Canned meat can make your life so much easier, especially in the winter.
I don’t know about you but I seem to be getting extremely lazy this last month of the year. Maybe it’s because it’s dark so much.
I’ve not been on the treadmill for a month now and don’t see it happening till next year. It’s so wrong for that kind of mindset, I know, but I do know I’ll get back on it, just not now.
Coming home from work in the dark makes me feel like I want to go straight to bed, so fixing supper is definitely not first on my mind. And I’m terrible at planning ahead enough to thaw meat the day before.
So I’m really grateful that I canned so much ground deer. Now I can grab a few quarts of that, some of my canned stewed tomatoes, and depending on the spices I want to use I can have supper in about an hour and there’s no thaw time.
Canned meat seemed pretty scary at first, but turned out to be no harder than anything else. You just leave it in the canner for 90 minutes.
I did cook mine a little first and then rinsed it to get as much fat out as possible. My husband used to have our deer processed at a commercial meat locker and had 10% tallow fat added. We don’t do that anymore, I don’t see the need.
Next time, I don’t think I’ll cook it, I’ll just crumble it. I’ve also cubed up the roast parts and cut the fat off the scrap pieces and canned those as small cubes. This give a little more flexibility in what you want to use them for.
I’ve also done this with chicken. It’s usually cooked first just because it’s much easier than trying to cut chunks of raw chicken. That makes for an easy chicken and noodle supper.
Other things you can try are ham and beans. Canning them makes them taste like it’s a day or two reheated. I don’t know about you, but I always think ham and beans are better the 2nd or 3rd day anyway.
You can always add spices to the meat. Preferably something that won’t be hurt by the heat, maybe some Worchestershire sauce or something of that nature. The canning process pulls the fibers of the meat apart to some degree. This allows any spices you may add to really get into the meat, so it taste spectacular when it’s time to eat it. Some meats don’t need anything and are awesome just the way they are.
This gives me a ton more freezer space and like I said, when it’s time for supper there’s no thaw time. YAY!
Next time you need to make room in the freezer and if you like to can, give it a try. Just make sure all your meat chunks are an inch or so in size or smaller. This allows enough heat to get through the meat to stop any bacteria from growing.
Leave it in the pressure cooker for 90 minutes at pressure. And there you have it, canned meat ready for those nights you don’t have time to thaw meat.
If you’d like me to do a DIY How-To on canned meat, please let me know in the comments below.
If you have any other ideas of canned supper or supper fixings, please share them. I’d love to hear from you.
Health, Wealth & Blessings~
Tracey