canned venison

[therev]

In most years my family gets about three deer into our freezer and consumes them over the following year.
This year I have more time to spend in the field and harvest more deer.
My thought is to can most of it rather than freeze it because it will keep longer.
I have never canned meat. Everything but meat. I have used both the bath method and the pressure cooker.
Do any of you have experience using a pressure cooker to can venison and would you share that information?
It will be greatly appreciated.

[10 Bears]

http://www.life123.com/food/canning-...-venison.shtml

Venison Canning Recipes Tenderize Even the Toughest Deer
http://www.grassfedrecipes.com/venis...g-recipes.html

I just entered canning venison in my browser bar...

[therev]

I found a few recipes myself that way. However I was hoping to maybe bounce some question off real live users.

[RetVet]

We canned about 40 pounds of beef recently in a pressure canner. Gunkgy asked me the same question you're basically asking. My wife does the canning. I supply the components. Here was my take......

From what I gathered, we:

Cleaned and preheated the jars in the canner.
Packed the jars leaving about 1 inch space at the top.
Once in the canner the pressure was brought up to something like 10 or 15 pounds and once at that level the timer was set for 90 minutes.
Once the times up the heat is turned off and canner allowed to cool until the pressure drops to allow pulling the canner lid off, the jars then have the lids placed on and they are allowed to cool and hopefully seal.

Meat and even some vegetables like green beans or pumpkin need to be processed in a pressure canner rather than a pressure cooker to be safe.

I believe the pressure canner we bought (not sure of brand but it was one of the cheaper ones) came with an instructional booklet on canning different things to include meat.

No pre cooking of meat needed. The canning process does that. No liquid added either. Between the meat and the steam developed in the canner, the jars get filled with liquid anyway.

You can use a pressure canner to can leftovers I believe as well like left over stews, soups, etc. Things that are already cooked. The canning process just sterilizes the containers and allows for their sealing.

Whole chickens can be canned as well. I've read on other web sites of that being done and places that sell canned whole chickens.

The plus side to canning over freezing is that if the power goes out for an extended period your food supply won't be left to rot.

I look at it this way, the pioneers and folks even only a generation back were able to get by all year without freezers and pre packaged crap chock full of chemical preservatives. If they could do it we could too if push came to shove. The trick is to gather that knowledge now rather than trying to with the bottom falling out of society....... and no internet to find answers.

Here's a book I'd recommend everyone get a copy of:

Back to Basics. A complete guide to traditional skills. Edited By Abigail R. Gehring, ISBN-13: 978-1-60239-233-5 (hardcover). It covers canning and a whole lot more. Call it a pioneers basic handbook for the modern day person who intends to survive while the inner city clowns are feeding off each other.

BTW, I wish I could manage 3 deer every hunting season. I'm lucky if I see one let alone getting a shot off and having something to bring home.

[Czubek]

Thanks for the book idea, Ret. We could take several deer a year if we wanted to, but don't want to be greedy. Last season, I took two right outside my back door. Both under fifty yard shots. I think canning will be a viable option for us this year IF I take any venison. We get two free Land owner licenses and the rest are only a few dollars each, if we need them.

Brian

[Sanders]

Try the book, A Guide to Canning Freezing Curing & Smoking Meat, Fish & Game by Wilbur F. Eastman Jr.

It's very informative.

[Czubek]

Looking into that one now, Sanders. Thanks. Interesting preface that explains the hows and whys.

Brian