My first canning

[Nomad]

30 pounds of chicken , with another 15 soon to be done ,and I’m planning on shooting a doe in early bow and stuffing her in cans too !

Like many “ canned “ meat wasn’t something that appealed to me ,till I talked to people and found not how good it tastes, one guy will only eat venison that was canned  , but not needing to thaw out or depend on the freezer staying running is a large appeal as well . We’ve always kept a pantry , but we’ve decided to ramp it up, We plan on keeping around 100#s canned and restocking as it goes down .

Friend got me started , he says chicken works well in soups, tacos, salads, casseroles, in other words things we regularly eat

[rob-c]

Love canned venison..

[Nytracker]

I have never  had canned chicken.  Interesting  . Did you add any thing ? Spices .... broth ?

[Nomad]

Just now, Nytracker said:

I have never  had canned chicken.  Interesting  . Did you add any thing ? Spices .... broth ?

Teaspoon of canning salt and one bullion cube . Just following what my friend does at this point , you can see at the bottom of some jars, a bit of a dark spot that I believe is some of the cube .

We shall see ....

[Culvercreek hunt club]

What pressure canner did you get?

[Arcade Hunter]

I am following!

[Culvercreek hunt club]

15 minutes ago, Nytracker said:

I have never  had canned chicken.  Interesting  . Did you add any thing ? Spices .... broth ?

it is moist and falls right apart. Makes excellent chicken wing dip...lol.  this chicken runs about $3.50 a pound and up. This is cheaper and you control what's in it. 

https://www.target.com/p/swanson-premium-white-chunk-chicken-breast-in-water-12-5oz/-/A-14847255?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&CPNG=PLA_Grocery%2BShopping&adgroup=SC_Grocery&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=c&location=9005660&ds_rl=1246978&ds_rl=1248099&gclid=CjwKCAjwqpP2BRBTEiwAfpiD-3hfgmJtABye3AsohY8-GWf_U-jDMUrX_HH9jQy0RqIt7VRmKt7t4hoCz8AQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Nomad]

1 hour ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

What pressure canner did you get?

I borrowed a Presto 23 quart ( I’ll just buy the same ) , from my friend , came with all the tools and phone consolations ! He also said this chicken ,makes the best chicken wing dip . I paid $1.89 a pound for three ten pound bags , he got his earlier in the year for $1.50 .

He sent me a very good video that was very helpful for a newbie .  For other new guys , keep in mind while it cooks for 90 minutes , you’ll need well over double that . Cutting up all the meat, washing the jars .bands, heating lids in water, filling jars , wiping them off , half hour to,get cooker  up to,pressure, another half or more for it to go back to zero, then washing everything .

I cut the meat the night before as well as washing the jars , and laying everything out . . After you do it once, I found you don’t worry about it blowing up ....

I may hit up the farmers markets and do some vegetables as well .

 

[NFA-ADK]

Very cool!  More more!  I can barley cook toast without messing it up!  

[Enigma]

Excellent job! That's good stuff right there. Very versatile long term eats! Just a suggestion, you might want to put up a run of pints instead of all quarts. There's a bunch of bird in a one quart jar!

[Fletch]

Super!! I have only done venison. I learned to do it with my Gram since I was a tadpole. I am the only one I know who does it still out of my friends and family. But they are always asking for the finished product!! I ate my last can a few days ago, so frickin good! 

My back just hurts thinking of trimming and cutting 25-30 pints lol.

[LET EM GROW]

Awesome! Everything is better canned, My mom just gave me a huge canner so we can finally start canning this year, I cant wait. 

Edited May 20, 2020 by LET EM GROW

[Nomad]

1 hour ago, Enigma said:

Excellent job! That's good stuff right there. Very versatile long term eats! Just a suggestion, you might want to put up a run of pints instead of all quarts. There's a bunch of bird in a one quart jar!

Thanks ! There’s a case of pints next up . They’re  two pounds of chicken in each jar , our plan is use like half for tacos one night ,and the rest into a pot of soup the next , we’ll see how that goes ,  , may have left overs for a chicken salad too .

Cant wait to experiment with venison , I see folks drop in garlic, onions, peppers, I’m open to suggestions.

[Enigma]

When I had a family at home I canned quite a few quarts. Now that it's just me and the gf pints are plenty. Good thing with a quart is that your second helping of protein can keep in the fridge for awhile after the jar is opened.

Chicken and venison are staples we always have. We've also canned ground venison, lean ground beef and ground pork. Wild turkey legs were not the greatest haha. Most of the time it's just salt and a flavor cube added. Gives you options at cook time. I tend to go mild on the spices in the jars and add later if need be. 

That being said check the web. Many many recipes out there from mild to wild. We ran venison pints once with perhaps 5 different recipes, one or two jars of each kind. All were good but we ended up liking just the straight up salt and I think it was a taco version best.

If its fresh protein you can can it. If you keep clean and always follow a proven recipe you're good to go. Also, like you said, a great reason to knock over an Oct. doe! 

 

[Pygmy]

Use it right out of the jar to make chicken salad sandwiches...Or heat it in a sauce pan, make gravy with the stock and do chicken-n-bisquits or hot chicken sandwiches... For years I canned my home grown chickens when they multiplied beyond my flock limit...I really miss it...

[Culvercreek hunt club]

4 hours ago, Nomad said:

I borrowed a Presto 23 quart ( I’ll just buy the same ) , from my friend , came with all the tools and phone consolations ! He also said this chicken ,makes the best chicken wing dip . I paid $1.89 a pound for three ten pound bags , he got his earlier in the year for $1.50 .

He sent me a very good video that was very helpful for a newbie .  For other new guys , keep in mind while it cooks for 90 minutes , you’ll need well over double that . Cutting up all the meat, washing the jars .bands, heating lids in water, filling jars , wiping them off , half hour to,get cooker  up to,pressure, another half or more for it to go back to zero, then washing everything .

I cut the meat the night before as well as washing the jars , and laying everything out . . After you do it once, I found you don’t worry about it blowing up ....

I may hit up the farmers markets and do some vegetables as well .

 

Larry,

Where did you get the chicken?

I've got the All American. I bought the 21 quart becasue I didn't want to spend the money to go up to the 30 and the 25 didn't give you any more jar capacity.  It's nice having a pot like that to water bat can in as well. Things like sauce, salsa, pickles and apple sauce.  No need to see waste from a garden anymore. The venison I can I typically just chunk it and freeze it until I get what I want to run a batch or two. Pint jars are perfect serving size for two people when used with things like rice and mashed potatoes. Like it right out of the can on crackers with hot mustard. I can it with garlic in most all of the,  A couple hot peppers in them for zing as you like. be careful though. Seems like they get hotter in the jar...lol. I uses spices like chili powder. dried mustard little canning or kosher salt, cayenne and black  pepper. I keep it pretty simple. One thing I do love to pressure can though is left over chili. Seems like I can never cut the recipe down and always end up with too much. it keeps great 

 

If you want a canning recipe book this one is great. It covers about all of it. 

https://bookoutlet.com/Store/Details/9780778805113B?source=ppc&ppc_campaign=u1407004000&gclid=CjwKCAjwqpP2BRBTEiwAfpiD-0kqm5sMbYH0ccxXIS6V6VCGzzkjrfQOKqn-eeh_Sc6dCciTeYdtfBoCVLoQAvD_BwE

 

As part of our Field to Fork Culinary even we had them all prepare their own canned venison and I ran their cans for them to take home. Went over big. 

Edited May 20, 2020 by Culvercreek hunt club

[Nomad]

That made me hungry Bob ! A whole new thing has opened up to me .

https://www.trianosmeats.com

The current specials page seems a bit lean from others of theirs I’ve seen 

Edited May 20, 2020 by Nomad

[wolc123]

Canning is a real good option for the folks who don't believe in aging their red meat prior to putting it in the freezer.   It is a good way to get the rigor mortis out and make it tender.    Some of the best canned meat I have had was from a 8.5 year old moose, from which the roasts were initially almost too tough to chew.   My buddy thawed the rest of them out and canned them with a pressure cooker, resulting some super tender, super tasty meat.     

[DDT]

I grew up on canned pork. Parents had a farm and butchered pigs a couple times a year. Freezers were expensive to run back in the sixties. Always tender and delicious. I've been thinking about canning venison this year as I have my mother's canner's (3). 

Also have her recipe book and want to make pickles and chilli sauce this year.

Just can't buy things that taste like the old recipes.

[Pygmy]

Canned pork  YUM  !!  Years ago I bought half a hog and instead of  curing and smoking the ham, I canned it....

It was excellent...I've also done a lot of venison, chicken and fish, and a few rabbits.... Never canned any of my caribou, moose or elk, but I kind of wish I had tried  some...Hmmmmmm….GOOSE might be interesting......

[Culvercreek hunt club]

12 hours ago, Pygmy said:

..Hmmmmmm….GOOSE might be interesting......

I bet it would be. About the only way I've found I like goose so far is in soup and making jerky. I bet canning would be good. 

[Nomad]

So interesting , thanks guys . 
I intend on canning a few different things now , I have a set of shelves in the basement picked out  just for my canning . Perhaps one day our oldest who now has her own house will come and get all, her junk that’s stored on them !

 

[johnplav]

Once you perfect your method... I'd be interested in a canned venison collaboration/lesson. 

I'd provide the venison, supplies, and of course beer!

[Culvercreek hunt club]

5 minutes ago, johnplav said:

Once you perfect your method... I'd be interested in a canned venison collaboration/lesson. 

I'd provide the venison, supplies, and of course beer!

If we got some of us together and a few canners running we could do a ton on a Saturday. 

[2012_taco]

On 5/21/2020 at 9:12 AM, Culvercreek hunt club said:

I bet it would be. About the only way I've found I like goose so far is in soup and making jerky. I bet canning would be good. 

I was hunting with a friend a few years ago at his camp and for dinner he opened up some canned venison, put it a cast iron skillet and just heated it up. We put it on rolls with horseradish, it was delicious! Then he did another batch and said try this, It was canned goose, I couldn't tell the difference!