Saturday, October 23, 2010

Pork

You don't see canned pork in the store, but it works great. I love making BBQ sandwiches, carnitas, and for those who know what Cafe Rio pork, its great!

There are 2 process that you can do, raw pack or hot pack. To do both you will need a pressure canner, jars and their lids. As a general rule you can fit approximately 1 pound of pork per a pint jar. To prepare the jars and canner, wash both out thoroughly. To keep the jars hot they can be put in the oven on a cookie sheet to stay warm. Put the lids in hot water to keep them warm as well. To prepare the canner, wash it and add 2.5 qts of water and a tablespoon of vinegar. Heat the water if doing the hot pack method.

Raw Pack:
Pack the meat into hot jars. Ladle hot water or broth over the meat. Leave a 1-inch head space. Remove any air bubbles, clean the top, and adjust the lids. Place the jars in the canner, use a rack if necessary. Put the lid on and start building the pressure. The pressure gage will have a consistent giggle when it is up to full pressure. Once this is reached, let it stand for 10 minutes. Lower the heat a little as to not put to much pressure and then let it process. They will need to process for 75 minutes. at 10 lbs of pressure for pint size jars. For quart size jars they need to process for 90 minutes at 10 lbs of pressure. Let it cool for at least 45 minutes before removing the lid of the canner. Place the jars on a towel to finish cooling. If the lids do not seal you have 24 hours to repeat the process to see if they will seal that time.

Hot Pack:
Prepare your pork by searing, boiling, smoking (which ever you prefer). The pork should be about to 2/3 done. Pack meat into hot jars, ladle in hot water or broth leaving an inch of head space. Remove the air bubbles, clean the tops, and adjusts the lids. Place the jars in the canner, use a rack if necessary. Put the lid on and start building the pressure. The pressure gauge will have a consistent giggle when it is up to full pressure. Once this is reached, let it stand for 10 minutes. Lower the heat a little as to not put to much pressure and then let it process. They will need to process for 75 minutes. at 10 lbs of pressure for pint size jars. For quart size jars they need to process for 90 minutes at 10 lbs of pressure. Let it cool for at least 45 minutes before removing the lid of the canner. Place the jars on a towel to finish cooling. If the lids do not seal you have 24 hours to repeat the process to see if they will seal that time.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Apple Sauce

Apple Sauce! I love this stuff, but only when it is home made.

3 to 3-1/2 pounds of apples per quart jar

Ingredients:
Apples
Water
Sugar (optional)
Cinnamon (optional)

Utensils:
Blender
Hot bath canner
Large Pot
Canning jar lids and rims
Jar lifter
Ladle

Wash and sterilize your and jars. Put the lids in hot water to soften the seal. Fill your hot water bath canner about halfway with water and start heating the water on low heat.

Wash, peel, core, and slice your apples. Thinner slices will soften/cook down faster. Place slices in a large pot, add 1 cup water to prevent sticking. Do not over fill a pot or it will cause problems like burning on bottom, not being able to stir properly, etc. Cook the apple slice until tender, stirring often. Next put the apples into a blender. You can puree it or leave some chunks if that is what you prefer. Once everything is blended put it back into the pot and taste. If it needs sugar add it. If you want to put cinnamon in it, nows your chance. Stir until it is completely smooth. Taste it one more time to verify it is what you want.

Bring the sauce up to a boil making sure to stirring frequently. Fill your jars with the hot applesauce leaving 1 inch of head space at the top. Wipe the tops, and adjusts the lids. Place the jars on the rack and lower them into the hot water bath. Bring the bath to a rolling boil and put the lid on. Once the lid is on, let it boil for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 5 more minutes. Remove the jars with your jar grabbers and place them on a towel to cool and to dry. Give them 24 hours, if they did not seal repeat the process.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Grape Juice

Grape juice can be so yummy, but sometimes I found it to be a bit too strong. I love a mild flavored grape juice. Here is one way to do it!

Makes 7 Quarts

Ingredients:
4 pounds Grapes
1 3/4 cups Sugar
Water

Utensils:
Quart canning jars
Measuring cups
Hot bath canner
Large Pot
Canning jar lids and rims
Jar lifter
Cheesecloth and strainer


Wash and sterilize your and jars. I like to just put them in the dishwasher on a quick wash cycle. Put the lids in hot water to soften the seal. Fill your hot water bath canner about halfway with water and start heating the water on low heat. While that is heating, also heat a large pot of water and bring it to a boil. There will need to be enough water to fill the jars leaving an inch head space. Prepare your grapes by rinsing them, removing the stems, and removing any bad grapes.

Distribute the 4 pounds of grapes among the 7 jars. It should be about a cup a jar. Next, if you want to add sugar, add a 1/4 cup to each jar. Now fill the jars with boiling water. Leave 1 inch of head space at the top. Wipe the tops off and adjusts the lids.

Place the jars on the rack and lower into the hot water bath canner. Make sure the tops of the jars are covered in water, if not add more water. There should be at least 1 inch of water above the lids. Bring the water to a rolling boil and put the lid on. Once the lid is on let them boil for 10 minutes. Once the 10 minutes are up turn the heat off. Let the jars remain in the water bath an additional 5 minutes. Then remove them with your jar grabbers and place them on a towel to cool and dry off. Give them 24 hours to seal. If they do not, repeat the process. The jars need to cure for 2-3 weeks. They will need to be checked every now and then to see if any sugar crystal are forming, if they do gently shake to get them dissolved back into the water/juice.

To drink the juice you will need to strain them with a cheesecloth and a strainer.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Canning Chicken

Canning Chicken can seem daunting, but I promise it is not. You can do both bone in and boneless. I personally prefer boneless. I also like to do whole breasts, cubed, and shredded to have a variety in my pantry.

*this also works for duck, goose, turkey, and other game birds*

There are 2 process that you can do, raw pack or hot pack. To do both you will need a pressure canner, jars and their lids. As a general rule you can fit approximately 1 pound of chicken per a pint jar. To prepare the jars and canner, wash both out thoroughly. To keep the jars hot they can be put in the oven on a cookie sheet to stay warm. Put the lids in hot water to keep them warm as well. To prepare the canner, wash it and add 2 qts of water and a tablespoon of vinegar. Heat the water if doing the hot pack method.

Raw Pack:
Pack the meat into hot jars. Ladle hot water or broth over the meat. Leave a 1-inch head space. Remove any air bubbles, clean the top, and adjust the lids. Place the jars in the canner, use a rack if necessary. Put the lid on and start building the pressure. The pressure gage will have a consistent giggle when it is up to full pressure. Once this is reached, let it stand for 10 minutes. Lower the heat a little as to not put to much pressure and then let it process. They will need to process for 75 minutes. at 10 lbs of pressure for pint size jars. For quart size jars they need to process for 90 minutes at 10 lbs of pressure. Let it cool for at least 45 minutes before removing the lid of the canner. Place the jars on a towel to finish cooling. If the lids do not seal you have 24 hours to repeat the process to see if they will seal that time.

Hot Pack:
Prepare your chicken by, boiling, steaming, baking, or shredding it. The chicken should be about to 2/3 done. Pack meat into hot jars, ladle in hot water or broth leaving an inch of head space. Remove the air bubbles, clean the tops, and adjusts the lids. Place the jars in the canner, use a rack if necessary. Put the lid on and start building the pressure. The pressure gage will have a consistent giggle when it is up to full pressure. Once this is reached, let it stand for 10 minutes. Lower the heat a little as to not put to much pressure and then let it process. They will need to process for 75 minutes. at 10 lbs of pressure for pint size jars. For quart size jars they need to process for 90 minutes at 10 lbs of pressure. Let it cool for at least 45 minutes before removing the lid of the canner. Place the jars on a towel to finish cooling. If the lids do not seal you have 24 hours to repeat the process to see if they will seal that time.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Canning Butter

I have heard of this but have never done it. I plan to as soon as butter goes on sale!

1. Use any butter that is on sale. Lesser quality butter requires more shaking (see #5 below), but the results are the same as with the expensive brands.

2. Heat pint jars in a 250 degree oven for 20 minutes, without rings or seals. One pound of butter slightly more than fills one pint jar, so if you melt 11 pounds of butter, heat 12 pint jars. A roasting pan works well for holding the pint jars while in the oven.

3. While the jars are heating, melt butter slowly until it comes to a slow boil. Using a large spatula, stir the bottom of the pot often to keep the butter from scorching. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes at least: a good simmer time will lessen the amount of shaking required (see #5 below). Place the lids in a small pot and bring to a boil, leaving the lids in simmering water until needed.

4. Stirring the melted butter from the bottom to the top with a soup ladle or small pot with a handle, pour the melted butter carefully into heated jars through a canning jar funnel. Leave 3/4" of head space in the jar, which allows room for the shaking process.

5. Carefully wipe off the top of the jars, then get a hot lid from the simmering water, add the lid and ring and tighten securely. Lids will seal as they cool. Once a few lids "ping," shake while the jars are still warm, but cool enough to handle easily, because the butter will separate and become foamy on top and white on the bottom. In a few minutes, shake again, and repeat until the butter retains the same consistency throughout the jar.

6. At this point, while still slightly warm, put the jars into a refrigerator. While cooling and hardening, shake again, and the melted butter will then look like butter and become firm. This final shaking is very important! Check every 5 minutes and give the jars a little shake until they are hardened in the jar! Leave in the refrigerator for an hour.

7. Canned butter should store for 3 years or longer on a cool, dark shelf. Canned butter does not "melt" again when opened, so it does not need to be refrigerated upon opening, provided it is used within a reasonable length of time.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Tomatoes

This is one of the most handy methods. I love tomatoes and have done this several times now. It works great!

Ingredients:
2-3 lbs tomatoes per a quart size jar
Bottled lemon Juice

Utensils:
Water Bath Boiler
Jars and Lids
Large Sauce Pan
Ladle

To prepare the jars and lids, put the lids in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Wash the jars and put in hot water, or boiling water if you prefer to sterilize them as well. Fill the water bath half way full and bring the water to a boil.

To prepare the tomatoes to be canned, they need to be washed and peeled. The easiest way to peel them is to dip them in boiling water for 30-60 seconds (their skin will crack) and then place them in cold water. The peel should come off fairly easily. If you want them halved or quartered, do that now. To prevent browning in each jar add 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice for a quart size jar or 1 tablespoon for a pint size jars.

Raw-Pack Method:
Place the tomatoes into the jars (they should be warm). Fill in as best as you can leaving a 1/2 inch space at the top. Ladle in hot water to cover the tomatoes, still leaving a 1/2 inch space at the top. Get out the air bubbles by using the handle of the ladle. Push down the side of the jar between the glass and the tomatoes, it will make the tomatoes move a little and hopefully allow any bubbles to rise. Add more hot water if necessary. Wipe the top of the jar clean and place the lids on top.

Put the jars in the water bath for 40 minutes if using pints and 45 minutes if using quarts. Take the lid of the boiler and let stand for 5 minutes. Then remove and place on a towel or a heat proof spot. Let cool completely before storing. The top of the jar should no longer move up and down. Repeat the water bath boiler process if it still moves.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Peaches

Peaches Peaches Peaches! I'm weird I don't like fresh peaches, but I loved them canned. Here is one of many ways to do it.

Makes 8 Pint jars or 4 Quart Jars

Ingredients:
8-12 lbs of of fresh, ripe peaches
5 Cups water
3 1/4 Cups Granulated Sugar

Utensils:
Water Bath Boiler
Jars and Lids
Paring Knife
Large Sauce Pan
Ladle

To prepare the jars and lids, put the lids in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Wash the jars and put in hot water, or boiling water if you prefer to sterilize them as well. Fill the water bath half way full and bring the water to a boil.

To prepare the peaches to be canned, they need to be washed, peeled and pitted. The easiest way to peel them is to dip them in boiling water for 30 seconds and then place them in cold water. The peel should come off fairly easily. Using a paring knife cut the peaches in half and remove the pit. Make sure you scrape the fibrous inside out as well. Once the peaches are peeled and pitted they need to be treated to prevent browning. There are several ways to do it. I find it is easiest to use Fresh Fruit (it is found in the supermarket) There is also ascorbic acid, lemon juice and water, and a salt/vinegar combination that can be used. All will keep the fruit from turning brown.

To make the syrup the peaches are in, (in the jars) bring the 5 cups of water to a boil. Add the sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved. Make sure the syrup does not boil down.

Hot-Pack Method:
Take the peaches and layer them into the hot syrup over medium-low heat until they are heated through. Add a minute per a layer of peaches. Place the peaches into the jars (they should be warm) with the cavity facing down. Fill in as best as you can leaving a 1/2 inch space at the top. Ladle in the syrup to cover the peaches, still leaving a 1/2 inch space at the top. Get out the air bubbles by using the handle of the ladle. Push down the side of the jar between the glass and the fruit, it will make the fruit move a little and hopefully allow any bubble to rise. Add more syrup if necessary. Wipe the top of the jar clean and place the lids on top.

Put the jars in the water bath for 20 minutes if using pints and 25 minutes if using quarts. Take the lid of the boiler and let stand for 5 minutes. Then remove and place on a towel or a heat proof spot. Let cool completely before storing. The top of the jar should no longer move up and down. Repeat the water bath boiler process if it still moves.