What are you canning/preserving today?

[Dawgluver]

Originally Posted by Steve Kroll

Strangely enough, I can't recall having had a single apple this year. I don't know what's the matter with me. I love apples.

I think a trip to the orchard is in the cards!

You might run into my brother and his family, they're on their way to Minnetonka orchard outside the Twin Cities right now!

[fairygirl69]

I can apple butter and applesauce every year from the farmer's market just up the road. But today I'm canning pork loin roasts that I found on manager's special at the local Kroger. $1.59 per pound.

[taxlady]

You are using a pressure canner, aren't you?

[fairygirl69]

Oh yes! We bought one on layaway our first year of marriage thirteen years ago. I'd never can low acid foods without it.

[Roll_Bones]

Originally Posted by fairygirl69

But today I'm canning pork loin roasts that I found on manager's special at the local Kroger. $1.59 per pound.

I have seen this done and always wondered how meat would taste canned and preserved this way?
Do you use water? How is this done and why do you do it?

[fairygirl69]

It tastes kind of like a pork roast. We use it in Asian American style chop suey or chili verde, soups, crockpot dishes. Since it's been pressure cooked it's very tender.

What I do is cube up the meat in the biggest bowl I have and then it sits in my fridge covered over night. The next day, I wash and sterilize my jars in the oven. Working quickly to keep the meat cool until it cooks. I put a funnel on the can., stuff the jar with the raw meat, and run a plastic spatula or plastic knife around the edges and the center of the filled jar to remove any air pockets. Put about a teaspoon of sea salt in the jar. Remove the funnel and wipe the rims of the jar with a clean paper towel and vinegar. Sterilize your band and lid. Put it on the jar finger tight and place it in a pressure canner. Do the same with the rest of your jars. Put the lid on the canner, let it vent for ten minutes. Then put the regulator on and let it come to the pressure you need for your area. Process for 75 minutes for pints, 90 minutes for quarts. Then let the pressure come down completely before you open the canner lid away from you and let the cans cool on a towel for 24 hours. No water needed. The meat will make it's own juices and the fat will float to the top and you can remove it before you open it for recipes. One pint is a pound of meat. One quart is two pounds of meat. I usually use about two pounds per recipe. I found out how to do this from videos on YouTube but I also used the Ball Blue book.

[fairygirl69]

The canned meat is really handy if you need a quick meal in a hurry or you're snowed in. The best thing is, home canned meat is way cheaper than store bought canned meat if you surf the sales. By my calculations I paid about half the price by canning my own beef, pork, and chicken breast.

[Bookbrat]

I seem to always wind up with beef chuck steak and pork shoulder roast left when it's time to pick up the next one from the butcher, so I cube it up and can it. Makes the best shredded beef and pork for taquitos, burritos or bbq sandwiches. And stew. And meat and gravy over a starch when you need comfort food.

This week, though, was onion week. Our Gleaners Assoc. had onions that were nicked up and hadn't been stored well, and I bought 50#. We did a couple of dehydrator loads of diced and a canner load of french onion soup. Which is good mixed with the canned beef and thickened. Fortunately DH doesn't cry when he chops onions (!).

[fairygirl69]

Oh that sounds delectable!

[Roll_Bones]

Learn something new all the time. Thanks for the explanation.