I have a pressure cooker in which I have successfully canned many veggies. I got the impression from this months article on meat canning that a pressure CANNER is needed. Would a pressure cooker suffice? It does 5 10 and 15 lb pressure incrememnts. Also, do you pack the meat raw? I wanted to try to can beef, pork and chicken. Any advice would be appreciated. Sue

-- Sue Landress (Sulandherb@aol.com), November 01, 1999

Answers

The general theme i get from my worn out canning book "putting food by" ,is that it is best to hot pack meat ( cook it first) and then to processes it in pints at 10 # for 75 min or quarts for 90 min .useing a 1/2 to 1 tsp salt and the boiling meat juice or water . as long as you have the pressure and timing right i see no diffrence in canner or cooker

-- becky rosen (Joel681@webtv.net), November 02, 1999.

Raw pack of chicken is still considered safe and you can include the bones. Also considered safe is raw pack of beef but no bones it gives the meat a bad flavor. I personally cook and debone both (hot pack) for two reasons (1) I'm not wasting space in jars with bones and (2) I like to cook seasonings into the meat. It's also easier to get the grease out if you cook first. I cook, debone, allow to cool and peel the hardened fat from the top, warm up and pack. Process for 90 minutes. Grease is the biggest problem with meat canning. You won't get a proper seal.

Depending on what your altitude is you may need to use the 10# or the 15#. THere are many meat cannning recipes recipes on the web. Even the trusty of Ball Blue Book is good.

-- JCW (JC@Waldner.com), November 03, 1999.

I do not cook the meat first. I cut it into cubes about 1 inch square then pack tightly into jars, (wide mouth are a good idea if you have them). Since most of the meat I can is elk or venison, and thus more lean, I add a couple of cubes of beef tallow to the jar before sealing it. Salt is not necessary but I usually add about 1 tsp. per quart. The meat makes its own broth as it cooks but my neighbor likes theirs more moist so she adds a bit of broth, (bullion cubes and water) to hers before sealing.

-- Marci (ajourend@libby.org), November 03, 1999.

I'm confused. How do you CAN in a pressure COOKER? Can you get canning jars in your COOKER? If you can, maybe your cooker is what some of us would call a canner! But also, the booklet that came with our Presto 20 qt canner AND cooker (it says) calls for 11 pounds of pressure (or 12, 13 or 14, depending on altitude) for canning meat. This suggests the need for a pressure gauge.The manual says you can use raw meat, or cook ONLY until rare. Raw pack is simple. Fill jars, leaving 1" head space. Do NOT add liquid. Adjust lids. Process pints 75 minutes, quarts 90 minutes, at 11 pounds pressure (below 2,000 feet).

-- jd (belanger@midway.tds.net), November 03, 1999.

Well JD, I guess it's both. I only began to think there was a difference when I read this months articleon canning meat, which said a pressure canner has a gauge, not a "jiggly thing" that made alot of noise like a pressure cooker does. Mine has a noise maker! But it came with a recipe book for canning tomatoes, fruit and such, and the claim that homecanning of meat isn't safe! It's a WearEver, which doesn't appear to have a web site, so if anyone knows where I can get replacement parts, I'd sure appreciate it!! Sue

-- Sue Landress (sulandherb@aol.com), November 04, 1999.

I have 2 Mirro Matic pressure canners[cookers] they hold 7 quart jars, they have a pressure weight with 5-10-or 15 pownds pressure, they jiggle just like the smaller ones. I have cooked lots of meat in mine. Iam sure you could can pints in the smaller saucepan type if the pressure was right for your area. And you can cook in the big ones also.

-- doris richards (dorisquilts@webtv.net), November 04, 1999.

More of a question than an answer- I never used a "canner" or pressure cooker-always boiled the jars in a big pot on the stove- (mostly tomatoes) does that way work with meat? I have the opportunity to get alot of free venison and my freezer is very small.

-- kathy (catfish@bestweb.net), November 04, 1999.

NO, NO, Do not can meat in a water bath!!!! You HAVE to have a pressure canner.Maybe you ca borrow one or the rental places may have them. It is dangerous to can meat anyother way but a pressure canner.

-- doris richards (dorisquilts@webtv.net), November 05, 1999.

Cooker vs Canner. Pressure is pressure. use 15 pounds, exhaust cooker min 5 minutes before puting on the weight. I did beans in a cooker that only held 3 pint jars before I got a canner. Blue book has the clearest directions, or check with your county extension agent. Our extension agency has a canner to loan out. It should be easy to borrow one this time of year. A pint jar hold about 3/4 of a rabbit, you may want to use small jars for meat. Soups made from extra broth canwell also.

-- Kendy Sawyer (sweetfire@grove.net), November 07, 1999.

I know the directions on canning meat say to use pint jars, but we used to can salmon in quarts when we were in Alaska and getting them out of a fish wheel, and never had any problems. (Also found that we didn't have to scale them first -- the canning dissolved the scales completely -- what a timesaver!) And we raw packed them. When I canned some pre-cooked chicken stew the meat got awfully tough, but all those chickens were tough that year. My mother used to can, raw- pack, chunks of whatever meat we had (moose, caribou, bison, mostly) and it made the best meat gravy.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), April 13, 2000.

Back in the day... when we had to live without electricity on our farm.. I used my pressure canner to can meat. We had a gas stove. That was a few yrs ago. I canned deer meat and beef, was the best tasting meat I ever had. Was very tender. I followed a recipie in my "right arm" book. Encylpoedia of Country Living by carla Emery. I have a 22 qt canner by Mirro.. works great and I can double stack pints. I simply cut up the meat and raw packed in jars, no liquid, then process 1 and 1/4 hr for pints, qts 1hr and 1/2 at 10 pounds weighted or 11 pounds dial. If you'd like more recipies e-mail me. Good luck!

Bernice

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), April 14, 2000.

Go to the USDA site and get to canning. They have all the charts for meat canning. I printed them out and clipped them to my Ball canning book. They even have the wild game my husband catches. I can't wait to get to the chickens this year.

-- Susie*Ks (goodartfarm@msn.com), April 29, 2000.

I have canned meat an fish for years one good suggestions is to also can any waste bones, fish skin etc. for pet food

-- ronda johnson (the johnsons_doty@hotmail.com), August 21, 2000.

Sue, Your cooperative extension service is a good place to start. They have information, and many have canning classes taught by master canners. The books they put out explain how to process the meat/veggie to avoid boutlism. ONLY very high acid fruits and vegetables (like tomatoes) should be canned in a boiling water bath. ALL meats need to be pressure canned.

-- tang (tang@mtaonline.net), March 23, 2001.

Get yourself a "Ball Blue Book" of canning recipes. It has a lot of canning recipes in it for meat. Sharyn

-- Sharyn Russell (grussell@academicplanet.com), November 01, 2001.