A few simple questions about canning game meat

Silverado

Silverado

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So... I just ate my first meal of canned moose. This particular sample was from my friend's 2013 NL moose, and was canned in an actual tin can, with just a bit of seasoning and pork rind.

It was exceptional fried up in cast iron with some mushrooms and green onions. Mild, tender and just delicious. So much so in fact, that I've decided to can (in mason jars), a good part of my big game this year. Clickety-click, and a pressure canner and gear is on order! I got an All-American 21.5 quart unit, tools and a couple-dozen pint jars.

I've read the threads here and a number of other sources about the basic process. My questions are more in the "Tips & Tricks" category:

Is there a drawback to canning meat that has been previously frozen? Or is it much better to can fresh meat - meaning it should be done promptly after bringing the game home?

Is there any problem with canning different recipes together? By this I mean, some plain, some with sauce, etc.? Or does each recipe need to be canned in batches?

What kinds of recipes are great with game meat? I was thinking maybe spaghetti sauce, BBQ sauce, sweet & sour, or maybe honey & molasses?

What other tips do you have for delicious canned game?
 
Another question: is it important to fill the canner with as many cans as it will hold - 19 pints in this case?

Or can you process less containers at once if you wanted? I'm thinking that I wouldn't necessarily want 19 pints of certain types of canned goods!
 
You don't have to fill the canner full of jars, just adjust the water depth for the reduced amount of jars, or use a smaller pot instead of the canner.
 
OP, I'm nervously wondering if you're talking about a proper pressure canner. The spores of botulism bacteria can survive regular boiling temperatures and when the contents cool will produce those deadly bacteria that thrive in no-oxygen environments. They in turn produce a potentially fatal toxin for which there is no antidote. Proper canning of meat or any low acid food requires a pressure canner set to 15 lbs/sq/in, which raises the temperature to something like 240 degrees F, and that does kill the spores. But the canning people always recommend boiling the opened product for at least 10 minutes which deactivates any toxin that might have resulted from faulty canning.

As far as filling the canner goes, not necessary. Instructions with the canners say after strong steam appears to let it vent for a further 10 minutes to endure there are no air pockets inside and then set the pressure weight. As you will see from a recipe, it's also important to prod the sides of the filled can or jar you use to ensure there are no air pockets in there before putting the lid on. Bernardin sells a little plastic gadget for that, but anything that reaches the bottom of the container will do.

Youtube is full of videos about canning meat- watch any two to ensure you didn't get a nutjob the first time.
 
Yes, it's a pressure canner. And yes, I've read the manuals, and countless websites about the canning process.

So again... do you have any tips about making good canned meat? Something that wouldn't be considered by a first-timer, because all the information is about how to avoid killing yourself with spoiled meat?
 
Well, I've only been doing it for about 18 months but so far I've learned that it's important to add salt to each jar to prevent all the flavour from going into the canning liquid. As far as the liquid goes, if I have the time I make a stock and use that. The stock gets made from bones and other unusable parts from what I'm canning plus the usual onions, celery, and carrots and then is strained. The more flavour you put in, the more will come back out- and also you'll have the added nutrition from the vegetables even if you don't include them as solid ingredients. When there's room in the jars, I've also been known to slide in mini celery sticks, but I particularly like that flavour. With canned meat, I in any case mostly plan to make things like curry, spaghetti sauce, and chili, which obviously are flavourful in their own right. But game meat, as you say, often comes out really nice on its own.

EDIT: and apparently it's important to use non-iodized salt when canning some things, otherwise the appearance and texture can be affected. So I always use that, pickling salt or untreated sea salt.
 
Also thinking that I correspond with various people in the USA who make complete stews and soups and can those. I prefer to just can the raw ingredients but it makes sense to do the whole meal ahead of time if you want to save time and heat energy in the future. Once I have a lot of jars, I'll probably do that myself, in fact come to think of it I tried one batch last fall, chicken with rice, but it looks like the rice has pretty much taken over the whole jar- have to get some practice with how much to add. Brown is better for that- holds its shape.

Cuts of meat: the normally tougher cuts are going to come out with more flavour and will be nice and tender after canning. Stewing beef would be nicer than round steak for instance.
 
The question about does it matter if you mix canning items in the canner- no it doesn't unless the ingredients are radically different, like say carrots and moose haunch. You always have to cook for the item that takes longer, so the carrots would be mush by the time the moose was safe. You can mix jar sizes in the canner, but you have to cook for the largest jar, meaning longer.
 
Bottled Moose is great. Here are some quick tips:
I use the wide mouth mason jars only. The regular ones are a bit hard to get the meat out.

I put non iodised salt ( how much depends on the jar size) and a shot of Worcestershire sauce and a grind of fresh pepper in each bottle before adding the meat.

This is a really great YouTube video on the process, highly recommend you watch that one.
http://youtu.be/yz5zgUz5CIo

Try to find the kit that has accessories like a funnel, jar lifter, measuring stick, and magnetic lid grabber. They are all useful devices that make the process go much more smoothly.

TIP: The funnel serves as a one inch measure and keeps the jar tops clean.

TIP: use a cloth to clean the jar lids anyway.

Have Fun! THe first few runs are bit scary but it gets routine pretty fast.
Gottagetmemoosebye
 
Silverado said:
So... I just ate my first meal of canned moose. This particular sample was from my friend's 2013 NL moose, and was canned in an actual tin can, with just a bit of seasoning and pork rind.

It was exceptional fried up in cast iron with some mushrooms and green onions. Mild, tender and just delicious. So much so in fact, that I've decided to can (in mason jars), a good part of my big game this year. Clickety-click, and a pressure canner and gear is on order! I got an All-American 21.5 quart unit, tools and a couple-dozen pint jars.

I've read the threads here and a number of other sources about the basic process. My questions are more in the "Tips & Tricks" category:

Is there a drawback to canning meat that has been previously frozen? Or is it much better to can fresh meat - meaning it should be done promptly after bringing the game home?

Is there any problem with canning different recipes together? By this I mean, some plain, some with sauce, etc.? Or does each recipe need to be canned in batches?

What kinds of recipes are great with game meat? I was thinking maybe spaghetti sauce, BBQ sauce, sweet & sour, or maybe honey & molasses?

What other tips do you have for delicious canned game?
Click to expand...


Nothing wrong with canning frozen meat at all! I have a 30 qt all american. Love it, and do lots with it!
 
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