Stew...Freezing or Canning?

[xpc]

I'm not an expert by any means but have been pressure canning stew beef, chicken breast chunks, sausage, and just lately lean ground beef. I have no reason not to eat tacos everyday.

 

[ducks4you]

Have you thought of "double-bagging"? This is what I do when I freeze vegetables to keep out freezer burn. I portion out what I freeze, then defrost in the refridgerator the day before I want to serve it.

 

[freemotion]

I put all the ingredients that I would normally use for stew in one pot and just bring it to a boil, then put it in the jars. If it is something that I like bay leaves in, I make a strong tea of bay leaves and add that to the broth. I don't put the bay leaves in the jars or try to find them in the stew. The texture of the final product is perfect!

I don't use potatoes.

I also can some plain cubes, often with a clove of garlic in each jar. These are wonderful heated up in home-canned cream of mushroom soup for a quick main dish. Or used in other recipes calling for cooked leftover meat, as Dace said.

 

[SKR8PN]

We cube our chicken and can it, we cube our beef and can it, we also can our chili and venison stew and beef stew. The texture of the meat is great!
The Wife makes chicken salad, chicken soup, chicken pot pies, etc with it and it works great. Still a quick and easy meal, just not as quick as nuking a jar of already made stew! The beef we use in beef and noodles, bbq'd beef for sandwiches etc.. It gives you a lot of options to use, if you do both, plus you still have the freezer space. just remember NOT to cook the meat to death BEFORE you process it.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Thanks everyone! I'm excited!


*note: There's something seriously wrong with me if I get this excited over food preservation.

 

[lorihadams]

I freeze my stew in glass jars...just make sure to leave plenty of headroom for expansion. That way hubby can grab one and take it to work and by lunchtime it has thawed almost all the way and he just pops the jar (minus the lid) into the microwave at work and eats it right out of the jar. Easy.

 

[Farmfresh]

Thanks everyone! I'm excited!


*note: There's something seriously wrong with me if I get this excited over food preservation.

Just shows you fit right in here!

 

[Kim_NC]

Thanks everyone! I'm excited!


*note: There's something seriously wrong with me if I get this excited over food preservation.

And here I was reading along thinking....she's perfectly ....normal! LOL

Nice canner! ....I have the Presto 23 qt too, but my model is from the late 80's. It was my Dad's - gave it to him as a gift. Mom gave it to me after Dad passed away. (He was always the pressure canner in the household, Mom only does WB canning.) Anyway, your canner will stand the test of time, even with heavy use.

I'll ditto the suggestion to can just meat due to it's versatility. We can beef, chicken, venison, and pork (not as much pork). I do find the meats alone to be the most helpful for a variety of meals.

We also can chili, soups and stews. Some things to share...
- Greens and cabbage tend to overpower them for us, so we wait and add those ingredients after opening the jars.
- Noodles and rice become mush. Don't can them with your soup/stew. Add them later after opening.
- Thickeners like cornstarch and flour are not recommended for safety reasons. Sure, some folks add them anyway and get away with it. Not worth the risk to us, we just thicken things like that after opening the jar, while heat the product.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Thanks everyone! I'm excited!


*note: There's something seriously wrong with me if I get this excited over food preservation.

And here I was reading along thinking....she's perfectly ....normal! LOL

Nice canner! ....I have the Presto 23 qt too, but my model is from the late 80's. It was my Dad's - gave it to him as a gift. Mom gave it to me after Dad passed away. (He was always the pressure canner in the household, Mom only does WB canning.) Anyway, your canner will stand the test of time, even with heavy use.

I'll ditto the suggestion to can just meat due to it's versatility. We can beef, chicken, venison, and pork (not as much pork). I do find the meats alone to be the most helpful for a variety of meals.

We also can chili, soups and stews. Some things to share...
- Greens and cabbage tend to overpower them for us, so we wait and add those ingredients after opening the jars.
- Noodles and rice become mush. Don't can them with your soup/stew. Add them later after opening.
- Thickeners like cornstarch and flour are not recommended for safety reasons. Sure, some folks add them anyway and get away with it. Not worth the risk to us, we just thicken things like that after opening the jar, while heat the product.

Thanks for those tips! I'll probably do most of the meat by itself, and do a few of ready to eat stew. You know, the most limiting factor (time wise) for stew is waiting for the meat to thaw anyways, so if it's already cooked it'll save a lot of time!

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Ok, so last week my sister (who was here visiting) and I canned 4 quarts of venison. I should have done smaller jars though, because a quart holds a LOT of meat!!! I can get 2 meals out of each quart, easily!!

I do have a question though. The juice leaked out of the jars during canning, so the water in the bottom of the canner was a little brothy, and the jars were a little greasy from the fat in the meat (there wasn't much, I trimmed all of it off that I could). The jars definitely have a good seal...I can lift each jar up by just the lid. Should I be worried about the seal at all?