wilkes

I remember when I was a young boy back in the 50's that I would see jars of canned meat...actually looked like it might have been sausage that was rolled up about the size of a "golf ball"..maybe 8-10 of them in a quart jar with what appeared to be a small batch of solidified grease packed in with it. Mostly this was "put up" by my grandmothers and great-grandmothers.

Don't remember anybody getting sick from eating it....one thing I do remember is that about every 3-4 years we would take the oldest canned goods, whether they be corn, tomatos, beans, potatoes, carrotts, meat...just about anything that you could think of canning and open them up and dump the foodstuff into a 30 gallon garbage can and take it to some folks down the road who fed it to their hogs. Guess this was an early form of "recycling"!

If anyone remembers what mthe process was for canning that old sausage stuff, I'd be interested in knowing how it was done. Just curiosity is all, I prefer my food to be as fresh as possible now days...like from the garden to the cook pot!

You can "CAN:" almost anything if you want to take the time to do. Alot better for you than what you buy.

I cook my meat first if I use a water bath, process it for at least 90 minutes. If I use the pressure canner I put the raw meat into the clean jars, wipe them clean, put in a beef bullion cube for deer or beef cap them and process for 45 minutes,

http://www.foodsaving.com/canning_guide/

usda recommended processes

Home canned foods can be quite delicious. And It's very satisfying to grow and preserve your own food. We can green beans, tomatoes, jams, jellies, soup, spaghetti sauce, salsa, sausage, backbones & ribs, chow chow, pickes, and sauerkraut.

But contamination is a very real danger. Yes, back in the old days a hot water bath was all that was available. The introduction of the pressure canner greatly improved food safety for the home canner.

Do you know where the phrase "Scraping the bottom of the barrel" came from?

An old method of preserving meat was to slaughter an animal, cut it up, and layer it in a barrel with lard in between the layers. You would remove and eat the meat one layer at a time. By the time you got to the bottom layer the meat was pretty much rotted.

So just because something used to be done one way is no reason not to take advantage of improvements that have been made in the preservation of food.

cc23....very, very dangerous to can meat in hot water bath. If you are going to can anything, but especially meat, you really need a pressure cooker. A hot water bath cannot get the temperature high enough to kill all bacteria, therefore creating the perfect environment for botulism. Botulism will KILL you and anyone who eats your food. There is a number for the Ball Canning Company where you can call

and ask questions all about canning and the safety of it. I think you should do that before you do any more hot-water bath meat canning.

i did the hot water bath with pork and turned them upside down to cool. the lid swelled up and they did not seal. i decided to use a pressure cooker for the meat. just canned some pickles today and worked great with a water bath. i am learning the best i can hopefully ill get the hang of it

OK then thats answers my other qestion

JT ....veggies all the way man

My grandmother canned meat on a wood stove for many years. I remember she would fry chicken and then can it. Don't know if she used a pressure cooker or not.

Angry are you a veggy's only peson or do your eat meat and chicken from the store?

Purchase a Ball Blue Book. It gives instructions on canning. Lowe's Hardware had them a few weeks ago.

You can buy can chicken but I have never bought it.

I buy a can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew - I've always been too afraid.

Yes u can can with out a presure cooker u must have a BIG pot clean your jars use new flats and rings cut meat in cubs put in jars tbs. Salt . To seal jars lids on and water bath cover jars and boil one and one half hour take jars out tighten jars turn upside-down until cool check lids for seal thir is a secret trick for ele. Stoves let me know

good gawd i would never eat none of that

Angrykid I take it you don't like deer meat or have you never tried it. There is nothing better than deer,wild turkey, turtle, frog legs just to name a few.

Do they not teach young people anything anymore?I was helping my Grandmother do this when I was 9 years old.I hope I never forget those days spent with her.

yes! You can can meat without a pressure canner.. My Grandmothers and Mother always canned hog meat. I ain't dead yet..Actually very healthy. Of course, you have to know how long to process in a hot water bath. There were no such things as pressure canners 75 years ago and certainly no freezers. Just do it right...