Canning Meats

Today (Thursday) was errand day. Ended up driving to Tulsa while I was
out and took advantage of a meat sale at a large market there. It was
great. I was able to buy good quality meat for a fraction of the normal
cost. The store has the sale twice a year. I didn't buy as much as
usual, but enough to take care of our needs for a while. I bought large
quantities of ground beef and stew meat.

Ground Beef canning options:
Plain with a bit of sliced onions to use as a base in many recipes
Meatballs
Taco meat
Sloppy Joe meat

Stew meat canning options:
Beef stew
Plain, in broth for use in other recipes
Vegetable beef soup

I am planning to do up part of the meat in pint jars for Joe to have on
the truck. The rest in quart jars for use at home. As with all canning
recipes where meat is included, I always precook the meat nearly
completely before putting it in jars to pressure can. I process the
jars for the full length of time given for raw pack. Contrary to
initial thoughts, this does not overly cook the meat. It always comes
out very tender and moist. By cooking it so long before processing, I
am able to remove most of the fat from the meat. Fats will "climb" up
the sides of the jars, which then will affect the lid's ability to seal
properly. By removing nearly all fats, you are more assured to have a
proper seal.

You can find the proper processing times in the Ball's Blue Book of
Canning. You can also check online for canning recipes and instructions
through the USDA website.