As a canning newbie, I have a few questions for you experts:
1. How does canning ground beef work? I’ve heard (read) DW say canning chicken works good. But I’m thinking of having a canner around for if/when my freezer goes out, so I’ll have things like ground beef, roasts, and pork as well as chicken.
2. Do canned goods need to be stored at a low temperature to last? The only spot I’ll have will be in the garage - not an optimum temp in the summer at all!
Those are good questions. I don’t know the answers because I haven’t done meat yet.
I tried reading the directions in the canning book that comes with the canner, but still am not sure.
I didn’t get how they say to cut up the meat, whether it’s cubes or strips. And I couldn’t figure out what to do about the water in the jar. Do you cover the meat with water or put just a little in the bottom of the jar and kind of can it dry.
Okay, I’m late to this party but will add something to this....
>>>>>>. How does canning ground beef work? I’ve heard (read) DW say canning chicken works good. But I’m thinking of having a canner around for if/when my freezer goes out, so I’ll have things like ground beef, roasts, and pork as well as chicken.<<<<<<<<
DW answered your question with a great indepth answer. I just want to add one thing. Since our household is just the two adults I actually can a lot of my things with ground beef as leftovers. I cooked for a whole family and am so used to cooking in large pots I just continue to do so pretty often and then go ahead and follow safe canning procedures for the meat and can up my leftovers for future use. This works really well for me with chili, sphaghetti sauce, stews, etc.
Also that makes the food item in a nice quantity for us when I open the quart or pint of product. So, I can cook the large pot once and then have lots of containers perfect for “just us.”
On your storage of canned goods. Like DW said again, garage is really about the least likely place to maintain the food well. I don’t use a lot of airconditioning even in Texas but find the food keeps much better in a dark closet. Temperature doesn’t spike so high and keeping it out of light helps also.
And I agree with the statement, don’t wait for the freezer to go out. Just can it up now.