have some small jars of processed beef as grab and go to help me maintain when work is swamped busy and I'm doing 70-90 hour weeks this summer.

 

[mostlybirch]

Any favorite recipes for cubed up venison?

When I can lightly smoked salmon sometimes I'll put onions and peppers and such in there and when it's time to eat I stick the fork in and mash it up and have an instant smoked salmon salad.

 

[dfish]

Any favorite recipes for cubed up venison?

When I can lightly smoked salmon sometimes I'll put onions and peppers and such in there and when it's time to eat I stick the fork in and mash it up and have an instant smoked salmon salad.

It’s great for a quick dinner. Philly cheese steak/french dip. Also with a ramen type noodle for a noodle venison bowl.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

We do 20-30 half pints every year. I will do some with some lipton onion soup mix that you can use for anything, some with taco seasoning for Mexican dishes and some with fennel seed for Italian stuff. It's all good.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Any favorite recipes for cubed up venison?

When I can lightly smoked salmon sometimes I'll put onions and peppers and such in there and when it's time to eat I stick the fork in and mash it up and have an instant smoked salmon salad.

We usually end up using it for enchiladas, pulled pork or chopped bbq, makes for real quick tacos but you can make tacos out of anything lol. Buffalo "chicken" dip would be excellent but I haven't done it yet.

 

[mostlybirch]

Appreciate the ideas, thanks. I could have communicated clearer, I was curious what people were using for a "recipe" during the canning process like bullion, spices, etc

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Appreciate the ideas, thanks. I could have communicated clearer, I was curious what people were using for a "recipe" during the canning process like bullion, spices, etc

Oh lol. I'm only using a pinch of salt. I used to do all sorts of things but found that it limits me later when I go to use it. If I leave it all plain I can simply use it in order of oldest to newest and don't end up with varieties sitting longer than others.

 

[Harvey_NW]

Appreciate the ideas, thanks. I could have communicated clearer, I was curious what people were using for a "recipe" during the canning process like bullion, spices, etc

Most recipes keep it pretty simple, raw pack with sea salt or bullion, hot pack with sea salt and broth. I've added Johnny's seasoning and minced garlic and they go well. Be careful with herbs, the flavor can amplify and do weird things like get sour.

 

[mostlybirch]

Thank you. Borrowing a pressure canner tomorrow and doing up some caribou, halibut , salmon, and burbot. Red meat is new for me in the can.

 

[30338]

We can 20-30 pounds of browned ground venison per batch. Typically use pint jars for that. Can chunk meat in pints and quarts. We also can a lot of regular pork sausage for fast meal prep. Also can pork loins chunked up for fast barbecue or street tacos.

Going to start canning chicken this year too. We also can all the garden vegetables and a variety of jams/jellies.

Its a great skill set and reduces my worry of having a freezer go down.