Canned Meat! How long is it good?

[Schmidty3]

So I noticed that I had a few jars left in the pantry from a doe killed long ago.

I'm just a whippersnapper and don't know much about the old ways, but thought I would try my hand at canning. It turned out really well. I ate most of it really fast, but then decided to save some back....and then forgot about it.

Looking at the jar it says 11/8/14. The seals all seem good. I left the rings off after I canned them, and none of the lids ever popped out. So I think I did a good job killing the bacteria.

So what say the wise men? Is there any reason that these may have turned bad? Is there anything else to check?

I believe this is the thread that inspired me...

 http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=7;t=000205

[Stumpkiller]

There are many ways to can meat.  If you are still alive we'll assume you normally use a pressure canner.

Pressure canned properly - probably five years.

[Schmidty3]

I did use a pressure canner. Its a handy device!

[BrushWolf]

I are some 2014 not long ago.

[Doc Nock]

protein has some insidious things going on not in just high acid foods canned.

You can always call BALL and ask them... or your local county extension office, if you trust them.

I'd heat it nice and long and make sure it was well heated regardless of advice obtained...

[Tucker]

If the seal is still good it might be edible after a thousand years, just not sure of the flavour .  We are eating some stuff I canned in 2001 or earlier and still pretty good.
Advise to thoroughly heat again before eating may be prudent.
I know a paleontologist friend who ate frozen 5000 year old wooly mammoth meat and is still good to go !

[mark Willoughby]

5000 year old wooly mammoth meat I'd like to hear more about that personally !

[Sam McMichael]

On that mammoth... any sign of a complete pass through?

I had a friend whose family regularly canned sausage. They kept it for quite some time without problems. I have no direct experience other than helping them eat some of it. They didn't use a pressure cooker. They fried the sausage patties and while the grease was still hot, taken straight from the stove, filled the remaining space in the jar with the hot grease. Due to the high temperature, bacteria was not a problem.

[Schmidty3]

Canned cooked sausage!?!?! That's a new one!

That mammoth does sound interesting. Did it have freezer burn?  

[warden415]

I had some from 1997 that I ate last year. I found it stashed away on a back shelf I had forgot about.  I was prepared in a pressure canner back then.  I was hesitant but cooked it up for my son and I. He sat there and watched me  eat 2 sandwiches before he took his first bite!! I'm not recommending keeping it that long but the seal  was good and still had plenty of juice in it. With that said there was one or 2 jars that were also that old that were obviously bad and dried out. I did toss those.

[Traditional-Archer]

I have the canning thread in the cooking section on canning. I have been canning meat for ten years now. I have learned one thing about canning meat; if in doubt throw it out.  
That being said, if you check the seal push on the lid if it pops when you push in the center of the lid the seal has been broken. If not it passes the first test. Next pore the contents into a pan and cook down all juices back into the meat at a simmer. Once all juice is cooked back into the meat, as its cooking pay attention to the odor, If it smells good that passing the second test. When you taste the meat if it has any sign of spoilage don’t continue throw it away. If it tastes fine it is most likely good to go. Without having the meat tested in a lab there is no test you can perform that guarantee your canned venison is good. Not at home or from a store.
Any product you buy could be bad, if you bought something from a store and had doubt you would take it back or throw it away.
So after that long winded answer to your question, if the seal is good the meat is good. This process preserves the meat as long as the seal is good. I’ve had   venison packed away from 2011 and opened the jar just last year, it was great. Five years is not uncommon. I do not can every year just when I want more canned venison or when my mother begs me for some more or my sister, brother or friends.
I hope this is helpful and you have the confidence to open the canned venison and enjoy.
Bruce

[McDave]

Some canned C rations that they gave us in the Marines in 1965 in Vietnam had been canned in 1944 in preparation for the invasion of Japan. The results varied: canned beans and meatballs were okay; canned ham and lima beans tasted good, but always produced bad heartburn 15 minutes after eating; canned chicken and noodles were the best of the bunch and could be traded for other non-C ration goodies; canned pork was poison and if you gave a can of  it to the Vietnamese they would throw it right back at you.

They had canned bacon they would cook in the mess halls. I remember looking forward to it the first time it was offered because I hadn’t had bacon in a long time, but it was so bad I never took any again.

The only canned meat I like these days is tuna fish.

[warden415]