Canning venison

[Doublebit]

I mean using Mason jars and a pressure canner. A neighbor cans all his venison except the loins (steaks) and a few roasts. Does anyone here can meat like this?

LT

 

[Double-O-Dave]

No, but I've been wanting to. I really like the idea of making large quantities of venison chili and stew, etc. and then canning single servings for the family to enjoy. My problem has been finding quality canning cookware at an affordable price. Evidently, the Presto canning cookers are made of aluminum, and they don't hold up well under use. The stainless steel ones are durable enough, but quite pricey. Oh well, the search continues.

Good luck,

Dave

 

[Muss Muggins]

I just dry heaved a little . . .

 

[Salty RI]

I have canned a few deer

Not that type of can. [emoji1]

Sent from my LGL52VL using Tapatalk

 

[ExRanger714]

That's what folks did with about anything that walked, flew or crawled, wild or domestic, around here because other than salt or smoke that was the only way meat would keep.

The only thing Granny smoked was Lucky's and salted raw chicken is exactly that. She would thin back the chicken flock and can em, seven to a batch, one to a jar, in the fall to keep from having to feed more than egg chickens over the winter.

 

[pawngal]

If you have a pressure canner by all means use it.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdBDBw41DTg"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdBDBw41DTg[/ame]

Meat can be canned by the hot water bath method but now days "they" claim it isn't safe. Never killed me! Ate home canned chicken & beef for many years.

 

[shouldazagged]

No, but I've been wanting to. I really like the idea of making large quantities of venison chili and stew, etc. and then canning single servings for the family to enjoy. My problem has been finding quality canning cookware at an affordable price. Evidently, the Presto canning cookers are made of aluminum, and they don't hold up well under use. The stainless steel ones are durable enough, but quite pricey. Oh well, the search continues.

Good luck,

Dave

My big, heavy Presto cast aluminum canner has held up very well, and will go to my sister when I croak. What part or parts have you had fail?

 

[6518John]

Mike my grandma’s blew up one fall canning chili. Grandpa and I tried cleaning it up but soon decided it would simply be easier to re-paint the kitchen since we had to patch the kitchen ceiling where the canner lid blasted through!

Fast forward 45 years and my son and I were making fresh tomato soup. Part of the process involved blending it in a big blender. Well my son did not get the blender lid on tight, turned the blender on it’s highest setting, and I hear him howling with laughter.

Yes our kitchen is white. I hired out the kitchen re-painting this time. We even had tomato soup behind the refrigerator, even though that was impossible and violated the laws of physics.

 

[Firesticks]

My mother canned venison many times. We didn't have a big freezer so on a good year hunting we had a storage room in the basement full of canned venison, veggies and my fathers home brew beer. Wish I had paid more attention and learned how it was done.

 

[mtgianni]

My wife has had her Presto Aluminum pressure canner for 40+ years. It still works fine. We processed 14 pints yesterday and will do another 14 today. That's 2 whitetail does + 1 buck minus the steaks. While the food and drug experts say only to add 1/2 tsp salt per pint, the State of Wisconson claims no ill effects if you add 1 clove of garlic or dry herbs like a bay leaf. My wife earned a "Master Food Preserver" from the State of Idaho and had to answer public questions for 5 years. She will not deviate from a canning recipe.
Brown the meat but do not cook it, save the juice then bring water to boil in the same pan you browned in to release the browned bits. Prepare your jars, fill to 1" head space then add water to cover. Process 75 minutes for pints, 105 for quarts at 10 psi under 1000 ft elevation, 15 psi over that.
We use it in stews, pasta, hot sandwiches, tacos and soups.

 

[Double-O-Dave]

My big, heavy Presto cast aluminum canner has held up very well, and will go to my sister when I croak. What part or parts have you had fail?

Hi Shouldazzaged:

I have no personal experience in canning - yet, but I've read a lot of reviews on the Amazon website with a lot of complaints that the Presto aluminum canners just don't hold up to use. I expect that once I start canning, I'll do it regularly. I've got an older sister who lives in Memphis, TN (I'm in Austin, TX), and I'd love to make and send her some venison stew and chili - canned, of course. I also have a 21 yr. old son who is my hunting partner, and an insatiable eating machine. I can barely cook wild game fast enough to feed him. Yes, he's skinny as all get out despite the amount of food he eats.

Regards,

Dave

 

[Rpg]

I only have one experience with canned venison:

One night years ago my Dad got a phone call from a friend/client we’ll call George to protect the guilty.

George related that he’d just hit a deer with his car on Mt Vernon highway (now I 70 west of Denver). He put the deceased deer in his trunk, took it home and hung it in his garage. George wanted to know if it was OK to keep the deer to butcher and eat.

Dad explained to George that here in Colorado it’s illegal to harvest roadkill: all the law allows is that you move it out of traffic then leave it on the side of the road. George thanked Dad and ended the call.

A couple hours later Dad had his legal associate call George’s home and impersonate a Fish and Game officer asking George if he knew anything about a deer killed on the highway. George denied any knowledge of such a thing but agreed that the ‘officer’ could come to his house in the morning for an interview.

The next morning George called Dad and explained he’d been up all night canning the deer and that the ‘officer’ was due at his house in about an hour. George wanted Dad to come to his house for the interview.

Dad explained that he had a previous engagement that morning but would be over around 6 in the evening. When Dad and I got to George’s house, George told us that the ‘officer’ had called to say he couldn’t make it that morning but would drop by as soon as he could.

George served us canned venison for dinner that evening (it was pretty good) saying he had to get rid of it ASAP. George insisted we take a couple quarts of canned venison with us after dinner.

George served his family canned venison for the next week.

The Fish and Game ‘officer’ never came by George’s house.

 

[Alpo]

I cold pack chicken, pig, cow and deer. That's just chunks of raw meat in the jar. No browning it, no hot water, no salt, no spices. Press that sucker for 75 minutes and there's now liquid. Broth that cooked out of the meat.


I hot pack chili and browned hamburger. Those two need liquid. Either water in the burger, or tomato juice.

 

[Golddollar]

If you have a pressure canner by all means use it.
YouTube

Meat can be canned by the hot water bath method but now days "they" claim it isn't safe. Never killed me! Ate home canned chicken & beef for many years.

I used to can my chili and enter it in the county fair. One year I won the blue ribbon at the Great Frederick Fair. But I gave it up because using the pressure cooker for one jar a year was a lot of work and the super heating killed the flavor. I'm just going to point to where to look so that everybody can do their own due diligence. I came across a reference to using a pressure cooker when canning low acid foods. I think it was from a book that Ball jars published so I think it is probably worthwhile to look up.

 

[Peak53]

...
Dad explained to George that here in Colorado it’s illegal to harvest roadkill...

Good story. Note that it is now legal in Colorado to take roadkill home if you call it in.

PS: Mt. Vernon Highway that became I-70? OK, you have been duly dated

 

[Muss Muggins]

I used to can my chili and enter it in the county fair. One year I won the blue ribbon at the Great Frederick Fair. But I gave it up because using the pressure cooker for one jar a year was a lot of work and the super heating killed the flavor.

Most people would just cook a batch the morning of the judging and bring in a crock pot . . .

 

[Ole Joe Clark]

No, but I've been wanting to. I really like the idea of making large quantities of venison chili and stew, etc. and then canning single servings for the family to enjoy. My problem has been finding quality canning cookware at an affordable price. Evidently, the Presto canning cookers are made of aluminum, and they don't hold up well under use. The stainless steel ones are durable enough, but quite pricey. Oh well, the search continues.

Good luck,

Dave

We have used a aluminum pressure canner for about 30 years and it still works. Never had a problem with it, can't remember if I replaced the rubber seal or not.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

 

[LoboGunLeather]

My mother canned venison many times. We didn't have a big freezer so on a good year hunting we had a storage room in the basement full of canned venison, veggies and my fathers home brew beer. Wish I had paid more attention and learned how it was done.

Making home-brew beer isn't difficult. Plenty of books and websites available now.

Canning meat and vegetables, I always left that to my Mom.

 

[Bekeart]

Ask an EXPERT on food canning.

Ask an EXPERT on food canning.

Any Mennonite or Amish in your area would be able to steer you to a member with EXPERT knowledge on canning meat.


Bekeart

 

[kraynky]

I've been canning deer meat for over 20 years. I cut the venison into 1" cubes and fill mason jar 3/4 full, add a few cubes of beef fat and some canning salt, then cook it in the canner for 90 minutes at 10 lbs of pressure. It will still be good to eat in 10 years! We eat it straight from the jar, heat it with noodles, open face w/mashed taters or as a base for stew or chili.

Yummy stuff I tell ya!