Meat storage

[SemperFi]

I dont have any experience with this other than deyhydrating and smoking , but I know people have been using salt for centuries , can someone explain the other way to save meat products, by the way Im new here!

[crashdive123]

Drying, freezing, refrigeration, vacuum packing, salt curing, sugar curing, smoking, canning, artificial food additives, pickling, lye, jellying, potting, jugging, irradiation, pulsed electric field processing, modified atmosphere, high pressure food preservation, burial in ground, controlled use of micro-organisms, biopreservation, hurdle technology. OK I cheated a bit....source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_preservation

Here are a few threads on the subject.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...t=preservation
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...t=preservation
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...t=preservation
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...t=preservation
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...t=preservation
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...t=preservation
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...t=preservation

There are more, but you kind of get the idea.

[SemperFi]

cheat away , I love it , Will be looking into high pressure for sure , salt/sugar

[Sourdough]

When it gets nippy we just dump a moose, wrap it in old sheets, and hang it all winter so the air can get to it. Need meat, just cut off a hunk.

[crashdive123]

SD - can you cut it - or is a meat saw/hack saw the tool for the job.

[SemperFi]

in a temperant climate like Alaska you might be able to get away with that , I dont believe I could swing it here in Oklahoma!

[Sourdough]

SD - can you cut it - or is a meat saw/hack saw the tool for the job.

Clean Sharp "Thin" axe, like a Estwing, works best for cutting With the grain of the meat, Just tap it on the head with a clean log/stick thingie.

[oldtrap59]

Another thread where my answer is canning. At this house we can alot of meat using a 12 qt pressure canner. Venison,wild hog,fish,beaver,rabbit and squirrel are among some of our favs. Most meats can be ready in 65 to 90 mins depending on the jar size.

Oldtrap

[Rick]

I've never canned meat but think it would certainly be worthwhile. Do you rinse the fat off the meat with hot water or just drain the fat and can it? I've read both ways.

[oldtrap59]

Most of the meat we can is browned before it goes in the jars. That seems to take care of most of the fat. Venison,beaver,rabbit and most small game don't carry much fat. As far as hog I trim as much as possible while processing the meat. We can the larger citters in cubes (deer,hog and beaver) so you can get rid of alot fat while cutting it into cube size. When canning fish fat isn't much of a problem. Most of our fish canning is suckers and if you like canned salmon you'll probably enjoy them.

Oldtrap

[Rick]

Sorry. I meant after you cook it do you just drain the fat or do you rinse the meat under hot water.

[oldtrap59]

Just drain it. What little fat that gets canned along with the meat doesn't seem to effect taste or storage.

Oldtrap

[SemperFi]

how exactly do you (meaning you not the internet ) can meat , Im very interested and would like to try it!

[oldtrap59]

SF, It really isn't to difficult. First thing you will need is a decent pressure canner. The one we use is a 12 qt mirro that I've had for probably 30 years. If you need to buy one instructions will probably be included with your new canner.
As far as how we do it here.

#1 venison, pork or other large critter.. We cube the meat to about 1" pieces(can also use strips of meat or grind and make into patties or meatballs whatever you prefer) As we cut the meat up we remove as much fat as we can.
If your working with small game or chicken you can do this with the bones still in or bone it out after you have precooked it.

#2 WE use a large cast iron pan to brown and precook ( to med rare) the cubes or strips we have cut from the large animals. As each pan full is finished we pour off the grease in the pan.
Again small game and chicken we boil till it's tender enough to pull off the bones. After it's finished again we pour off the water and grease.(this can also be canned as stock with some more cooking and additions for taste.)

#3While we are precooking we get our jars cleaned up and ready for processing in the canner.

#4Pack the precooked meat into your jars leaving about 1" of clearance. If your doing strips or patties you probably will want to use wide mouth jars. With cubes or meatballs a standard jar is fine. Fill jars by pouring hot water(we use boiling)to within 1" of the top.Top off your jars with clean and hot lids and rings.

#5 Depending on your canner this step may vary but for the one we use we add 2 qts of water to the canner and 13 pints or 7 qts of meat. Put the lid on add the pressure control and fire up the stove.( if you haven't used your canner or not for a longtime you may want to make a dry run with no jars to see where you need to set the heat control to maintain the pressure you want.)

#6 Once the canner comes up to pressure start your time. 10 lbs pressure 65-75 mins for pints.. 80-90 mins for qts.

Believe me once you do this a few times it isn't as tough as it sounds.hope that this helps you and goodluck if you try it. Btw I know that boiled meat(as with the small game prep) kinda limits you but when you take it out of the jar just roll it in flour and fry till browned. Turns out pretty good.

Oldtrap

[SemperFi]

thats the same thing as a pressure cooker? I dont follow with the jars in the canner?

[crashdive123]

SemperFi - I thought this might be helpful for you.

Is It Safe To Use Pressure Cookers To “Can" Foods?

In a word - NO. Pressure cookers have less metal, are smaller in diameter, and use less water than pressure canners. The result is that the heat-up and cool-down times will be less than for the standard pressure canner. These heating and cooling times are part of the total processing time that was determinedin lab testing to establish a reasonable margin of safety for low-acid foods.

If the heating and cooling periods are shortened, then the process time at pressure may not be enough to destroy targeted microorganisms and provide a safe product. If the food is underprocessed, low-acid canned foods are unsafe and can result in foodborne illness, including botulism poisoning, if consumed.

Source: http://missvickie.com/canning/cookercanner.html

[oldtrap59]

SF To can the meat it needs to be precooked. Fried boiled however you want to do it. Then it's put into mason jars capped and then put into the canner for a set processing time. We have a pressure cooker here also and in the directions for use it states not to use it for canning. I looked at the site posted here by Crash and saw the canners that were shown there. Nice canners no doubt but also very pricey if you need to buy one. Our local Walmart has one (16 qt size I think) which handles 7 or 8 qt jars at a time for around $60 or $70. I know a few people that have bought them and seem to be happy with them. If you are really going to get into food storage at home that's not a bad starting price.(these also include a good set of instructions) Also remember you will be using this same tool to can almost anything that comes out of the garden or from a local farmers market once you get the hang of it. Here at our house the canner is used for different things from late May till probably late Dec so it pays for itself many times over each year here.(our pantry probably has in the area of 250 jars now with the fall and winter hunting seasons to go yet) Hope this helps.Btw I see in the site posted by Crash that the USDA(sorry but not one of my favorite gov offices) that it's not safe to can mixed items. We have canned homemade soup for years now using our canner's instructions and never had any problems. Just can using the time for the ingredient in your soup that is the longest. We add meat to our soup so use the time for it.YES I'm a hard headed old F.A.R.T.

Oldtrap

[crashdive123]

I would think that soup is a single item, but then again, I do not pressure can (yet). The purpose of the link I provided was to show that they recommended NOT using a regular pressure cooker for canning and the reasons why.

[Rick]

This is probably the be all end all of canning sites. Anything you want to know about canning can be found here:

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/

[oldtrap59]

I understood the reason behind your post Crash and I agree that you shouldn't use a cooker for canning. As far as the soup goes, it's a case of follwing directions. The book that came with the canner says always time the canning process for any mixed product using the longest canning time in the mix. In this case meat. If your soup was all veggies it wouldn't be a problem as most of them are processed at the same timing. Hope this makes my statement at bit clearer.Btw Crash. It kinda surprises me that you don't pressure can when you garden as much as you do. Here we freeze also but can much more and I believe meat especially stores better canned then frozen. Also some veggies I prefer the taste of the canned product better then frozen. JMO

Oldtrap