What kind of ready meals do you can?

[Smart Red]

Some foods, potatoes for example, are pretty tasteless before cooking and raw acorn squash leaves something to be desired. By the time we get to taro root, you have to do something with it or starve.

 

[seedcorn]

I'll let you eat raw. I'll cook mine.

 

[Smart Red]

I'll let you eat raw. I'll cook mine.

With meat. I agree, seedcorn.

 

[baymule]

@mythreesons you are going to soooooo fit in here! I just this morning ordered my dream pressure canner, the All American No. 921! After 30 years of hating the pressure canner I had, I finally bit the bullet and ordered the one I WANT!

I have a bunch of Delaware roosters that are going to meet their end when my new canner gets here. I have never canned meat, so this will be a learning curve for me. I can chicken broth and vegetables, so chunking up chicken for the jar oughta be not much different.

As far as ready meals, I can vegetable soup of whatever is ready in the garden at that time.

 

[mythreesons]

Don't ever can any meat that isn't grown here or harvested off the land here, but usually can those up as meat and not as ready to eat soups and such. I've found that the veggies and spices don't taste as crisp nor strong if I can them with the meat, but can easily be added later for a fresher taste.

I do can up something we call slumgullion, which is just all the veggies from the garden stewed down together and canned in a jar. That's usually thickened with cornmeal later on and lavished on potatoes, pasta, rice or biscuits.

The meat we can is usually chicken and deer, though I have canned rabbit and squirrel as recently as last fall.

Can up salsa, so I guess that would be called ready to eat, though not necessarily a "meal". This year I'd like to can a little tomato soup, rebatching some older tomato juice to do so. Currently drying some tomatoes to use for thickening of soup, salsa and sauces prior to canning.

Can bone broth of deer and also of chicken, rendering off the fat to be used later. The deer fat goes to things processed for chicken and dog food while the chicken fat is used in cooking our own recipes.

I'm seriously considering getting some turkey's and some Cornish hens for our own meat..no room for a cow and not sure about a pig..I'm fortunate that my cousin just a mile away grows his own organic beef cows as well as doing his own slaughtering..Plus I live around the corner from a all organic meat, veggie farm..but just to darn expensive to buy from them.

I agree with you to a point on canning meat with spices varies in taste..I find I end up adding more seasoning to my meat sauce but my canned taco meat is perfect, better then made fresh..so to each their own.

I can my own chicken broth also..I love it! I can butter also and use my ghee and bacon grease for cooking.

 

[mythreesons]

@mythreesons you are going to soooooo fit in here! I just this morning ordered my dream pressure canner, the All American No. 921! After 30 years of hating the pressure canner I had, I finally bit the bullet and ordered the one I WANT!

I have a bunch of Delaware roosters that are going to meet their end when my new canner gets here. I have never canned meat, so this will be a learning curve for me. I can chicken broth and vegetables, so chunking up chicken for the jar oughta be not much different.

As far as ready meals, I can vegetable soup of whatever is ready in the garden at that time.

Congratulations on you new AA 921 Canner I have this model and I love it.

I'm self taught by watching youtube video's for pressure can and all types of preserving as I'm a visual learner..as well as reading my bible ..The Ball Canning Books..

I do want to mention that after canning over a 100 jars of boneless skinless cut into chunks chicken breast that the raw pack taste more like tuna fish rather then chicken..from now on I'm going to partially cook the chicken to get the taste and texture that I'm looking for.

Happy Canning~!

 

[baymule]

Congratulations on you new AA 921 Canner I have this model and I love it.

THANKS! I CAN'T WAIT TO TRY IT!

I do want to mention that after canning over a 100 jars of boneless skinless cut into chunks chicken breast that the raw pack taste more like tuna fish rather then chicken..from now on I'm going to partially cook the chicken to get the taste and texture that I'm looking for.

Happy Canning~!

That is good to know, I was going to can them raw pack.

 

[mythreesons]

That is good to know, I was going to can them raw pack.

It so much easier to raw pack because all you do is pack the jars and put in the canner...but if you partially cook it you have to have everything hot..hot jars, hot food & hot water simmering in the canner.

 

[seedcorn]

Why do the jars have to be hot? Won't they get hot when lid closed?

 

[baymule]

I fill the jars with boiling water, fill the pan with the lids and rings with boiling water, have the canner boiling away, fill the jar with what I'm canning, wipe rim, clap lid and ring on, twist and place in canner.

Seedcorn, I honestly can't tell you why, I just know that's how it is done. My Mom didn't do any of this stuff, I learned from older women who were glad to teach me and share their knowledge.