Canning Ground Beef

[TheCG]

Planning to can ground beef soon.  Does this sound about right?

 

https://www.backtoourroots.net/canning-hamburger-ground-meat/

[Trudy]

Looks just like the instructions from NCHFP so I'd say it's the safe way. Violet told me she always used the boullion in each jar so that's the way I do it.

[Jeepers]

Sorry I missed this.  You aren't supposed to heat the lids any more. They changed the sealing compound along with the directions. I wash mine and rinse them under hot tap water. So far I've had no failures.

 

I get the leanest hamburger I can find and fry it up. Then I drain all the water and fat off of it. Sometimes I even rinse it in a colander. 

 

I usually make a liquid of beef broth and pour it over the meat. The last time, I made some onion soup (like Lipton's) and poured it over the meat. You could use dry boullion or dry soup mix directly in the jars but I didn't know how much to use so I just made the soup and used that.

 

Canned hamburger has a different texture. Kind of dry and crumbly. But still good. Just different.

 

 

Forgot to mention, it's better to use straight vinegar to wipe the jar rims when you can anything that contains fat. Vinegar will cut the grease better than plain water. 

 

 

* She also didn't mention venting the canner before adding the weight. When you see a full steady stream of steam coming out of the top of the closed canner lid, then count for 10 minutes before adding the weight. Put the weight on and when the canner reaches the proper pressure, then start your timer.

 

*Yes she did. She called it exhausting the canner. Sorry about that. 

 

Edited September 11, 2020 by Jeepers
Added Info

[TheCG]

Thanks, I’ll take a look at liquids.  I don’t think it’s going to happen this weekend (I just made 3 types of puréed veggie soups to freeze, and have more to do still), but it will happen.

[The WE2's]

Watched Heidi on Rain Country and she dehydrates ground beef and chicken.  I'm going to give it a shot soon!  Brought all my bags of coffee beans here from the homestead so I can start vacuum sealing them in quart jars.  My enclosed porch sure smells good when I walk in! 

 

[kappydell]

I have a case of canning lids I ordered back in the olden days.....I presume I still boil those, if only to soften up the glue?  You know, the ones made in this country, a couple decades back

 

[Midnightmom]

1 hour ago, kappydell said:

I have a case of canning lids I ordered back in the olden days.....I presume I still boil those, if only to soften up the glue?  You know, the ones made in this country, a couple decades back

 I would presume so too, but just to be safe, try processing some jars of water (with food coloring in them?) and see if the gaskets fail in any way. If they are so old they might just crumble or crack or what ever. This way you won't lose any valuable food.

[kappydell]

good idea;   I sure hope they are ok, there is a whole case of them 

 

Edited September 14, 2020 by kappydell

[Jeepers]

I'd like to know about the older lids too. I have a bunch of the older ones squirreled away too. I never did boil mine though. I got a shallow sauce pan of water just to the simmer stage, turned the fire off and then put the lids in the pan of hot water. 

[The WE2's]

On 9/13/2020 at 8:34 PM, The WE2's said:

she dehydrates ground beef and chicken

 

She did an update and said the chicken was not a good turn out...so...I'll just stick with pressure canning all my meats! LOL  Glad she posted it as a sort of "correction" though!

[The WE2's]

On 9/14/2020 at 2:56 PM, Jeepers said:

I'd like to know about the older lids too

 

Watched one of my favorite youtubers...Wipporwill Holler...and she bought a bunch of the REALLY old canning lids and plans to use them.  Stay tuned?

[Andrea]

The Ball Blue Book has an excellent recipe for seasoned ground beef.  It's generic enough that you can add additional spices to flavor it Italian or Mexican upon opening.  I've used it for canning ground turkey as well.  

[Littlesister]

When I can ground beef, I always try to buy the 93%. I fry it all up and then can it. Never had an issue with it.  I can my chicken from the raw state with no issues. I have never canned salmon, but am thinking of trying it.  Hope it turns out good. 

[Midnightmom]

21 hours ago, Littlesister said:

I have never canned salmon, but am thinking of trying it.  Hope it turns out good. 

 

I think Sutton's Daze has a video demonstrating that. I will try to find it and come back here to post the link.

Found it: 

 

Edited November 10, 2021 by Midnightmom

[Littlesister]

I have a lot of salmon in freezer. Going to try that out.  Looks very easy as you just can it raw. 

Need for things to calm down around here so I can get my soups canned. Haven't had time to make it yet. Will see what next week brings. Hoping it will slow down enough to get that done.  Seems I'm always on the go or cleaning stuff out.

[kappydell]

Salmon (most fish( cans beautifully.  I have even canned catfish which many dont like because it gets very soft in texture almost like a spread.  I dont mind since I usually use it in sandwiches anyway or in patties,  Either way fish mush works fine for those and since I add seasonings to the jars I get flavored fish pates!  Smoke flavor and jalapeno are my favorites so far.

 

As far as ground beef I add "Minnesota mix' to it after browning and pressure can it with the meat at beef pressure and time for a meat sauce.  

Minnesota Mix is tomato-celery-green pepper-onion combination uually waterbathed as a sauce base, chili base, casserole sauce base, or as a side dish like stewed tomatoes.  

https://extension.umn.edu/preserving-and-preparing/canning-minnesota-tomato-mixture      

Edited November 20, 2021 by kappydell

[Jeepers]

When you see a big pink slab of salmon in the meat case at the store and it has those white lines on it...are those bones? 

 

I've heard that baby shrimp doesn't can up very well. It goes to mush with a strong fishy smell. I thought about doing some in those little quarter pint size jars to add to salads but decided to pass. I don't like fish but thought it would be a nice change of protein for the family.