Canning Deer Meat Pictures added

[lyagooshka]

11FIFER1:

To answer your question about a book, there are a few I have and use.

Ball (the jar people) have:
"Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving" or you can get quite a bit of free info on their web site at:  http://www.freshpreserving.com/home.aspx  

Another good one is:
"A Guide to Canning, Freezing, Curing & Smoking Meat, Fish & Game" by Wilbur F. Eastman.

Lastly, our own USDA has a guide out called:
"Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving", last revised in 2009, it is actually a very good guide and has lots of info.  I am never a fan of government publication (FM, DD form..., DA Form..., the army ruined that for me) but this book is [IMHO] a must-have.

All of these are available at internet (and local) book sellers.  Don't forget to check your local library.  Hope this helps.  Be well.

Alex

 

[Traditional-Archer]

These instructions are from the point of packing the canning jars, butcher your deer and cut the meat you want to use for canning into 2 inch cubes. Put your venison in the freezer or refrigerator for later use.
 

[Traditional-Archer]

Take your canning jars and wash them. Then you cut up some onion and garlic, I use one clove of garlic per jar and a slice of onion one in the bottom of the jar and one on top of the packed meat, so count how many jars you can put in your pressure cooker or oven, dice one clove of garlic for each jar and two slices of onion for each jar.
After you have cleaned your jars bring a small pot of water to a boil.
 

[Traditional-Archer]

Put one lid for each jar in the boiling water. Take a slice of onion and some hot pepper rings and coat the bottom of the jar.
 

[Traditional-Archer]

Pack the meat on top of the onion and hot peppers and push as much air out of the jar as possible, pushing down on top of the meat packing it tight, sometimes using a wooden spoon will help with this part of the job. Put another slice of onion on top.
 

[Traditional-Archer]

Take your diced garlic and put that on top of your onion. Add one TSP of salt “optional” pore on top.
 

[Traditional-Archer]

Take a clean towel or paper towel and wipe the mouth of the jars, Take a lid that has been boiling and cap your jars, put your lid ring on and snug the ring being careful not to tighten too much. Load your jars into your pressure cooker going by the instruction of the pressure cooker.
 

[Traditional-Archer]

Instruction using an oven put your jars in your oven making sure the jars don’t touch each other, bake at 200 degrees for four hours. Take the jars from your oven after four hour and put them on a towel on your counter top. Make sure you don’t have a draft 0f cold air or cold surface making contact with the jars they will break.  These instructions are the same after pulling your jars from your pressure cooker. Put the jar on a towel to cool in the same manner. After 10 to 15 minutes you will hear the lids pulling down, a popping sound or to me it sounds like crack. When the jars have cooled, push down in the center of the lids. There should be very little movement in the lid and no popping sound. If that is not the case and you are not confident the jars have sealed properly you can re-can that jar, take the lid of check for nicks and cracks. If no evident damage is showing repeat the canning proses for that jar. The advantage of using a pressure cooker is time. Using my pressure cooker at ten pounds of pressure it takes 1 1/2 hours compared to four in the oven. I am adding picture to illustrate how easy this process is. Canning is a great way to us the animal you have harvested and I promise you the toughest animal will be as tender as you have ever tasted.

[bretto]

I'll be canning some next week. I got a new cooker for Christmas. I'm anxious to try it out.

I've got a bunch of meat from last year to use up.

Thanks for the pictures.

bretto

[Traditional-Archer]

Bretto,
you will never know the meat you cook was from last year, you will be happy with the way it turns out.    
Bruce

[Altiman94]

I just finished canning 7 pint jars (3 deer, 4 antelope) using this recipe.  I see it as a great 'after work' meal when I don't feel like cooking a full course meal.  I'll be sure to give it a try ASAP and report back.

[Traditional-Archer]

I have no doubt what the outcome will be. I look forward to the report. It is also a great meal while hunting in camp. It is so quick when you come back from the field.
Try this recipe, get a loaf of garlic bread or fresh steak roll, and bake according to instructions. Empty a can of venison into a separate pan and cook down until all juice is cooked back into the meat. After the bread is cooked halfway through, pull the bread from the oven and put a layer of meat on top and a layer of your choice of cheese if desired. I like pepper jack cheese or extra sharp cheddar. Put the stacked bread back in the oven and finish the cooking process, Then I put a small amount of hot sauce on top of that.  A salad as a side and a couple of your favorite beverages and you are done for the night.
 

[Altiman94]

I finally tried a pint of it this evening.  I heated it up in a sauce pan with some BBQ sauce and I can honestly say it was AMAZING!  Even my wife was chowing down on it.  I still have 5 pints left so I'll be making some more as soon as I get a chance to thaw out another venison roast!

[Traditional-Archer]

Altiman94

I am glad you liked this process, the recipes are endless. Any recipe you can do with another meat source you can use venison in, well almost anything. Please keep me up to date on the recipes you try with the canned venison and Antelope.

 

[tuscarawasbowman]

Finally got around to canning some deer meat the other day. I was planning on having the rest of my doe made into hot dogs and trail bologna but I am just too lazy and cheap to get it done. So my wife and I decided we would try canning some ourselves. Her family always canned meat, mine never did because we always had a chest freezer. So it was a learning experience for me. Packed the jars with non lean meat and a TSP of salt. Found out why all the cook books say "lean meat". Due to the temps in the canner the fat will liquefy and boil to the top. Not a big deal but a surprise when I woke up the next morning to find a white layer on the top of all my deer meat        Turned out incredible. I would bet anything if I fed it to my deer meat hating inlaws they would not be able to tell the difference between it and a well done and tender beef roast.

[stringstretcher]

What happened to all the pictures?

[Traditional-Archer]

I don't know I'll try and find out.

[Traditional-Archer]

Put your jars on the counter top to cool and seal. Put a towel under them so the jars don't cool to fast and break.
 

[Traditional-Archer]

This happens sometimes I probably added to much meat in this one, or had a jar with a small crack I didn’t see. I inspect the jars before use I don’t believe I had a bad jar, just be aware that this could happen over the years I have had maybe five jars break about one a year or every other is more like it.  
 

[Altiman94]

I just did 9 more quarts and 4 pints today using this recipe.  I've used it for so many things and hope I'm not missing any:

Over noodles
open faced sandwiches
enchiladas
bbq pulled sandwiches
and of course straight out of the can

I hope you guys are trying this, it's a great way to process and store more venison.  It also makes for really great quick meals after a long day at work or in the woods.