Canning Hamburger Patties
and
Meatballs
We have always done alot of canning with our vegetables, but as things began to look worse for the financial state of the Country, we decided it was time to re-think our habit of keeping our meats in the freezer. We decided to begin experimenting with pressure canning our meats. We had always made our own spaghetti sauce, so it was a no brainer to get started on the easy stuff - just plain hamburger meat, chunks of chicken breasts, and pork roasts. We had such good success with that and we used it so often, that we had to continuously to replenish our supplies. So, there was nothing else to do but begin thinking of other things we could put in the jar. I started with chili and it turned out wonderfully and it just took off from there. We have put barbecue pork, pork chops, pork loins, meatloaf, chili (which I mentioned earlier), bacon, sausage and now hamburger patties and meatballs successfully into jars.
Friends call alot to ask how do I can this or how do I put this up. I decided that in an effort to get information about how easy it is to can meats, I would write this blog. I am not a writer, so don't expect it to be the best, but it will hopefully help some people.
Meatballs
We used approximately 5 lbs. of ground beef. This amount of meat yielded 4 quarts. Mix it using any meatball recipe you like. We made ours for spaghetti sauce. You will need to use wide mouth jars. On this try, we did not brown them before putting them in the jar. We put around 20 meatballs into each quart jar. We processed them at 10 lbs. for 90 minutes. When they were done, it appeared some of them had stuck together. When I took them out of the jar, most of them separated and the ones that didn't pulled apart easily. They were a complete success. Even though the jars were full when we packed the meatballs in, after processing the jars were only 1/2 to 3/4 full. They had really cooked down. On our next try we are going to brown them first, then put them into the jars under a hot pack method. I will post how they turn out.
Hamburger Patties
We used approximately 5 lbs. of ground beef. This amount of meat yielded 4 quarts. Mix the ground beef with whatever kind of seasoning you would use to make regular hamburger patties. You will need to use wide mouth jars and parchment paper. On this try, we did not brown the patties before putting them in the jars. We placed a square of parchment paper between each pattie in the jar. This was so they would not stick together. We were able to put 7 patties into each quart jar. We processed them at 10 lbs. for 90 minutes (the recommended time for hamburger). This was a complete success. The patties came out nicely done and separated easily. Even though the jars were full before processing, they were only approximately 3/4 full afterwards. On our next try, we are going to sear them prior to putting them in the jar and use a hot pack method. Again, I will probably use the parchment paper (or brown paper) to keep them from sticking together. I have uploaded some pictures below to show the results.
Be sure to check back for updates! Thanks for visiting.
