Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Canning Meat

A couple weeks ago my good friend Monica Buckles taught me and a few other friends how to can meat. I was a little sceptical about, but I'm a covert now! It's so great. If you care to know details about it, read on...

I bought a pressure canner at Wal-mart for about $60. I found chicken on sale at Smith's for $1.69 (actually I have to give Jen credit for finding that). It takes about an hour per batch and you can get 7 cans (which is about 4 pounds of meat). Once they're canned, they will be good for two years! You just cut up raw meat (I did chicken and beef), fill the can (I used 1 quart-I think-wide mouth) almost to the top, add a teaspoon of salt, put the lid on and the ring on loosely. If you have a canner, it will give you all the instructions for the rest. The canning process cooks the meat for you, so it has the texture of being cooked in a crock pot. It just falls apart and is so good. I didn't think I would use it much, but I have used it a few times a week. I put it in tinfoil dinners for camping (I hate to wait for meat to cook in them, so this was perfect). I made a yummy, fast and easy chicken salad the other day. I'll throw it in with pasta or quesadillas. It's so convinient. I highly reccomend doing this. I'd love to help anyone that's interested (I do have the canner now!)

This is it raw and cooked. It kind of looks like brains floating in it's own fluid, but I promise it's good!
We had two canners going at once and it still took us all day!
YUM!
Mykin, Monica, Jen, Me
I'm such a Mormon mom! Woo Hoo!

3 comments:

(Nicole) The Very Hungry Caterpillar said...

good for you that looks really cool. I should try that. I have been thinking about getting a canner anyways, now I know how to do one thing with it. For being so tired yesterday you sure did a lot of blogging, good for you. take care.

Leslie said...

HMMMM interesting!!!!!!!!! I am still not sure about that one!!?? I wish I could have been there to enjoy the social aspect of it all!! let me know when you all get together again some time!!!!!! I'm not one into canning. Mostly cause I don't know much about it. I can barely cook let alone save anything right and not have it kill us later. ha! =)

Jessica said...

I wish that I could come and can with you, but I found a great deal on Chicken this week and my boys are a little under the weather. I don't want to even ask because I don't want to share the germs. Did you just cut the chicken in cubes and fill the jar, add water and salt and that is it? My friend is lending me her pressure canner and I just wondered for sure what the steps were. Thanks you are amazing and awesome with all this inspiring canning!