What are you canning?

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I just processed my first batch of pressure canned food.
I had a 15# or so corned beef that I should have cooked for StPatty's day but we never got the whole fam together with the corona pandemic.

I trimmed it all up nice, cubed and processed. It all went smooth with no issues.
Made some awesome hash the next morning and I have to keep myself from eating the rest of the corned beef in one sitting.

So I was wondering what everyone's favorite food are to can? More Specifically pressure canning.

I think I'm going to be pressure canning a lot of the extra vegetables this year. My brother has a serious green thumb and he always ends up with way too much surplus.
 
I was given an old Mirro 22 quart canner.
probably older than I am but the gasket still seals up tight (guessing it’s a replacement) and it worked fine.
 
Not canning anything right now. We are shopping out of the freezers and off our shelves.

My first canning this year will probably be Roma green beans from the garden. When things calm down a bit I'm going to watch for sales on boneless chicken breast and do a couple of cases of quarts and maybe some trimmed up chuck roasts.
Then later in the summer the tomatoes, cukes will come on and will be making dill pickles like mad.
 
Not canning anything right now. We are shopping out of the freezers and off our shelves.

My first canning this year will probably be Roma green beans from the garden. When things calm down a bit I'm going to watch for sales on boneless chicken breast and do a couple of cases of quarts and maybe some trimmed up chuck roasts.
Then later in the summer the tomatoes, cukes will come on and will be making dill pickles like mad.
How does chicken come out? Seems to me like the process would leave it soft and over cooked.
 
How does chicken come out? Seems to me like the process would leave it soft and over cooked.

No, it actually comes out quite firm......its excellent for chicken salad or could be added to soup as last ingredient since it is already cooked.

Raw pack sterilized jars with large 2x2 pieces, remove air bubbles( pack the jars tight) leave 1/2 inch headspace, I add a tsp of pickling salt and process for 90mins at what ever pressure for your altitude.
Some people add boiling water, I do not.
 
No, it actually comes out quite firm......its excellent for chicken salad or could be added to soup as last ingredient since it is already cooked.

Raw pack sterilized jars with large 2x2 pieces, remove air bubbles( pack the jars tight) leave 1/2 inch headspace, I add a tsp of pickling salt and process for 90mins at what ever pressure for your altitude.
Some people add boiling water, I do not.
Nice! I’m going to have to try that. All white meat or have you done dark meat too? I think dark meat would be awesome to have in hand so shred up for tacos and such.
 
Everything. 20200406_064402.jpg

I will can 30 pounds of beef when the cheap stuff is on sale. It is great for all types of meals. Lots of chicken too. Potatoes and carrots get canned in large batches as well. I started with potatoes because I got sick of them rotting two weeks after buying them. Nothing more versatile than canned potatoes. Turn them into mashed, baked or french fries in a matter of minutes. Carrots just taste better after canning and are ready instantly. We have meatballs, chili, ribs, soups, peaches, apple butter, plums. One of my favorites though is meatloaf in a jar. Make sure to use a wide mouth jar so you can just pop it out in one piece. Warm it in the oven and serve. My wife recently made home made baked beans, which I recently canned.

I can to preserve food and eliminate loss. Who knew it would come in handy for this apocalypse.
 
Do you add anything or just can them raw and plain Jane?
We do a layer of meat, then onion, garlic next then more meat. Usually make four layers per pint jar. Only a couple pieces of onion per layer and 1/2 teaspoon dried garlic bits. Mash everything down with a thick dowel to pack more in and get the air out.
 
We do a layer of meat, then onion, garlic next then more meat. Usually make four layers per pint jar. Only a couple pieces of onion per layer and 1/2 teaspoon dried garlic bits. Mash everything down with a thick dowel to pack more in and get the air out.
Nice! I see there’s some effort put into removing bubbles when you’re adding water. How do get around that with dry packing? Obviously you can get all of the air out so do you just do the best you can?
 
Nice! I see there’s some effort put into removing bubbles when you’re adding water. How do get around that with dry packing? Obviously you can get all of the air out so do you just do the best you can?

The packing is more to get as much as possible in each pint jar. A good rule of thumb is 1 lb of meat to a standard pint jar. No water need be added. We raw pack all meats. Between the fat & natural juices released during the canning process the meats never dry out.
 
Yes, I built them myself. The can seamer was made for soup cans and converted to work with beer cans.
Impressive. I have a client that was looking into a machine like that for selling beer instead of using growlers. How expensive are the cans?
 
Yes, I built them myself. The can seamer was made for soup cans and converted to work with beer cans.

Cool!
I've got a relative that commercially cans beer for craft breweries and private individuals, he's got the fully automated setup built into a large trailer and is doing very well with it. They run the beer hose to the trailer and the beer comes out canned and packaged.
 
Upping my game here from Water Bath Canning:

View attachment 367973
I had one when I used to can a lot. That mother gets heavy when you fill it with a two levels of quart jars! EDIT: just realized that one only holds 7 quarts. Mine was 14 quarts. Heavy AF.

EDIT: DON'T forget to put oil where the metal lid meets the pot or you will have a bitch of a time getting the cover off.
 
Canned 11 qts of sweet relish this morning. I ran out of pint jars last batch so had to use quarts but that's ok, it gets used quickly around here.
 
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