How to Can Meat

Home canned meat is head and shoulders above the mass processed canned meats you can buy at your grocery store. With proper preparation and handling, home canned meat maintains its texture and nutritional and is much more appealing in recipes.

Instructions

1. Realize that meat is a low-acid food. As such, it must be canned using a pressure canner. Pressure canners maintain temperatures adequate to kill all bacteria, spores and toxins that are naturally occurring in low-acid foods.

2. Use a weighted-gauge pressure canner to can meat. Weighted-gauge pressure canners allow for more accurate monitoring of the pressure canner's internal temperatures. This ensures your meat is canned precisely according to the pressure requirements in the recipe instructions.

3. Prepare the meat for canning by cutting the meat across the grain into strips. If you plan to use the meat for stews or soups, you can cut the strips into 1 inch cubes. As you cut the meat up, be sure to trim all fat and gristle. Fat can cause canned meat to taste gamey or prevent the jars from sealing properly.

4. Cook your meat before canning. You can cook the meat by roasting or pan cooking it, or you can cook it in a recipe you find in a reputable home canning recipe guide.

5. Cold pack your meat for canning. Place uncooked pieces of meat in the canning jars, cover them with broth or water leaving the appropriate headroom, and can the meat according to the directions in your home canning guide.

Tips & Warnings

• Most pressure canning recipes are designed for canning at or below 1,000 feet above sea levels. If you are located at higher altitudes, you will need to make adjustments to your processing. Check a reputable home canning source, such as the "Ball Blue Book of Preserving" for instructions.

• Even if you are using a recipe that includes a combination of high-acid and low-acid foods, you must process the food according to the directions for the low-acid foods.