confused about pressure canning

[GardenWeasel]

Read all the canning thread yesterday and can't figure out how if you can only process soups as half vegetables and half broth, how do you make stews and chilis to process? Please share some recipes as one pot meals that can be done in the pressure canner and times to process. Please share your dry bean canning procedures also. I just got mine and the book doesn't go into much detail. Thanks

 

[Firefyter-Emt]

I just made some beef stew the other night and used a recipe from Balls own website. From what I understand, some starches like noodles, rice, and flour heavy gravy does not preserve well. The beef stew I made must have the gravy "thickened" when warmed up, but that is easy to do. My chicken soups just need some noodles which is awesome, the veggies are well cooked, the meat almost like pulled pork, but the noodles are nice and firm.

Here is what I used for the beef stew: (7 quarts)


=Ball's Beef Stew=
4-5lbs of stew beef (1.5" cubes)
1 Tbsp Vegetable oil
12 cups peeled & cubed potatoes
8 cups of carrots (sliced)
3 cups of chopped celery
3 cups chopped onion (just noticed I missed that one!)
1.5 Tpsp salt
1 tsp thyme
0.5 tsp pepper
Water

1) Prep jars and lids (duh)
2) Brown meat in large stew pot with oil. Add veggies & seasonings to browned meat. Cover with water (I went 2" over and had left over broth, I would go one 1" over) Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.
3) Ladle hot stew into jars with 1" head space (** I used a slotted spoon/ladle to fill the seven jars evenly with the meat & veggies and once I ran out of that, I then filled with broth.)
4) Remove air bubbles in jar, clean rim, and lid jars finger tight.
5) Process in pressure canner @ 10psi for 1hr 15min for pints OR 1hr 30min for quarts (adjust for altitude)
6) Allow to cool as normal and check for proper seal after 24 hours.

Now I have eaten it yet, but it looks wonderful in the jars and final seasoning and thickening the gravy will be done when re-heated anyway.

 

[Firefyter-Emt]

Dang... I should of thought to just copy & paste! Here are a few more from that website:

Here is a link, the recipes are in a nice print out format too.
http://www.freshpreserving.com/pages/all_recipes/215.php?catID=Home-Canning&pageNum=1

Vegetable Soup
Makes about 7 (32 oz) quarts or 14 (16 oz) pints
View half-serving recipe >

You will need:
8 cups chopped, peeled, cored tomatoes (about 4 lb or 12 medium)
6 cups cubed and peeled potatoes (about 6 medium)
6 cups 3/4-inch sliced carrots (about 12 medium)
4 cups green lima beans (about 1-1/2 lb)
4 cups uncooked corn kernels (about 9 ears)
2 cups 1-inch sliced celery (about 4 stalks)
2 cups chopped onions (about 2 medium)
6 cups water
Salt, optional
Pepper, optional
7 (32 oz) quart or 14 (16 oz) pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands



Directions:
1.) PREPARE pressure canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.
2.) COMBINE all vegetables in a large saucepot. Add water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
3.) LADLE hot soup into hot jars leaving 1 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.
4.) PROCESS filled jars in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure 1 hour for pints and 1 hour and 15 minutes for quarts, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.


Chicken Soup
Makes about 4 (32 oz) quarts or 8 (16 oz) pints

View half-serving recipe >

You will need:
16 cups chicken stock
3 cups diced chicken (about 1 3-lb chicken)
1-1/2 cups diced celery (about 2 stalks)
1-1/2 cups sliced carrots (about 3 medium)
1 cup diced onion (about 1 medium)
Salt, optional
Pepper, optional
3 chicken bouillon cubes, optional
4 (32 oz) quart or 8 (16 oz) pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands



Directions:
1.) PREPARE pressure canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.
2.) COMBINE chicken stock, chicken, celery, carrots and onion in a large saucepot. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if desired. Add bouillon cubes, if desired. Cook until bouillon cubes are dissolved.
3.) LADLE hot soup into hot jars leaving 1 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.
4.) PROCESS filled jars in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure 1 hour and 15 minutes for pints and 1 hour and 30 minutes for quarts, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

 

[GardenWeasel]

Firefyter thankyou so much, you truly are an angel. Just added that site to my favorites and am looking at 3 qts and one pint of tomato sauce.

 

[Firefyter-Emt]

That stew was tested out tonight and is a winner. I did mod the recipe to double the pepper in it as it needed a bit more for my taste. We opened up two quarts tonight and added in a paste of 1cup of flower / 1cup of water to thicken it and it was great.

I think chili will be next, I love it, my wife and kids? Not so much...

 

[Firefyter-Emt]

Ok, I figure I do have a few more to share....

Cast iron cooking anyone?
http://blackirondude.blogspot.com/

Cook's.com... It's like 10 story cook book, with Google!
http://www.cooks.com/

Feeling fancy?? Taste of Home's site
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Default.aspx?r_d=y

And the darling, Christy at Southern Plate!
http://www.southernplate.com/

Enjoy!

 

[swenonwheels]

Help! Can you tell me why when I pressure can things, say like potatoes in stew they come out kinda brown and the gravy is also darker? I am at high altitude so I process at 15 lb pressure for 90 mins for quarts. Thanks

 

[freemotion]

It is kinda like putting it in the crockpot overnight, the same results. So the veggies are softer and the meat gravy gets quite brown, as do all the veggies in the stew. So I choose veggies that can withstand a long cooking time, especially with the pressure cooking. I find the flavor of canned stews to be quite good, though, so this is ok with me.

 

[Firefyter-Emt]

Are you cooking your own recipe or something "approved"? My stew that was made with the above recipe has great potato's, but I did haave to thicken the stew when heated. From what I understand, there are things that need preservatives that we do not add when we can our food. This is why it is so important to use reciepes that are made for canning, not just processing your own stews and soups, ect..

Also, keep in mind the cooking times and heat in pressure cooking too. The last two I made, the veggie and beef stew were only cooked until the pot began to boil, and then processed in the cans. The veggi stew changed into something completely different than what I packed. It looked right when removed from the canner, but did not look right when it went in there.

There are changes all the time that need to be updated and this is why a company like Ball tells you that you have to update the books pretty much yearly.

 

[freemotion]

Once you know the principles, you can use your own recipes....following a few basic rules, of course, like avoiding pasta and eggs and rice and such....just use the time and pressure needed for the ingredient that requires the longest time at the most pressure. For example, if you decide to use your favorite spaghetti sauce recipe with ground beef, you have to can it as if you were canning just the ground beef.