Canned Meat.

[billythekidrock]

How many of you guys can meat? Of those that do, how old are you? I have never met anyone my age that does it.

Why can?.......why not? LOL

Why? It lasts longer than freezing (I have had them after 5 yrs), takes up no freezer space, is already cooked and ready to eat......etc..

How? You need a pressure canner with instructions and quart jars. Very simple actually. No, it is not like spam or chicken "stuff". Makes a "GREAT" samich on any day of the week.

Any more on our bears we only take the backstrap for roasts and the hams/hinds/front shoulders are used for canning. You will need 13 lbs of meat for 7 quarts, which is how many quart jars a good canner will hold. I start with the best cuts hams/shoulders then work my way to the neck if needed. Usually I will can about 21 quarts (3 loads) every couple years.
I have used every part of meat in the canner and it will tenderize any piece of meat, tendon or grisle. If you want to have good cuts for stews and steaks, you can use any of the "grinding" meat for canning.You can use any meat, and if frozen it still turns out great.

Consult the instructions before trying. Here is the quick version of canning,
Cut meat into one inch cubes. Pack meat into hot jars, leaving one inch head space. Add one teaspoon of salt if desired to each quart. Adjuxt lids and rings. Process pints for 75 minutes at ten pounds pressure. Quarts are processed 90 minutes at ten pounds pressure.


We store ours in a pantry, sometimes in the same boxes that the jars came in. Keep them from freezing and the sunlight and they will last for years.

What can you do with canned meat? What can't you. Here are a few of the things we do. After opening a jar we pour it into a microwave safe dish and heat it for a couple minutes. Then we shred it will a couple forks. We do not pour off the liquid, we allow the meat to re-absord it. Then we turn it into...
French dip sandwiches, hoagie sandwiches, tacos, etc.
If you want to use it in different ways you may not want to shred it. Sometimes we will leave the piece whole and make homemade soup or stew. I even just add it to commercial stews.
You can also eat it right out of the jar. I have done pints and taken them on trips, put it on the dash or near the floor heater, open and eat.

[high country]

I am 32 and first saw canned meat at 25 when I moved to alaska, canning is pretty common there. I am with ya, canned is the way to go.

[ICEMAN]

I pressure can deer, elk, venison sausage, razor clams (smoked), large clams for chowder later,ham, turkey, chicken, salmon, smoked salmon, steelhead, trout, all veggies, custom items like spaghetti sauce, chili, and even cold process pickles (against the recommendations of the food and health folks...)

Billythekidrock, I am 43yrs old.

Canned meats are a great way to enjoy your bounty. Nothing is easier or more satisfying than popping the lid on some meat you have put up in your pressure canner. Absolutely love this hobby.

[billythekidrock]

Nothing is easier or more satisfying than popping the lid on some meat you have put up in your pressure canner

The only thing more satisfying to me is the PING! Gotta have the ping. I hate doing all the work then having to eat a jar right away.

[jackelope]

I have canned venison in the pantry and love it.
my mom-in-law got me into it first and i think it's great. for the wife and i who work too much, it's really impractical to try and cook venison on a weeknight when we don't get home till 7:00 or so. the already-cooked thing and versatility are the bonuses of it.
mostly we use it for stroganoff.
BTW-i'm 34

[billythekidrock]

Well other than my younger brothers, I did not know anyone younger than 40 that canned meat. Glad to see there are still some "young" folks doing it.

[ICEMAN]

Crap, now I feel old.

[billythekidrock]

Only 5 years older than me... but then again, I am almost 40

[ICEMAN]

Forgot to mention, I also love the "ping", but I really love no ping, cause we get to dig in right away! Gotta stop using Kerr lids...I think my dad has had best luck with Ball....

[Michelle_Nelson]

I remeber my Mom and Grandma canning stuff in the summer when I was younger.  They canned EVERYTHING.  Meats, Vegi's, Fruits, Sauces, Stews, Soups, Jam, etc.  My favorite was peaches!  I really regret not paying closer attention and learning how to do it. 

I'd be really interested in learning how to do it! 

[saylean]

Im with ya Michelle..loved canned goods..home made jams, cheeries, pears, peaches..beats, pickes, beans..man..

I gots to get my step mom to hook up the canner...she is great at it...I might have to get into this action on my own too...

[cohoho]

Hope I'm not too old but canned alot of different stuff up north, still have Salmon and Bison meat...  Long term the only way to go........  An so darn good...  I think the reason  we did it so much was the abundance of meat/fish we'd get quickly and have to take care of it to make sure it was edible later in the year... 

[ICEMAN]

Canning also soothes that Y2K suvivalist in me. I like having the ability to preserve foods in a more primitive/survivalist methodology. I have a large supply of canning goods on hand. End of the world type planning...

  The end is near!   

[HawkenBob]

Im 40 and I love cannin. Just canned a bunch of Smoked Sturgy. Love it instead of tuna on sandwhiches. Once the Alby's start coming in cheap it will be time to head for Westport a 100 pounds or so. Home canned Alby is so good compared to the store bought.

I bought a Wisconsin foundry pressure canner and love every minute. So easy. Especially after you figure your heat source out. You can literally walk away for 80 or so minutes in between.

Cant wait to try some red meat.

[popeshawnpaul]

I am 32 and can salmon, smoked and regular.  I have canned peaches like Michelle, but have found that pears are the best...  (guess I'm just a pear guy)  I want to do game next year.  With my salmon I like a spicy sauce with it so I may try and experiement with adding other ingredients.  Has anyone added hot sauce or a other things to your canned meat?  How did it turn out?  (by the way, don't add melted butter to canned salmon to try and keep it from drying out...it re-solidified and turned out nasty)

[HawkenBob]

Pope, In my Sturgy and alby reciepes I include in the jars, 3 to 5 drops liquid smoke, minced garlic, a little olive oil, and a quarted jalapeno pepper. Salt always and a sprinkle of lemon pepper. this is for pints and half pints.

[Houndhunter]

never pressure cooked stuff yet, but have done a little canning doing the hot-water bath thing

[cohoho]

Layer of salmon then a few jalpeno peppers for a thin layer then another layer of Salmon, repeat till full.  Yummy!  The only thing I don't like about using the jars is the look of meat (Especially red meat non-fish) inside them for folks that don't know better. But never wanted to buy a rim sealer for cans so stuck to jars...

[Michelle_Nelson]

   I just spent the last couple days down here in Oregon at my Grandmas going over canning.  Had to do a little bit of memory refreshing.

Just spent the last 4 hours canning Peaches (10 pints) and fresh of the boat Albacore Tuna (15 pints).  I'll tell you what that is some good tune.  Some of the best I've had.  Going to make strawberry and blackberry jam tomarrow morning. 

Grandmas neighbor brought us about a gallon of home grown strawberries and I went out and picked blackberries this morning. 

Grandmas got a couple apple trees in her back yard.  Thinking of canning some apple pie filling or some home made apple sauce.  Coming home with all the good stuff! 

Went out and bought a pressure cooker while I was down here and jars.  Nice not having to pay sales taxes.  I liked the idea of canning some Bear meat if I kill a Bear.  Will probably do deer if I get one too. 

[ICEMAN]

Wow, aren't you busy!!  Canning is a cool little hobby. Not alot of folks doing this anymore... I really look forward to opening up something to share with friends that I have canned. After I bake a turkey, I simmer the carcass, and then debone it, toss the meat into jars, with the broth, and some minced onion and celery, then pressure can it. Later you just cook up some noodles, and then add your turkey soup mix you already made....Yum! Works with chicken too!

[Caseyd]

Guess im one of the young ones  Never have done it myself but grew up with alot of it. Grandmas and mom use to do it all the time. Dont think ive ever had meat..just fruits and veggies.

Id like to try it but am clueless. All i remember is a deep pot with a bunch of jars in it  I should have grandma come down and show me how its done, im sure she would love it! She doesnt really do it much anymore since she lives alone and the stuff would last the rest of her life. Man i miss her homemade jam 

[Michelle_Nelson]

I got home about 11pm last night after a 6 hour drive up from grandmas! 

Ended up coming home with 68 jars of canned food.

12 half pints of Blackberry Jam
8 - 8 or 6 oz jars of Blackberry Jam
12 half pints of Strawberry Jam
2  8 or 6 oz jars of Strawberry Jam
13 pints of Tuna
19 pints of peaches

While I was down their one of grandmas freinds that is really big into canning brought me 1 half pint of antelope, because I've never had it, and 1 half pint smoked salmon.

The Blackberries were picked fresh when I got down to Oregon.  We went down to the docks and bought the Tuna fresh.  Grandmas neighbor came over the day after I got their and brought me a gallon of strawberries she grew.  I bought the peaches from a store while I was down their.

Made a pretty good haul.  Can't wait til I put a tag on something this year so I can can some of that too. 

[robb92]

Now you all got me thinking of trying this with a deer this fall.

[mlgunkel]

Anybody know what canning does to the nutritional value of the food?

[billythekidrock]

Anybody know what canning does to the nutritional value of the food?

I would imagine that it does little to devalue it. Maybe over many years it will degrade.   

[big ed]

AFTER READING THIS ,I NEED TO TO START DOING SOMETHING I HAVE'NT DONE IN YEARS.MAY START WITH THE GARDEN AND END WITH SALMON OR SOMETHING.CANNING A GOOD WAY TO KEEP THE PANTRY FULL OF GOOD STUFF NOT THAT GARBAGE FROM THE STORE.BESIDES THE KIDS WILL LEARN SOMETHING FROM THE PAST.  YEA I"M A YOUNGSERT TO AT 52 .

[ICEMAN]

Great big ed!  A pretty fun way to enjoy your bounty all year!

[NRA4LIFE]

I'm 45 and have been canning meat for 20 years or better.  I can some every year.  Saves room in the freezer and tastes outstanding.  I also can just about everything from my garden.  Beans, corn, tomatoes, pickles, salsa, numerous varieties of hot peppers, pickled asparagus, etc.  Will be canning a boatload of humpies this year, both smoked and not.  I also can a lot of dungeness crab and tried Razor clams for the first time this year (way yummy, thanks ICEMAN).

I can venison 3 different ways.  The first, I add about a tablespoon of Lipton onion soup mix to a pint.  This is my personal favorite.  The second, I add about a tablespoon of taco seasoning to the pints.  Very tasty in tacos, burritos, etc.  The third, I add a pinch of oregano, basil, thyme and crushed fennel seed to the pints.  This makes an instant spaghetti-meat sauce.  All these are great.