Any unconventional canners out there?

[Beekissed]

And i think she did it raw.

I can my meats raw as well. They are getting majorly cooked during the canning process and will be cooked once again after they are removed from the jar. How much cooking does the meat have to take before everything is good and dead? I really don't want meats that have all the nutrients~and flavor~ cooked away.

How many of you eat your steaks medium rare or even rare? Good, aren't they? The blood flavors the meat. That is why I've never understood folks who brine and soak their deer, chicken, etc. to "remove the blood"...what is with that? The blood is where the flavor is at, IMO. Is good beef soaked and brined? Nope. Its hung for awhile but no more blood comes out after the initial blood drainage after butchering.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Bee, would you mind describing your process for canning meat?

I mean, do you just pour water over the raw meat?

Do you heat it at all before packing?

I'm planning to can a chicken for my first practice, but i would like to do it as well as possible.

 

[2dream]

I would say its no less risky than climbing in your car each morning and heading to work. Its all about accepted risks. You know that millions of people are killed in car accidents~sometimes whole families~but you still do it anyway because you have accepted that risk and because it hasn't happened to you. Same thing.

Bee, you are soooooooo correct. And for myself alone I would not be worried one bit. I am just hesitant to trust myself feeding my grandchildren waterbathed items. Don't ask me why, when I know full well that even pressure canned foods can be dangerous as well if not done properly. I think maybe for me its just that little extra precaution, plus the fact that I already have a pressure canner and don't have to go out and buy one.

 

[Beekissed]

Bee, would you mind describing your process for canning meat?

I mean, do you just pour water over the raw meat?

Do you heat it at all before packing?

I'm planning to can a chicken for my first practice, but i would like to do it as well as possible.

Place the meat in the jar, add salt and spices, pour boiling hot water to level desired...or no water at all, as I sometimes do when I can deer meat.... place lid and ring, boiling water bath for 90 min.

The meat won't be darkened like in pressure canning and still retains a somewhat pink color.

This year I will be canning my chicken a little differently, as I am canning it all up to chicken stock/soup. It will be cooked thoroughly by the time the stock is made and will be still hot when placed in the jars.

 

[big brown horse]

Are those instructions for water bath canning or for your new steam canner?

What is a steam canner, who makes it and where did you get it?

 

[Beekissed]

Sally, mine is a Back to Basics brand and it consists of a simple aluminum pan system that has a shallow pan on bottom with a rack to hold the jars off the bottom of the pan and a large and deep lid that fits down over the jars with holes in the sides to allow for steam venting.

You add 6-8 c. of water in the shallow base and close the system. When the steam is shooting out of the vents to 8 in. streams, you can place your jars in it and then process as usual. Its just like a boiling water bath except it uses steam for the intense heat and the steam is not under pressure like in a pressure cooking system.

I got mine on Amazon for $39.95 and free shipping but they are usually $65 plus s&h in the Lehmann's catalog.

This is an easier option for anyone having electric stoves, like mine, or folks who don't want to empty this large and heavy pan of water, have to dip jars down into and then out of said pans, empty all that water if you have a jar break, etc.

For me it translates into an easier canning, less water used, less electricity heating all that water...the aluminum pan allows for very quick heating and the steam allows for much a much hotter canning environment than boiling water.

I would imagine that one would have to be very careful of those jets of steam coming out the vents, though. Steam burns are just the worst!

Here's a pic and description:

http://www.everythingkitchens.com/lem_steam_canner_canning_pot_566.html

If you read the first review, you can tell this is from someone who has never really used the canner but seems compelled to extoll the dangers of it and other methods except pressure cookers.

The other reviews are great on this product and, as someone who cans in boiling water bath exclusively, this canner should be easier...I'll let you all know what I think of it.

 

[big brown horse]

Thanks Bee,

I think that is really cool. I already have a huge water bath canner, but I think I like that more.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Bee, would you mind describing your process for canning meat?

I mean, do you just pour water over the raw meat?

Do you heat it at all before packing?

I'm planning to can a chicken for my first practice, but i would like to do it as well as possible.

Place the meat in the jar, add salt and spices, pour boiling hot water to level desired...or no water at all, as I sometimes do when I can deer meat.... place lid and ring, boiling water bath for 90 min.

The meat won't be darkened like in pressure canning and still retains a somewhat pink color.

This year I will be canning my chicken a little differently, as I am canning it all up to chicken stock/soup. It will be cooked thoroughly by the time the stock is made and will be still hot when placed in the jars.

Thank you!

 

[pioneergirl]

The food seems to last as long, according to my Mennonite friend, as she is eating from some things she canned 3 years before.

Thats what I was wondering, thanx!!

How many of you eat your steaks medium rare or even rare? Good, aren't they? The blood flavors the meat. That is why I've never understood folks who brine and soak their deer, chicken, etc. to "remove the blood"...what is with that? The blood is where the flavor is at, IMO.

oohh, love my meat VERY red! So sweet and loads of flavor and texture!

I think I'll give all this a try, as soon as I get all the other stuff done! LOL

 

[Chickenkitty]

I'm glad I found this discussion. I hot wter bath pickles, tomatoes, green tomatoes, pickled beets, squash, potatoes and green beans. But I build a fire outside, put a big tub on, get the water to boiling and then set 23 quarts at a time in for boiling. I keep another pot of water along side in case the tub boils down. Oh, I do put a square of sheet metal over the tub after I put the jars in to help keep in the heat. I've been canning this way for 30 years and haven't lost a jar of food yet. We use our food up usually by 3 years. I cannot get corn to keep though. I end up freezing that.
I pressure can the deer meat. I'm going to try the hot water bath since it's been discussed here. We'll be processing our first group of old hens this fall. An Amish lady I talked to said she pressure cooks the whole bird til meat falls off the bone, then pulls all meat off, packs in jars, adds broth and pressure cans again for 15 minutes. That sounds like too much trouble and electricity for me.
BeeKissed, if I pressure cook the birds til meat falls off the bone, pack in jars then hot water bath for 15 minutes, do you think that will be sufficient?