home made and canned barbecue sauce

I am tomatoed out!  I have been putting up tomatoes like crazy.  and then I brought in more!

The one thing that I buy but have not made was barbecue sauce.  I like mine thin to mop on rather than the thick sticky stuff so I usually buy Head Country and then "fix" it.  So I was on a mission.

First I halved, de-seeded and squeezed the tomatoes.  Then chopped some onions and bell peppers to go in.  Then on the stove to cook.

After they were nice and tender I put them thru the blender and then thru a sieve to remove any remaining seeds and bits of peel.  By not peeling them I save time and end up with more yield than I would if I peeled them.

What I had left was a nicely flavored tomato puree.  Back in the pot it went with some seasoning.  I had about 42 cups of puree so I added 4 cups of apple cider vinegar, 4 tablespoons Paprika, 2 tablespoons black pepper, 4 tablespoons salt and 4 cups Brown Sugar.

Then I let it simmer until it was the right consistency, while stirring frequently.  It still did not taste right and so I put on my thinking cap of what it is I fix sauce with so I added a small jar of prepared mustard and some maple syrup.

Ahhh ... Perfection... then

Then in the pint jars and with my Tattler lids of course.  I pressure canned it at 10 lbs for 20 minutes.  ( I could have water bathed it but I prefer to pressure everything I can)

I ended up with 25 pretty pint jars of barbecue sauce.  I won't have to buy any for a while!

Stewed tomatoes

Stewed tomatoes are so yummy.  They go in everything from meatloaf to stews or even just as a side dish.  Canning them has a few more steps than just regular canned tomatoes.

I do not measure but this is close:
For every 4 pounds of peeled sliced tomatoes you will need 1/4lb celery, bell peppers and onions

Wash your tomatoes.  Choose fruit that is firm and with no blemishes or small enough ones they can be easily trimmed.  Save the mushy or ones with large blemishes for making sauce.

Begin by peeling your tomatoes.  To do this bring a pot of water to boiling.  Drop the tomatoes in the boiling water and time for 3 minutes.  Then remove the tomatoes and place in a sink of ice water.  Then you can cut out the core and the peel will slide right off.

Chop your onions, peppers and celery.  I like to make my chunks pretty big.  Put this in a pot.  Then add your sliced peeled tomatoes.

 Bring the mixture on the stove to a boil and then remove from the heat.

Using a slotted spoon fill your jars leaving about 1/2 inch of headspace (sorry forgot to take a picture.) add salt 1/2 teaspoon for pints or 1 teaspoon for quarts

Then place lids and rings on and then process in a PRESSURE CANNER at 10 lbs for 20 minutes for pints and 30 minutes for quarts.  DO NOT USE A WATER BATH.  It is important to drain the tomatoes with your spoon as much as possible and pack them tightly.  They will shrink during canning and you will end up with some water in the bottom of the jar.  The trick is to have the least amount as possible.

Save the juice left in the pot for tomato juice.  You can run it thru a food sieve to remove the seeds.  Cook down a little more if you want it thicker.  This works great for a soup base or even just for drinking.  Add salt, pepper or seasonings to taste.  Remember they will get stronger from the canning process.  Then process it for the same amount of time/pressure as above.

Your juice may seperate with water at the bottom of the jar.  It is okay just shake it up...

Corn... Corn... Canning it

It has been a while as my family has been busy with Church camps, fences, etc....  I got 2 bushels of corn to put up and so we canned half of it.  The rest went into the freezer for corn on the cob....

Canned Corn

I forgot to take pictures of the shucking and cutting process.

So first shuck your corn and remove the silk.

Then for whole kernal corn cut the kernals off the cob with a knife or a corn cutter.  My oldest daughter prefers just to use a knife.

For cream corn you will need a corn cutter with a shredding attachment.  We did whole kernal.  We prefer to hot pack our vegetables.  You have less jar breakage when you drop the jar into hot water.

Put all of the cut kernals into a pot and water enough so that it comes to the top of the corn and just a little over it.  Put the pot on the stove over high heat and bring the corn to a boil. 

Using a slotted spoon fill your jars to within an inch of headspace then add the cooking liquid to the top of the kernals.  Add 1 tsp salt for quarts and 1/2 tsp salt for pints.  Use canning salt or plain salt.  Do not use the iodized table salt.

After you have all of your jars filled then wipe the rims with a clean cloth (this is a very important step) and place sterilized lids and rings on them.

Then put them in the pressure canner and process at 10 lbs of pressure.  85 minutes for quarts and 60 minutes for pints.  These times are for my altitude in Arkansas.  You may have to adjust the time for your altitude.
After they are done with the time, remove the canner from the heat and allow to cool.Remove the jars and place them on a towel.  Do not let the jars touch.  If you are using Tattler lids then this is the time to final tighten the ring

Let the jars sit until they are totally cold, then remove the rings and check for completion of the seal.

You have just made corn with no preservatives or additives.  Also if you grew your own corn then you know that the corn itself was not treated.

Canning Italian Zuchinni

***Note*** The USDA does not reccomend canning squash of any kind, I have been canning zuchinni for decades and no one has ever gotten sick. I am giving you this information on my own personal experience.  I am not telling you to do it nor am I telling you not to.  With the information you can make your own choice.  It MUST be pressure canned as it is a very low acid food...  In the 80's a lot of political mumbo-jumbo happened with the USDA and they took out their reccomendations for squash, pumpkin etc.  I use the book "Putting Food By" which was published in 1973.  This was the book that my grandmother and mother swore by when canning.  Because it was published prior to the lobbyists getting involved it still has the reccomendations.  I say this to show: In the mid 80's Libbys came out witheir pumpkin pie mix in a can.  All you have to do is add the eggs and milk.  That is the same thing as Pumpkin Butter.  I make my pumpkin butter and it can be used in the same way to make a pie.  The very same year that the new product was released the USDA decided it was not safe anymore to home can pumpkin or pumpkin Butter.  Coincidence????  I think not....
Zuchinni is a summer squash and does not store well like a winter squash does, nor does it freeze well since it just gets all mushy.  Canning is the best way that I have found to store it for the long term.  Unless you are just grating it and freezing it to put into bread or cake.  Mushy does not matter then.....

Italian Zuchinni

You will need a 5 gallon pot to do this and a long handled spoon

4 gallons of sliced Zuchinni-Do not peel only cut off the stem and flower ends, slice about 1/2" thick.
4 large onions peeled and quartered
1/4 cup minced Garlic (my family all loves garlic)
1/8 cup italian seasoning (or to taste) remember it WILL get stronger as it cans
Water to the top of the squash and onions in pot.

                                                        add your seasonings

                             Cook on the stove until the Zuchinni is just soft enough to bend.

                                         Fill your jars leaving about one inch of head space

 Wipe rims of jars off with a clean towel and then place the lids on

 Process in a pressure cooker for 40 minutes at 10 lbs of pressure (for my altitude in Arkansas)




When you want to cook this for dinner it is wonderful made this way:

2 jars of Zuchinni drained well.  Place them in a baking dish, add some melted butter and sprinkle with parmesean cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted.

Canning Rings good and bad

I have a ton of canning rings some are in good condition and some are in bad.  I am not sure why it makes a difference in how the bands make a seal but I can tell you from experience that if they are rusty they will not allow the lids to seal as well.  Especcially with Tattler lids.

Good Band

Bad Band

Make sure you inspect your bands prior to use and take out any with rust on them.  I save mine for in case of emergency as they do seal part of the time but you will have about a 30% failure rate if you use them.

Sweet pickle relish

Sweet Pickle Relish



I hate giving the store money for things like pickles when they are so easy to make.  For the last 2 years my cucumbers had not done well.  This year they are putting on like crazy.  We use a lot of relish in this house so making some is definately in order.  This was the first batch for the year.  We will need about 36 pints of relish to last the year just for our house. 

This recipe originally came from a web site called heritage recipes and then I tweeked it to my taste.  This is going to be very similiar to store bought pickle relish.

run all these veges thru a grinder with the blade that has the largest holes

10lbs cucumbers (do not peel but do cut the big ones in half and remove the big seeds)
2 green bell peppers
1 large red bell pepper
1 large or 2 small onions

Put 2 qts of water in a large pot and 1 cup of canning salt , bring this mixture to a boil.  Then add the ground veges to the pot.  Cover and let sit for about 2 hours

After soaking then drain the mixture the best that you can by ladling it into a strainer and allow the juice to drip out

Put the mixture back into the pot and add the following:
1 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp tumeric
2 cups apple cider vinegar
5 cups sugar
1 TBS corn starch

Stir well and heat to boiling.  Allow the mixture to boil for 30 minutes while stirring freqently to avoid scorching.

After boiling once again drain the relish or use a slotted spoon to fill the jars leaving 1 inch of head space.

Wipe the rims of the jars and place clean sterilized lids on them with rings
The process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes

Remove the jars and tighten the rings if you are using tattler lids.  Allow to cool without disturbing them.

Enjoy the relish and also enjoy not giving your money to the big grocery store corporations.....

Canning Lids !!!

I calculated that for my family we need about 4000 (yes that is 4 thousand) lids in order to can all of our stuff for 1 year.  That is taking into account all of our soup, meats, vegetables, fruits, jam/jelly, and condiments like catsup.  Since I can not afford to buy them all at once as that would be about $2500, I am buying them a little at a time.  My first thousand of them came yesterday.

Since these lids are reuseable 4000 would be a lifetimes worth.  In order to keep them organized and easily gotten out when they are needed I came up with a bin system.

I have about 750 regular lids in the top bin and 500 wide mouth lids in the bottom bin.  The extra I will  put in storage to get out when my supply in the house runs low.

Home Canning Protein: Chicken Breast

Canning protein is one of the most feared things to home can.  It is actually very easy, more nutritous and cheaper than buying it.  For example a 6 oz tin of canned chicken at Wal-Mart is $3 I canned 13 pint jars (16oz) and I spent $30 on Boneless Chicken Breast (it was on sale).  My jars, rings and lids are reuseable so there are no other costs other than a few pennies worth of salt.  This makes it $2.31 for each 16 oz jar.  Also if you read the label on the chicken you buy canned at the store there are many chemicals, fillers and preservatives.  They sometimes even have artificial flavoring.  The ingredients here are simple: Chicken and Salt. 

Begin by cutting your boneless chicken into chunks then pack them raw into the jars, leaving about 3/4th of an inch headspace

Next add 3/4 tsp of salt to each jar

Wipe the rims with a damp clean rag and then place the lids and rings on the jars.  Remember if you are using Tattler lids to back them off 1/4 inch.  After you get the lids and rings on then place into your canner with the needed water for a long processing time.  You do not want it to boil dry during processing.  Use the racks in between levels of jars.

Place the lid onto your canner and then bring it to a boil.  You want the steam to vent out of the stem for about 10 minutes.  Then place your weight on the canner and set to 15lb (or the recomended pressure for your elevation).  Once the canner gets to the correct pressure then time for 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for qts.

Once the time is up then slide your canner off the burner to a cool spot.  Do not try to rapidly reduce the pressure you can have jar breakage and seal failure.  After it is cooled sufficiently to have no pressure left remove the lid carefully (the steam can burn you) Then using a jar lifter remove the jars and place them on a clean dry towel.  The jars are very hot at this point and may still be boiling inside the jar.  If you are using Tattler lids then now is the time to tighten the rings down.  Once again use oven mits as the jars are very hot.

Leave the jars undisturbed until they are fully cooled.

 After they have cooled then place a piece of tape on the lid and mark at least the date also the contents if you so desire.  Chicken prepared like this is great for many dishes but our favorite is chicken salad for sandwiches.

Chicken Salad

1 jar canned chicken

6 hard boiled eggs

Mayo

Relish

salt/pepper to taste

Chcopped green onions

chopped celery if desired

Place into a bowl the drained chicken broken up, the cut up hard boiled eggs, the chopped onions and celery.  Then add relish to taste and Mayo to desired consistency, salt and pepper to taste.  Put whatever amount you want on bread or crackers and enjoy.  It is beautiful served on a lettuce leaf.





Pressure canner in a mood?

Trouble shooting your pressure canner

There is nothing more frustrating than when you have worked hard to get a batch of food prepared to can and then your canner doesn’t work right or for you to have Old Faithful erupting on your stove instead of staying in Yellowstone…

After 30 years of canning I have learned several “tricks” All of them the hard way.  In order to understand what is causing a problem and how to fix it then you need to understand how each part of the canner works together with the rest of the parts.

The normal run of the mill canner: (mine is a Mirro 22 qt made in 1980, it has been in service full time for 31 years)

Various parts of the canner:

Pot  (See the locking lugs all the way around)

Lid

Gasket

Canner Racks.. One is always placed on the bottom of the pot under your jars.  The other is placed on top of the first level and then a second level of jars on top of it.  This is when you are canning pints or half pints and are doing a second level.  You can not stack quart jars.  Failure to use these will cause your jars to break in the canner.

Stem

Pressure regulator (this is what regulates the amount of pressure in your pot)

High pressure relief valve (this is the safety mechanism to keep you from blowing the lid thru your ceiling)

Lid locking mechanism (this is also a safety mechanism to keep the lid from blowing thru your ceiling)

Problem:  The lid will not fit on right

          Possible cause and solution

1.     The locking lugs are not properly lined up

a.     Place the lid on top of the canner with the lid handles a little off set from the pot handles.  Line up the lugs by sliding it back and forth until the lugs fit together and the lid slides down.  Then turn the lid until the handles on the pot and the lid line up.

b.    If your lid doesn’t not want to slide easily once it has seated on the lugs then coat the gasket with a small amount of vegetable oil to help the gasket to slide on the pot.

Problem: Canner will not reach correct pressure.

Turn off your burner and Slide the canner to a cool spot to cool down before trouble shooting the problem.

Possible cause and solutions:

1.     Gasket not sealing

a.     Soak gasket in hot water for 15 minutes

b.    if gasket seems loose on the lid then you can stretch the gasket by working your way around with both hands pulling on it

c.     try a coating of vegetable oil

d.    Replace gasket

2.     not enough heat

a.     Increase heat

3.     If you have a canner with wing nut type clamps then it is possible one of your clamps is not tight.

Problem: Old faithful erupting on stove. 

Steam is pouring out from under the lid.  Slide the canner to a cool spot to cool down before trouble shooting the problem.

          Possible causes and solutions

1.     Lid locking mechanism did not lock

a.     Try Jiggling the lid to get the mechanism to lock.  Some canners are very picky about the lid placement and this mechanism.

2.     Food is hung in the lid lock mechanism

a.     Make sure your lid and jars are clean before processing.

b.    Check the gasket, under the gasket and the lid lock mechanism for pieces of food.

3.     Gasket not sealing

a.     Soak gasket in hot water for 15 minutes

b.    if gasket seems loose on the lid then you can stretch the gasket by working your way around with both hands pulling on it

c.     try a coating of vegetable oil

d.    Replace gasket if it is dry, hard, cracked or torn.

4.     If you have a canner with wing nut type clamps then it is possible one of your clamps is not tight.

Problem: The high pressure valve just popped

(Hurry and throw a damp rag on top of the valve so that you do not lose your jars, do not get your hand in the way of the steam it will burn you).  Slide the canner to a cool spot to cool down before trouble shooting the problem.

Possible causes and solutions

1.     Stem is clogged

a.     Always make sure your pot and lid is clean before you use it and make sure your jars are clean when you put them in.

Problem: The pressure regulator quit jiggling and is now just blowing a steady stream of steam

          Possible cause and solution

1.     Too much pressure in pot

a.     Turn down your fire a bit

Problem: The pressure regulator quit jiggling and is not blowing steam out

          Possible cause and solution

1.     not enough pressure in the pot

a.     Turn up your fire a bit

Problem:  You just bought a new gasket for your Mirro Canner and now it won’t seal or the gasket only lasts a few times of running the canner before it fails again.

          Possible cause and solution

1.     Turn your pot over and look at the manufacturing date.  You see the 12 80 on mine (See picture below).  The Mirro 22qt made before 1983 requires a different gasket than is sold at the hardware store now.  You probably have the wrong gasket.  There are several sites on the internet that sells the older replacements.  You can call the manufacturer to make sure of what part you need.  Gaskets that are used regularly should last 3-5 years.  Usually what causes them to fail is not using them and they dry out.

Problem:  Lids not sealing

          Possible causes and solutions

1.     Rims not clean when lids are placed on

a.     Wipe the rims with a clean damp cloth before placing your hot lids on them

2.     Pressure being dropped too fast

a.     Never drop the pressure artificially.  Allow the pot to cool on its own.  By dropping the pressure it causes negative pressure in your pot and will pull the jar contents out into the pot from under the lids.

3.     Using used metal lids

a.     Never reuse a metal lid.  The only lids suitable for repeated use are Tattler lids with gaskets.

4.     Not enough headspace

a.     Leave about ¾’s of an inch between the top of your food and the top of your jar.  The jars will boil in the canner and if you do not have enough empty space in the jar then the contents will be pushed out of the jar causing grease and food to get under the lid.

5.     Rings not tight on metal lids

a.     Tighten rings over metal lids prior to processing

6.     Rings too tight on tattler lids before processing or not tightened down after processing.

a.     Tighten and then back off the rings over a Tattler lid ¼ inch then tighten the rings after the jars are processed and removed from the canner.  Use an oven mitt the jars are HOT!!!

Remember: if at any time you lose the pressure in your pot you have to start retiming the food from the time you rebuild pressure!!

Remember: Always let the canner vent steam for at least 10 minutes before placing the weight on the stem.  This allows the air to evacuate the pot and makes sure the stem is clear.

Remember:  Always make sure your canner is clean and the jars are clean before canning or you can clog your stem.  Inspect it before each use.

Remember:  Always make sure you have enough water in the pot to run the entire processing time.  If you let a canner run dry you will warp the pot and break your jars.

Remember:  NEVER drop the pressure purposely by removing the weight or running cold water over the pot.  Always allow the pot to cool naturally by only sliding it to the cool side of your stove or counter.  Failure to do this can cause steam/burn injuries, broken jars and seal failure.

Remember: Any time there is a problem with your canner gently and carefully slide it to a cool place and then leave it alone until the pressure has subsided.  If too much pressure builds it will make a howling sound from the steam escaping the escape valve or from under the lid.  The escaping steam will burn you!!!

Preserving food in a grid down scenario

We all know how possible a grid down scenario is.  While we have been stuffing our pantries and freezers with food to sustain us, what happens when there is no electricity to run that freezer?  If it is winter time in a northern place then it would be fine and we could use Mother Nature.  But what if you live in a southern area where the temperature does not remain below freezing?

One solution would be to home-can your food.  Let’s start out by talking about the equipment needed.  First thing you would need a good quality canner.  They can be purchased pretty much anywhere.  Most require a rubber gasket between the lid and the pot in order to produce a seal and build the required pressure in order to raise the temperature to a point that pathogens are destroyed inside your jars.  But then what do you do when the gasket fails (they generally last 3-5 years) on your canner and you have no store to go buy another or the internet to order one?   My suggestion would be to invest in a canner that does not require a gasket.  There is one brand of canner that does not require a gasket.  It is the “All American Canner”.  They are quite pricey to buy initially but when you figure many years of service without replacement gaskets the price goes down.  This canner has a machined rim that is so precise that it does not require any kind of gasket.  You have to be careful to not boil it dry and warp it.  But with careful use and care it should last your lifetime.  There are several listed on eBay.

This is my canner it is a Mirro 22 quart and I have been using it for 20 years and my grandmother 10 years before that.  

Then there are those pesky metal lids that can only be used one time.  Wal-Mart generally carries these lids.  I say generally because last fall my Wal-Mart in our town decided it was past canning season and sent all of theirs back to the warehouse.  Then when I went to the supercenter in the next town they were out.  I finally found some at the hardware store in town.  The prices have also gone up on these.  They were .99 cents a dozen a couple years ago and now the cheapest I can find them for is $1.63 when Wal-Mart has them and $2.49 at the hardware store.  So what happens when the grid is down and no stores or internet is available to buy any?  The solution to this is tattler reusable lids.  I have some and plan to buy a lifetime supply soon.  I have experimented with them and they have proved reliable over and over.  They are pricey for the initial investment but over the long run they pay for themselves quite quickly.  They are a 2 piece plastic lid with a rubber gasket.  As long as you do not damage the gasket they will work over and over.  You have to be careful when opening your jar so that the gasket does not get cut with your opener.  They are also tricky in that you have to get used to not tightening the rings down on them until after processing.  The trick is to tighten the ring down and then back it off about ¼ of an inch.  Then you process according to recommended times and pressures.  When you take the jars out of the canner use mitts and tighten each ring down on the jars.  Set your jars on a towel and allow them to cool.  After they have cooled completely then you can remove the rings.  The only other drawback is that you can not write on them.  Since they are reusable writing on the lids would cause a problem the next time you used them.  So after they are cool and you remove the rings make sure the jars are clean and place a small piece of masking tape on the lid and write on it.  Or you can write on the jar itself with a magic marker as this will wash off the glass.  You can get them in a bulk deal for about .50 cents a lid.  Since the metal ones are about .20 cents a lid you can see how fast they would pay for them selves.  You can look at the tattler website www.reusablecanninglids.com    If you email them they will send you a sample.

The other equipment you would need is reusable and you would not need to worry so much about replacements.  They are:

Jar lifter

Small pot for boiling the lids

Jar funnel

Water bathing pot for processing pickles and fruit, you can also use your canner without the lid for this, but I like a separate pot to water bath in.

Pot holders or oven mitts

A large ladle for filling jars

A canning book (I like Putting Food By) There are many different ones available.

And of course the food you are canning (inserted per my 10 year olds request)

Now that we got the boring equipment part out of the way we can move on to the good part…

There is a great satisfaction to having your cabinet full of what I call convenience foods.   I like to can food in a way that I can open the jar, heat it up and Presto dinner is ready.  I love to make soup and when I do I make it 5 gallons at a time… I do not add any pasta to it when I make the big batch then I will remove only what we are going to eat for that meal to add the pasta.  (Pasta does not can well it only gets mushy).  Then I can all of the leftovers in quart jars.  Meat loaf, meat balls, barbecued meat, roast in gravy, taco meat, spaghetti sauce with the meat and even left over gravy in jars makes for a very speedy meal and can even be prepared by the less culinary gifted people in your home should you be unable to cook.  Remember that what ever you can always process it for the recommended amount of time for the ingredient requiring the longest processing time.  For example I made venison soup a few days ago.  It had venison, barley and vegetables in the soup.  The venison would require the longest processing time, (90 minutes at 15 lbs for our altitude and for quart jars).  So that is what the soup got processed for. 

As you can see from the above picture the grease will float to the top of the jar and get hard when it cools.  Then when you open the jar it is very easy to remove the fat with a spoon.  The meat is from left to right: hamburger, Meat loaf, Taco meat, BBQ Chicken, Roast pork and gravy, canned boneless pork, Ham chunks, boneless beef chunks.

When you can meat it does change the flavor and texture a bit.  My husband does not care for the canned hamburger but it is a good way to preserve it when there is no freezer.  Using this meat is as easy as opening the jar and draining the liquid.  You can process meat either hot pack (already cooked) or raw pack.  In the above pictures the beef, ham and pork are raw packed, the others were cooked first.  The roast and gravy was leftover from a large roast I cooked.  Canned chicken flakes easily for making things like enchiladas and you can buy the lesser cuts of beef that would normally be tough; after you can them they are very tender. 

Canning meat (Raw pack)

Raw pack is the easiest way to can meat.  Simply cut the meat into chunks and pack into the jar leaving about an inch of headspace (the distance from the top of the meat to the top edge of the jar).  Wipe the rim of the jar (you must make sure there are no food particles, grease or chipped rims or it will not seal).  Place a boiled lid on top and screw on a ring.  Then process at the recommended time and pressure. We are at a little over 1000 feet.  I process meat for quarts 90 minutes at 15 lbs and pints for 75 minutes at 15 lbs. You can NOT process meat in a water bath.  It MUST be pressure canned.  When processing raw meat you do not add any liquid.  The broth is made as the meat cooks in the jars.  Begin timing after your canner has reached the correct pressure per your specific canners instructions.  After the timing is over slide your canner to a cool side of the stove and allow it to cool.  Do NOT try to reduce the pressure rapidly by running water on it or helping the pressure to escape.  This will cause seal failure.  After the canner has cooled and there is no longer any pressure inside it then remove the weight and lid.  Using a jar lifter remove the jars to a towel on your counter.  Remember they are VERY hot at this time and you will see the contents still boiling.  If you are using Tattler lids this is the time to tighten the bands down.  After the jars have cooled off (over night) then remove the lids and wash the jars.  The jars may have grease on the outside of them from processing.  Always write on the lid or tape what the contents are and the month/year of processing.  Home canned meat should have a shelf life of about 5 years if done properly.

Canning meat (Hot pack)

This is the way you would can any leftovers.  Heat what ever you are going to process up (Soup, meat and gravy, taco meat, etc).  Then using the jar funnel ladle the food into the jar leaving about 1 inch of headspace.  Then follow the directions above.  Remember to always process for the time required to process the longest amount recommended for any one ingredient.

Canning Meatloaf (Raw pack)

You must use wide mouth pint jars for this.  Otherwise the neck of the jar will not allow your loaf to slide out.  Do not add eggs or fillers (oatmeal, bread crumbs, etc).  Mix your ground meat with the seasonings you wish.  I mix sausage and hamburger together with a can of drained diced tomatoes and a bit of Italian seasoning.

 Then pack the mixture into the jar leaving an inch of headspace.  Wipe the rim. Place on lids and rings then process the recommended time/pressure.  When it is done you will have a nice loaf of cooked meat in a broth with fat ion top.  When you are ready to eat it open the jar and drain the liquid.  I like to slice the meatloaf to make sandwiches.

Canning Meat Balls (hot pack)

Make your meatballs (mix meat and seasonings).  Do not add any eggs or fillers.  Bake them in the oven to brown them.  Then place the balls into jars and cover with liquid (I use half strength V8 juice) Process the recommended time/pressure.  The meat balls make a great snack for kids and easy to make meat ball subs, spaghetti, etc.

Canning soup or roast (Hot pack)

Make your soup or roast.  Make sure if you are canning roast that it is cut into small enough pieces to fit into the jar and then come back out easily.  Do not add any pasta to your soup prior to canning.  If you are going to want pasta in your soup then wait and add it after you open the jar.  It is very easy to open the jar heat it to boiling then add a handful of noodles and cook them in the broth.  If you try to can pasta it only gets mushy. 

Canned Gravy: Depending on what you use to thicken your gravy it may thin out and need to be thickened with corn starch after you open the jar.  Corn starch will break down if it is cooked too long so corn starch thickened gravy will also thin back out with processing.

You can even can Bacon slices, bacon bits, etc.  What you put into jars really is as great as your culinary skills and imagination.  It is a great way to utilize leftovers so that they are not wasted and a great way to add to your food stores without spending a lot of money on store bought canned meat.  Just remember to always process the safe time and pressure for your altitude for the ingredient that requires the longest processing.  Also remember that spices tend to get stronger after canning.  So if you think there is a little too much oregano in your meat balls you need to add more meat before you process or your meat balls will really have too much oregano when you are done.