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Canned Deer Meat

Vtbow said:
Nice! I've done chili minus the beans a bunch. Open the can of meat, add 2 cans of beans and heat. It's delicuous!
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There's a thread on here about canning chili. I did it last year and really like it. Mine was slightly over cooked because I only had the 15lb weight that came with canner but I've since bought the correct weight for my altitude. Perfect for a quick meal plus it doesn't need freezer space to store!
 
Does a can of deer meat smell, lets say kindly bad when opened to use?
 
I love canned venison. Looks bad in the jar but tastes great. I also can a lot of salmon and it is the same recipe but smells up the house a little more.
 
Canned meat is awesome. Wide mouth pints make things easy but you won’t have much broth. The texture is weird for substituting in place of ground beef. Shredded meat in chili and spaghetti just doesn’t look right. Don’t think deer tacos. Call them venison carnitas. The taco seasoning is a good idea. @Vtbow I wonder if you couldn’t grab a handful of dried beans and add to your chili and canning and have it come out right.
I think someone willing to put in the time to experiment with recipes would find they weren’t giving anything up to frozen ground meat and save some time preparing meals in the process.
There are some things like cube steak and sausage that I like good enough I’ll never can all my deer meat.
 
Gator said:
That's the same one I have. Agree on the American, wouldn't mind one slightly larger to get more than 7 quarts as well.
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Technically, you can fit 10 in there if you lay 3 sideways on top.

My stove in my little fish camp house I for some reason decided to live in full time is an RV stove. Fun fact I didn't learn until we decided to replace it since it bakes horribly. A 23qt is huge on it. I actually have to pull the stove out a little to make it fit squarely on the eye without banging into the microwave.

If I ever get a nicer, bigger kitchen I'll probably spring for an American.
 
Nutterbuster said:
Technically, you can fit 10 in there if you lay 3 sideways on top.

My stove in my little fish camp house I for some reason decided to live in full time is an RV stove. Fun fact I didn't learn until we decided to replace it since it bakes horribly. A 23qt is huge on it. I actually have to pull the stove out a little to make it fit squarely on the eye without banging into the microwave.

If I ever get a nicer, bigger kitchen I'll probably spring for an American.
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I've double stacked some pint jars on top but I've never laid any jars sideways before.
 
EricS said:
Canned meat is awesome. Wide mouth pints make things easy but you won’t have much broth. The texture is weird for substituting in place of ground beef. Shredded meat in chili and spaghetti just doesn’t look right. Don’t think deer tacos. Call them venison carnitas. The taco seasoning is a good idea. @Vtbow I wonder if you couldn’t grab a handful of dried beans and add to your chili and canning and have it come out right.
I think someone willing to put in the time to experiment with recipes would find they weren’t giving anything up to frozen ground meat and save some time preparing meals in the process.
There are some things like cube steak and sausage that I like good enough I’ll never can all my deer meat.
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I've tried. the beans were smooshed to smithereens and the whole thing was rather mushy. Tasted ok, but the texture was way off.
 
I'm sorry to be the safety police, it's really not my thing AND I don't really care what anyone else does but I'm pretty sure that both sideways jars and dry beans into canning jars are pretty big no-no's.

Again, I eat stuff that's not "by the book" and I agree it's fine. Not trying to tell anyone what to do

I am at work so I don't have time to look up links now, or feel the need to turn this into a safety bulletin, that's better off in it's own thread.

If anyone is interested I will look that info up
 
This is the year I need to invest in a pressure canner. Especially since GA has moved to code-"something" on CWD ... so no bone-in cuts coming back from AL or SC for me. :confused2:

I'm hoping it's also the first year I'll have to explore imitation deer skulls too!

For anyone questioning the taste of canned meat, never under estimate the deliciousness from the broth of broken down connective tissue.
 
Horn said:
I'm sorry to be the safety police, it's really not my thing AND I don't really care what anyone else does but I'm pretty sure that both sideways jars and dry beans into canning jars are pretty big no-no's.

Again, I eat stuff that's not "by the book" and I agree it's fine. Not trying to tell anyone what to do

I am at work so I don't have time to look up links now, or feel the need to turn this into a safety bulletin, that's better off in it's own thread.

If anyone is interested I will look that info up
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No idea about beans, but you're right about side stacking. You can absolutely bust a jar, or fail to get a good seal.

Jars busting isn't an issue for my purpose most of the time, and I'd imagine a little extra headspace might mitigate it. Seal also isnt a concern for me if I'm side stacking, but you could probably mitigate that risk by checking the seal post cook, which you should do anyway.

My use of "technically" was a disclaimer. But to put it more strongly, don't sidetrack unless you know why you shouldn't do it and determine it doesn't apply.

In general, if you can't find Ball or the USDA signing off on whatever you're about to do, don't do it. I've seen a lot of people on the youtubez talking about water bath canning meat, canning pickled eggs, canning rice, etc. All terrible ideas that can kill ya if your number comes up.
 
^^^
Pretty great answer right there!
 
Horn said:
I'm sorry to be the safety police, it's really not my thing AND I don't really care what anyone else does but I'm pretty sure that both sideways jars and dry beans into canning jars are pretty big no-no's.
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Dry beans are absolutely safe as per the USDA guide. You can pre-soak overnight, or quick-process (boil) prior to canning. I agree that you shouldn't put them in the jar dry, if that's what you were suggesting. And I wouldn't put the jars in sideways. I've got 2 Prestos (OK a Mirro and a Presto that seem identical) and alternate them on the stove to keep an assembly line going.
 
Nutterbuster said:
I've seen a lot of people on the youtubez talking about water bath canning meat...
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Originally thought you were trying to keep this thread to pressure canning, but now that you mentioned water bath... I grew up on, and continue to produce, water bath foods each year. The trick is to cook any meats prior to canning.

No pressure canner is needed for this process. You cook your spaghetti or chili like you normally would except using larger quantities of ingredients. Then you fill your jars with the pre-cooked foods and begin canning. We make 24 cans of spaghetti and 24 cans of chili for a quick heat-and-eat meal (we use 2 cans per meal) each week of our school year.
 
Red Beard said:
Originally thought you were trying to keep this thread to pressure canning, but now that you mentioned water bath... I grew up on, and continue to produce, water bath foods each year. The trick is to cook any meats prior to canning.

No pressure canner is needed for this process. You cook your spaghetti or chili like you normally would except using larger quantities of ingredients. Then you fill your jars with the pre-cooked foods and begin canning. We make 24 cans of spaghetti and 24 cans of chili for a quick heat-and-eat meal (we use 2 cans per meal) each week of our school year.
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Is the water bath strictly to seal the lids on an already fully cooked meal?


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Gator said:
Is the water bath strictly to seal the lids on an already fully cooked meal?


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Below is a good summary.

extension.sdstate.edu

Water Bathing vs. Pressure Canning

Water bathing and pressure canning are two common ways to preserve foods by canning. These techniques use heat processing to preserve foods, and which technique you use depends on the acidity of the food.
extension.sdstate.edu extension.sdstate.edu

I think botulism hovers at a 10-15% mortality rate even with current first world medicine. It was much more prevalent in the past, and more lethal.

www.who.int

Botulism

WHO fact sheet on botulism: includes key facts, definition, symptoms, exposure, transmission, treatment, prevention, WHO response.
www.who.int www.who.int

Diaphragm paralysis is no joke. The bacteria that causes it (Clostridium botulinum) is a fairly common microorganism in soils around the world. It doesn't handle acidity well (4.6ph or lower), but it tolerates heat extremely well.

If anybody is eating low acidity foods canned at temps below 240ish, that doesn't mean it's safe. It just means they haven't had the misfortune of canning something with enough botulism spores present to colonize and produce botulinum toxins. 212° isn't doing anything to those spores. It will destroy the toxin produced if held at that temp for long enough, but any surviving spores will be happy as clams in a sealed jar and promptly resume colonization and botulinum production once they're cooled.

Rare, but serious.
 
@Vtbow that figures. Even with your eyes closed mushy chili with stringy meat just wouldn’t be right no matter how it taste.
 
Nutterbuster said:
I did 7 quart jars last year, and I really think going forward this will be my primary storage method.

Pros:

Super simple. Cut deer meat into stew chunks. Trim fat and sinew, but no need to be anal. It all pressure cooks down into broth. Add to jars, throw in salt (I used 1tsp per quart) and a whole peeled garlic clove or 2. Cook. Cool. Put on shelf. Pop it open when you're hungry. Easiest way of processing and consuming an ungulate I've found.

Tasty. It's a simple taste, but a good one. And I haven't served it to anybody who turned their nose up at it. It's very "normal" food.

Versatile. I get a cup to a cup and a half of wonderful broth drained off of each quart jar and use it in everything I can. Tastes like good beef stock. You can add the chunks to soup, make a Philly cheese steak, make tacos, add it to stir fry...whatever.

Shelf stable. Store deer meat at the camp, in your car, under your bed, in your sock drawer, in the laundry room. No more being limited to freezer space.


This year, I'll probably switch from quart jars to wide mouth pints. For me and the wife that's a more manageable portion for a quick meal. Wide mouth jars are also easier to wash and fill with chunks. I'll also play with canning ground venison with taco seasoning, since we eat a lot of tacos as quick and easy meals at home.
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Do a batch of 8 ounce jelly jars. They hold just enough for a quick one person lunch with crackers, I use them all the time during hunting season. For the guys that can hunt hogs pork is great canned too, I save the leftover juice from pulled pork & add a tablespoon to the jar. Smoke the venison or pork 1/2 hour before canning, I think it gives a better taste.
 
eastchannel said:
Do a batch of 8 ounce jelly jars. They hold just enough for a quick one person lunch with crackers, I use them all the time during hunting season. For the guys that can hunt hogs pork is great canned too, I save the leftover juice from pulled pork & add a tablespoon to the jar. Smoke the venison or pork 1/2 hour before canning, I think it gives a better taste.
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That's a brilliant idea.

A few years ago I canned up a bunch of pozole, it worked out great.

Pozole is one of my favorite foods and is a crock pot favorite in the Llama house. Pork loin, hominy, green chiles, diced tomatoes, onion, stock or broth (we make smoked turkey stock), beans, and spices.

For canning I filled pint jars up about halfway with cubed pork, then spooned onions, chiles, hominy, tomatoes, soaked beans, chipotle powder and other spices, and everything else, so all the jars were about the same. Turned out great. Brought them to work for lunch.

When you do 8oz jars, I initially pictured something like "potted meat spread" from the grocery store but I'd imagine ground meat would be too dense. What size chunks do you do, and do you add onions or anything else?
 
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