'Chillin' after canning/processing venison. Feelin good!

[hc18flyer]

The last canner is finishing up, belly is full after a 'perfect' filet, hash browns, and an Amber Bock. LIFE IS GOOD! Those 24 pints will make for some tasty and quick meals for my family. Next week, hope to be doin it all over again! Worth every minute! Flyer

[TXGunNut]

Life is good, indeed! My freezer is full but will try canning meat someday. My freezer is big enough to hold all the game meat I need for a year but if I had a family I'd be making room for a pressure cooker.

[Thumbcocker]

Mrs. Thumbcocker just ordered a big gasket free canner from Emergency Essentials so we can can larger quantities. Love teh idea of no freezer burn, indefinite shelf life, and no worry in a power outage.

[farmbif]

i just got this place in the appilachians that has a building about 14 x 24 built into the side of the mountain behind my house the bottom floor is an elaborate root cellar built of cinder block and the top floor is canning shed with big freezer, hot plate and they left me a big pressure cooker and a bunch of other stuff,
I had never thought of canning ever in my life and although I've been shooting and reloading for 35+ years now the last time I went hunting is when I lived in Louisiana 20 some years ago. In moving I started putting all my reloading stuff in the root cellar as it pretty much stays between 50 to 65 degrees in there.
how do you learn how to can stuff and is the stuff you can any good, taste? when you go to eat it.
after reading your enthusiasm in canning I'm thinking I need to put reloading in the tobacco barn or another building and learn how to can food
any advice I'm open to, moving back to the country after 20 plus years in the florida burbs is a real joy and I cant get the move finished fast enough.
Now I'm thinking I might put up a bigger place for reloading a

[dk17hmr]

I killed 3 antelope, a deer, and an elk this year. Canned meat has been a stable in our house for the last 4 years. We can upwards of 50 pounds a year. This year I did some pints of burger also.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/Mobile%20Uploads/KIMG0516_zpssbc93wru.jpg (http://s48.photobucket.com/user/dk17hmr/media/Mobile%20Uploads/KIMG0516_zpssbc93wru.jpg.html)

[Thumbcocker]

The Ball Blue Book is a valuable resource that will walk you through the process. Also there are many YouTube videos on the subject. We raw pack the chunks and dry back the burger. With the stew meat we put in a teaspoon or table spoon of vegetarian beef broth powder in the jar (pints or quarts) and a small onion or onion quarter in the bottom of the jar.

As far as taste..... One bite of canned stew meat and you will understand the justification for the American Revolution, the Second Amendment, and our hunting culture. If you put a chunk of canned venison on your head your tongue will beat you silly trying to get at it.

[dk17hmr]

I always tell my friends get passed what it looks like in the jar, try it, and you won't want anything else.

We do alot of chicken and pork along with my game meat. Our pantry looks like a science lab from a horror film but we eat good.

[Thumbcocker]

dk17hmr : I would like to party with you.

[dk17hmr]

dk17hmr : I would like to party with you.

Come on out to the land of freedom, quiet rifles, and meat in a jar!

[gishooter]

Been canning venison for several years. We love it. People who have never tried it can't believe it is venison. Fork tender and quick meals. Just did 35 quarts last month. Our pressure canner holds 7 quarts. If anyone can reload safe and effective ammunition they can also can meat!
We use the Ball Blue book also. Easy to read instructions with pictures. Lots of time tested recipes. We raw pack chunks. For one quart jars we put in one teaspoon of canning salt and use hot meat broth or hot beef broth. They wife will saute some onions in the skillet before adding the canned venison to heat up. Serve with your favorite pasta noodles or mashed potatoes. It is very good with Bismati rice also. We can get two meals out of a quart jaw for two adults and two kids.
This year we tried canning ground venison. Again followed the Blue Book recipe. Awesome in spaghetti, lasagna, etc.

[warboar_21]

When I was young my mother canned everything from fruit and vegetables to meat. I honestly don't remember the taste of the meat but have fond memories of the peaches. Maybe I will have to try canning if and when I draw a deer or elk tag here in Nevada.

[hc18flyer]

Got another doe to process. I would be happy to attach my recipe for canning if folks are interested? My Grandma always 'browned' her beef before canning it, so we brown it in beef tallow. In each pint I put 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon dried minced onion, a couple shakes of coarse pepper, and I cover it with a broth of 2 tablespoons of "BV" in 1 1/2 quarts of water. Browning add a step, but it looks perfect in the jar when done! BV is a liquid beef bullion in a little brown jar with a red lid. My favorite meal is venison stew, followed by stroganoff. Flyer

[borg]

There are so many that say Ball Blue book, how do you know which is good?

[juzme]

We're right with all the canning folks in this thread. Every year I can remember, seven decades of 'em, I've been a part of the great annual canning adventures; a part of the eating of the products, too. (BTW, yes, they did have great pressure canners over seven decades ago.lol) Since my wife and I were married we've grown and killed a bery big part of what our family has eaten. As for the meats, we still can a young doe or two every year (much better than venison from bucks) along with the chickens, goat, and rabbits we process here at home. We trade for pork and beef which we also can. Very little of our meat or produce is frozen unless it is temporarily awaiting the pressure canner space and time to do the job. Heck, we even can squirrel. Yes we do enjoy squirrel. Now, about learning how to can; my wife came from a big city and had no idea how to get started. She is of the type that I'd just better not try to teach her much of anything verbally so I just gave her the old book that came originally with the canner and told her to read it all and then refer to it every time she processed something-- worked a charm with never a failure (excepting the very occasional failure to seal which we eat right then anyhow). And as for taste, oh my-- mmmmmm good. 'Nuf said, just do it.

[hc18flyer]

Here is our recipe for canning. We like it and have used it for years! Your mileage may vary? I would still make sure to carefully read instructions from your canner and understand the basics of pressure canning meat. Also know that your altitude affects the pressure you can at. Later, Flyer

Pressure Canned Venison
GrandmaFrancescanned beef when we were kids and it is an economical and delicious way toprocess venison. Canned meat keeps for more than a year, is very tasty, andmakes for a quick supper. My daughters expect us to bring some along, whenvisiting them in Nashville.
*** Not difficult,once you get into a routine. One person can process 25# of cubed meat in onelong evening, with two canners. PERFECTLY SAFE when you carefully followdirections and CHECK your seals when finished processing and prior to use.

In addition tovenison, you’ll need;
B-V Broth and Sauceconcentrate (3 oz. bottle will be enough for 15# of meat)
salt
clean canning jars,new lids, and rings
dried minced onion(ifdesired)
pepper
Complete PRESSUREcooker, guide book, and spare seal

Trim off all fat andremove connective tissue, cut into 1” cubes, we prefer ‘fresh’ meat; howevercan freeze and process at a later date. Brown in large skillets and transfer toroaster in 250 degree oven until ready to pack jars. Note- Browning isn’tabsolutely necessary, but it allows more meat to be packed in individual jars,is tastier, firmer, and makes a prettier end product.

*** Find a PressureCanning Guide, carefully read and follow the general and meat PRESSURE canninginstructions. Helps to have a ‘trial run’ with an empty canner (before startingprocess) to make sure it seals correctly and you have the procedure down pat. Iadd a tablespoon of vinegar to eliminate hard water spots on finished jars.

Add ¼ teaspoon Saltto each pint jar, pepper, and a teaspoon of minced onion (if desired), ½teaspoon Salt to quarts. Pack hot meat into jars, don’t over do it, I get about1 # per pint, will expand while processing; you don’t want to cause problemswith the sealing. I don’t use the liquid from browning, causes a cloudy broth.
In a sauce pan, makea broth of 1 ½ quarts water and 3 tablespoons of B-V, heat to near boilingtemperature. Pour broth over meat. Makesure to leave 3/4” of empty ‘headspace’. Follow directions for removing air bubblesand putting hot lids on jars.
Process at 15#(varies with your altitude), 75minutes for pints or 90 minutes for quarts. Cool slowly to allow jars to seal,store out of sunlight in cool basement or cellar.

CAREFULLY CHECKcooled jars, refrigerate any that didn’t seal properly.

We use most of ourcanned venison for stew, stroganoff, or vegetable beef soup, see next page.

Tom and Chuck

Canned Venison Stew
Adelicious and hearty stew can be table ready in 40 minutes. Serve with Dale’sFry Bread, Chuck's 'Hot water Corn Bread', or Dutch Oven biscuits. Easy to make over the campfire, a staple atDeer Camp.

pint jar of cannedvenison
can of Beef Broth
stew seasoning
3 stalks of celery
1 ½ cups of cut upcarrots
4-6 medium washedpotatoes
1 medium onion
green pepper(ifdesired)
mushrooms (ifdesired)

Preparation:
In a dutch oven orsoup kettle, add all of the cut vegetables, stew seasoning, beef broth, (liquidfrom mushrooms) and the liquid from the canned venison jar. Add water to coverif necessary, bring to boiling, cover dutch oven and simmer for 20 minutes, oruntil potatoes are tender. Thicken with a little corn starch (mixed with coldwater), add meat and warm up, and allow to sit for a few minutes. Do not stirtoo much, meat breaks up easily.

[DougGuy]

I think pickling or canning venison might be the ticket. I had throat cancer 2yrs ago and have a difficult time swallowing lean meat no matter how well it is cooked. It chews down and makes a fibrous wad and I cannot swallow this stuff.

Pickled pork is an old time Louisiana staple, cajun cooks use it in red beans and rice, and man, I can swallow it easy as pie. I made some bean soup with some commercially processed (Savoie's) pickled pork and it was awesome over cornbread! Oh hell yeah! With some hatch chiles chopped in there whew now we talking.

I have lots of venison in the freezer from before I got sick and I don't want to give it away but can't eat it very easily like it is. It's just too lean and I can chew it and suck all the juices out of it just can't swallow it without risking a choking hazard. I might try pickling some of it and see if the vinegar breaks it down and tenderizes it, or I might need to source out a pressure canner and give that a shot. What do you think?

Edit: Maybe I should ask and see if someone might send me a jar that's been pressure canned so I can see if I can swallow it easy? I would be glad to pay usps OR you pay the usps and I can trade you a throat, crown & polish job on a 1911 barrel and ship it back to you to make it worth your trouble... This is a $50 value btw..

[Thumbcocker]

PM sent

[Greg]

juzme

it's squirrel season round here, can you share you canned squirrel recipe ? Please


We're right with all the canning folks in this thread. Very little of our meat or produce is frozen unless it is temporarily awaiting the pressure canner space and time to do the job. Heck, we even can squirrel. Yes we do enjoy squirrel. And as for taste, oh my-- mmmmmm good. 'Nuf said, just do it.

[336A]

I love canned venison as well, that's the only way my grandfather and father ever processed their deer. When I got my first deer my father, brother and I were up until about 1:30 in the morning canning cutting up that doe, IIRC we ended up with 16 quarts of meat. I have no idea what ever happened to the pressure cooker that we used but I sure would love to can up another deer. I would miss some of the steak cuts though. When we canned that deer we cold packed it and added some salt, I forget how much it was now heck I was only 17 then.

[Thumbcocker]

Just canned the last 5 quarts of horticultural beans today, Lunch was sloppy joes made from canned deer with home made pickles on the side. the pressure canner is an all American that dates from January 1948. My mother got it at an auction for next to nothing we cleaned it up and with a $24 guage it was good to go. We can a lot of venison in July and August to have room for this year's deer in the freezer. Easy way to extend shelf life. With the canned deer, chicken, beans, sweet corn, bushel of peaches, dill pickles, and sugar free strawberry jam we have canned this year we pretty well have that 72 hour government recommendation covered. Might need a few more primers though.

[waarp8nt]

Mr and Mrs Thumbcocker can some pretty tasty deer meat, chicken, dill pickles and such. There has been more than one occasion they were kind enough to share with me.

[white eagle]

Quit it now I'm hungry [smilie=p:

[w5pv]

The meat never lasted long enough for canning but bean,peas,corn and other garden veggies were canned,shelf life will surprise you.Had some figs that were still good after several years in the caning jar.Also ribbon Cane syrup.

[shooterg]

Used to go with Grandma and help with yearly canning at the local school's cannery - but we actually put the meat in cans, not jars. Jams and some veggies went into jars - maybe we oughta call it "jarring". lol
I'd pay a lot for a can of Grandma's beef stew or jar of strawberry jam now !

[Electric88]

All this talk about going canning venison makes me wish I was able to go hunting this year :(

[TXGunNut]

Made my last batches of breakfast and Italian sausage last weekend, some chili meat as well. Smoking some loins this weekend. Gotta make room for some venison or I'll be leaving the big cooler at home!

[smokeywolf]

We've been canning for several years. Regularly can chicken soup (sans noodles), ham bone/navy bean soup, chili, spaghetti sauce, beef and few other goodies.
A quick dinner or late night snack is sometimes microwaved leftover rice with a jar of beef poured into a saucepan, heated and poured over the rice.

[telebasher]

Anybody can any mincemeat ? Love mincemeat pies !

[Djones]

Thank you all for the info on this thread. It was enough to get me to take the plunge into pressure canning. I canned my first batch of deer chili about three weeks ago. Just polished off the first pint today while camping. Probably the best chili I have ever eaten. It is so handy to have a pint of chili on hand. Excited to try some fresh meat once bow season gets here.

Here is a picture of my chili, fresh out of the canner.
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt124/duckwhackercmon/D74E6207-767E-4CAB-9E9A-9E788FA2C0DC.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/duckwhackercmon/media/D74E6207-767E-4CAB-9E9A-9E788FA2C0DC.jpg.html)

[sixshot]

Djones, would you care to share your chili recipe for venison, I can't find my canning recipe & I've had it for years.

Dick

[Djones]

Hoosier Whitetail Chili

Ingredients:

1.5 to 2 pounds ground deer
two to three onions chopped
one bell pepper chopped
Handful of chopped jalapeños
Three to four large cloves of garlic
Pint of salsa
quart of canned tomatoes packed in own juice
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 14oz can black beans
1 14oz can kidney beans


Directions:

1) Brown the meat with onions and peppers
2) add salsa, tomatoes and seasoning. Over low - med/low heat bring to low boil
3) add drained beans and bring to a simmer

If canning allow to simmer while packing into hot pint jars. Leave 1" headspace. Process for 75 min at 11 psi (Hoosier flatlander elevation).

If you aren't canning, allow to simmer for a few hours.

Enjoy,

David

[300 TC]

Try using Hatch chili peppers with that recipe, it adds a whole new flavor.

[Hogtamer]

Thanks for posting this! I just ordered the Ball Blue book off Amazon and dug out the pressure cooker I haven't used in years. There's always lots of venison here and I need another way to use it. THanks again, I love this site!

[Hogtamer]

Did my first batch of venison this afternoon and looks great. The bottom broke out of one jar,(they've been banged around over the years) using the hot pack method in canner, so wound up with 8 pints.

[Mgvande]

On Amazon there is like 15 different ball blue books. Which one has the best meat preserving recipes?

[hc18flyer]

The basics should have remained the same in all issues. For a few years I had to have a quick review, now I could do it in my Sleep! I canned 30# of venison earlier this week. Flyer

[4719dave]

Wow ..This is the 2nd time in my life im not hunt im 53 ..not too happy but life goes on .By chance would I be able to send someone a donation for perhaps a jar of ven I've never had it in a jar from a pressure cooker im thinking i missed out on something here ..Happy Turkey day too all have fun with the familys