I finally did it! Canned venison

[horsesoldier]

I finally got around to using a pressure cooker, I canned 12 pints of deer meat today. All of my jars have sealed and nothing broke or exploded. I think it was a succesful day!

[dk17hmr]

You will never go back to tough/freezer burnt meat.....not that I get that anyways.

I did almost 75 pints of elk meat and few pints of antelope meat. We love it here. I was instructed if I am going to kill anymore antelope they need to be pressure canned.

[Bodydoc447]

How do you serve the canned elk/venison/antelope? I can a dozen or so pints every year but only use them to make chili or gravy train (meat and gravy over mashers). My dad uses them to make sandwiches. More ideas would be most welcome.

Doc

[dk17hmr]

We ended up eating my canned antelope at elk camp....dumped the can in a pot with some water and boiled it to warm it up....boiled potato's a little ketchup and spicy vegetables.

The other night I made stroganoff. 1/4 stick of butter, onion, mushrooms, canned meat, sour cream, worcestershire sauce, little bit of flour to thicken up the gravy served over noodles.

Makes great BBQ sandwiches also.

[grrifles]

I like to eat it over rice. Just heat up and dump it on a cup of rice. Works great for camping. The boil in the bag rice and a pint of deer meat. Yum

[trochilids]

Congratulations on the graduation to pressure canning your own meat.. Like others have said -- you will never go back! We've canned salmon for quite a few years, and just started canning turkey this year. It's incredible and lasts much longer than frozen. Let us know which recipes you try with your venison!

[Sweetpea]

How do you serve the canned elk/venison/antelope? I can a dozen or so pints every year but only use them to make chili or gravy train (meat and gravy over mashers). My dad uses them to make sandwiches. More ideas would be most welcome.

Doc

The wife makes LOTS of stew...

Sandwiches, hot or cold, you can add some BBQ sauce and make some killer pulled venison.

Chili, soups, tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, so many things you can do with it...

And it takes up no room in the freezer.

Be sure to date the bottles, and make sure you use the oldest first... they keep for years.

Brandon

[horsesoldier]

The next batch I am going to do with hot peppers and stuff like that.For my first go around I just did salt in the jars

[CastingFool]

We recently bought a large canner, and we have been doing some salsa, etc, but finally "graduated" to canning venison. Canned 7 qts, and a few days ago, my wife opened one up to try it. She served it with some veggies and rice. It was very good.

[gbrown]

Congratulations on your success!! I've never canned meat, but may venture into it. I've had friends who did it years ago and I ate a lot of that. Following recommended procedures, it is easy and safe. The idea of a pint of venison and some boiled veggies for a stew, or spicy venison over rice sounds great for a quick and easy camp meal. There are several old threads, one or 2 that should be still on the board, in which people talk about different variations. With a stew, put water over the veggies, add the broth for flavor and cook the veggies--then add the meat until heated thru.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?217360-Stew-soup-canning

[Changeling]

I have to admit I have never had canned meat like venison!

My Mom used to can a heck of a lot of sausage (raised hogs) and it was really great. I can remember her frying sausage off and on for a week or so in the canning process, Awesome !
Also a heck of a lot of work.

[labradigger1]

I like to eat it over rice. Just heat up and dump it on a cup of rice. Works great for camping. The boil in the bag rice and a pint of deer meat. Yum

This^^ plus soy sauce, sweet onion and green pepper slices makes a great stir fry. My wife made some for dinner this evening w/ mashed potatoes and succotash. YUMMM! Perhaps the best meal i ever ate.

[MaryB]

My favorite quick camping meal was canned meat over instant mashed. Make gravy, chop the meat into it, dump over a huge pile of mashed potatoes and eat. Was quick and easy on rainy days when cooking on the grill wasn't an option.

[DeadWoodDan]

I can't say enough about canning meat, my family sure enjoys consuming deer since we started this. thought i would give out my secrets after a few yrs of experimenting with venison. We originally started out adding various spices and herbs, had a small assembly line the first year. Now we have narrowed it down to a few flavors and much quicker.

1) Canned Chilli venison. We just buy medium container of chilli powder and coat all the meat evenly top with a small amount of butter and cook to pressure cookers instructions. My daughter prefers this over ground meat now. Also not to brag but had won two of three chilli cook offs with this.

2) Italian canned venison. We just buy Italian seasonings, the dried seasonings all mixed together, add the butter and pressure cook. This makes a few different meals when ready. Quick and easy sandwiches right out of the jar and heated up with a nice roll/bun and mozzarella cheese. Hot venison roll; basically take pizza doe layer it with the meat add mozzarella cheese and bake serve with side of ajeu.

3) BBQ. McCormick s BBQ seasoning packet, half packet to pint. coat meat evenly and cook in pressure cooker. Another one my daughter and son love. quick sandwiches.

4) Best for last Savory venison. this is McCormick s seasoning called savory roast beef. take half a package per pint and coat meat evenly and add butter cook in pressure cooker. This actually makes a gravy when heated up!! great over mashed potatoes.

As you can see we found that buying the seasoning packets is easier and produces better product than trying to measure and assembly a bunch of ingredients.

Good luck
DWD

[L Ross]

We often use ours to make smothered venison and bean burritos. Otherwise hot venison sandwiches with horse radish, and over mashed potatoes. Once you get comfortable canning meat start looking for free chickens in late Fall. People don't want to over winter them and you can often get them for free. The most flavorful are old layers.

Duke

[Anonym]

I started canning my venison last year and basically can everything but the loins, a few steaks from the rump, and maybe a roast or two. I like heating it up and pouring it over cooked rice or egg noodles, but I've also been experimenting with other recipes. Fixed a venison vegetable stew the other day from my canned venison that was out of this world. Need to find that recipe again!

[Chihuahua Floyd]

I canned some last year. found out it was not enough. IF I can get my deer between now and New Years, I'll can a bunch more. Thinking to add some different spices also.
Favorite way to eat it so far is to dump a pint into a pot of half cooked rice and finish cooking.
Now, where are all my pint jars?
CF

[docmagnum357]

ditto on the layers. Folks don't like old, tough hens because they don't understand how to cook them. I scald and pluck as usual and then skin them before I can them. I fry the skins like a pork rind.

I can rabbits that are too big to fry, chicken too tough or old to fry, and deer. I killed a ram the other day and froze him, but I am going to get all my canning stuff out and can him, too.

If it is too old, too tough, or not a steak or loin chop, we can it. It is the best way we have found to use game and farm raised meat.

I have heard about canning fish ,other than salmon but never tried it. Next time I catch limit of trout I may try that, too.

[kootne]

Been cannin' wild meat for 20+ years. Don't freezer burn, the worst cuts actually come out the best. All the gristle dissapears. All the serving possibilties that have been listed are good, one that hasn't been mentioned is hot Philly sandwich, bet you can't each just one! Use a Hoagie roll/bun or similar, put on some Swiss or Provolone and meat. Nuke till hot, add grilled onions,green peppers, mushrooms.

This is our favorite canning recipe;
1 TBL spoon dried onion
1 teaspoon dried, granulated garlic
1/2 TBL spoon olive oil
1 TBL spoon "Better Than Boullion" Organic beef base
1 pint of elk meat.
We put up about 130 pints last fall, running 2 pressure canners (14 pints each) at a time. Cookin's done for the rest of the year!
kootne

[L Ross]

Oh kootne, your version of a Philly sounds delicious! More complex than just a hot venison sandwich.

Duke

[waksupi]

No wonder all you guys around Libby and Troy are chubby! :wink:

[kootne]

No wonder all you guys around Libby and Troy are chubby! :wink:

Gimme a break here, elk meat (and whitetailed deer, and huckleberries, and wild mushrooms, and grouse, and turkeys, and kokonee salmon) are all organic and get you a lot of cardio in the "shopping" process.