Canning Hamburger - 2nd Chance

[YYY]

Hi Everybody,

 

Some time ago, I wrote asking about canning hamburger (ground beef). I had canned it before but I was always unhappy with the taste/texture of it. It always seemed off – for lack of a better word. It turned out that many of you thought the same thing. I stopped canning hamburger.

 

Last week, I went to the following site ( http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/12/12/how-to-pressure-can-ground-beef/# ) and read about how she prepared her hamburger meat – she boiled the meat instead of browning it before putting it into the jars. I decided to try her boiling method. I made spaghetti for dinner today and used a jar. I could not tell the difference other than the meat seemed a little softer. I dumped the contents of the jar into a pan and let it cook down until most of the liquid was gone. Then added the other ingredients. I was pleased. Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

 

I thought I’d pass on this info in case someone wants to give hamburger a 2nd chance.

 

YYY

[Dee]

Thanks YYY, like you I'd given up on hamburger because it just wasn't quite right. It would be nice to have some canned anon d hand so I'll give it a try this way.

 

 

[snapshotmiki]

I haven't had a problem with the texture of my canned burger. DH made spaghetti with meat sauce tonight and it was good. I also can it for my dogs for when they have tummy problems. I can theirs with water and ours with broth. Theirs gets mixed with white rice. I do brown the burger before canning and rinse well.

[Amishway Homesteaders]

I agree.............. it is just OK not great when canned.

will try this way the next time we do some.

Thanks for the tip.

[Amishway Homesteaders]

WOW!

just went to check out site to 'bookmark' it and she did a great job of posting photos as well as telling how to do it step by step.

IF you are 'thinking' about canning meat........ THIS IS THE SITE to do it with - baby steps.

Good find!

[highdesertgirl]

I am just curious as to using broth instead of water when canning meat. Do you used disolved boullion cubes for the broth? I canned the chicken soup a while back and didn't have near enough broth so used disolved chicken cubes for the extra broth. Next time I will use more water than called for in the recipe when boiling the chicken. I'd like to can the hamburger meat - the tutorial link below made it look so easy but I have heard it is better with broth.

[YYY]

Hi Highdesertgirl,

 

I put 1/2 teaspoon of beef boullion granules into each 12 oz jar (my favorite size jar). For chicken, I put 1/2 teaspoon of chicken boullion granules into each 12 oz jar.

 

Hope this helps

 

YYY

[homeschoolshe]

So what is the verdict? Is it definately better boiled first? We definately were not fond of it fried first. I don't want to give up on it just yet, but......

[YYY]

Hi HomeSchoolShe

 

I am sorry that I took so long answering this. Things are so busy here that I just saw it.

 

I do like ground beef better when boiled, rinsed off, put in a hot jar and add 1/2 teaspoon of beef boullion "crumbles" stirred in, and then fill with boiling water to within 1/2 inch of the top. Wipe off the rim. Add the 2 piece cap and pressure can for your altitude.

 

I do like this method better, but it is still not like the real thing.

 

If anyone has a better way, I'd love to hear it.

 

Hope this helps

 

YYY

[ScrubbieLady]

Hi Highdesertgirl,

 

I put 1/2 teaspoon of beef boullion granules into each 12 oz jar (my favorite size jar). For chicken, I put 1/2 teaspoon of chicken boullion granules into each 12 oz jar.

 

Hope this helps

 

YYY

 

Where do you get 12 oz jars? All I can find is half-pint (8 oz), pint (16 oz) and quart (32 oz).

[YYY]

Hi ScrubbieLady,

 

The 12 oz size is my favorite size. The pint size (16 oz) holds one pound of meat. I wanted to s-t-r-e-t-c-h my meat budget a “little” further, so I decided to try using a jar that holds 4 oz less. No one seems to notice the slightly smaller amount of meat.

 

I can only get the 12 oz size at Walmart in the spring. Otherwise I go to Ace hardware to get the jars. They cost approx. $11/dozen. Since everything else is going up, that price may have risen also.

 

My favorite place to get the 12 oz jars is thrift stores or yard sales.

 

This is the 4th time that I have tried to reply to you. I hope it takes this time.

 

YYY

[CoM]

Here is another method of canning ground meat...called "dry canning". Supposedly, the texture remains the same as fresh cooked ground meat.

 

 

 

Here is a taste test review of it comparing it with fresh cooked ground meat, not canned.

 

[Deerslayer]

Who is she??? Do you know who she is??

[Violet]

It is NOT safe. It is too thick and dense. Some sort of liquid must be added for safety reasons.

Please, and I keep repeating myself, don't follow what you see on peoples blogs and from books and websites where people who have no food preservation safety training publish this stuff, if you value your safety and the safety of your loved ones. You can get botulism.....

[out_of_the_ordinary]

Thank you, Violet!

[Deerslayer]

Thanks violet!!! I would still like to know who she is, she was talking about her blog and preserving cheeses etc

[CoM]

The info originally came from Jackie Clay at Backwoods Magazine.

 

http://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/page/3/

 

bottom of page

 

Canning hamburger

 

I have canned several batches of hamburger over the years. I brown the burger and pack hot in pint jars fill to head space with broth and process for the “book” time. I am getting complaints that the texture is too fine and a chunkier product is desired for spaghetti and chili. Any suggestions for keeping the product coarser?

 

Howard Brewi

Valdez, Alaska

 

The way I generally process my hamburger is to lightly brown it in a little grease then pack hot into pint jars, leaving 1 inch of headspace. I do not add broth. This way the granules of browned meat do not pack together and come out just like “normal” fried hamburger crumbles. Process at the same 75 minutes as any other meat. — Jackie

Edited August 26, 2012 by CoM

[Violet]

She does MANY unsafe and crazy things !!! I would not ever follow any of her advice for home food preserving. She has no training, just makes up her own things. What will people do if they get sick or poisoned when something really happens and we may not have any health care ??

[TurtleMama]

Vioet, is the very first link a safe way to process the ground meat -- the one where you boil it instead of frying it? I'd like to give that a shot with ground turkey if it's OK.

[Violet]

Not without adding broth, water, or tomato juice. You must add liquid to the jars of ground meat. Otherwise it is too thick and dense and the heat cannot penetrate it properly to kill botulism.

[Canned Nerd]

I quit following the Backwoods website several years ago because of such issues and being criticized when I commented about potential issues.

[TurtleMama]

It's always a bummer when people get mad at you for genuinely trying to help... But they have to WANT to hear what your saying and want to be helped. Free will, I guess.

 

Violet, the tomato juice sounds promising....especially for meat you're going to use in spaghetti sauce or something. Yum! Can you use V-8 to boost the nutrition content?

[Violet]

Yes, you can use V8 instead.

[TurtleMama]