Canning Ways to use canned meat

Orion Commander

Veteran Member
What do you all do with canned beef? We use it for beef and noodles or soup nd stew. It's cubed and browned first. But what about a large chunk? We are canning a roast or two fresh and some from the freezer.
 

mourningdove

Pura Vida in my garden
canned beef is very tender and can be fork shredded. Mix with gravy or BBQ sauce for sandwiches or SOS. Can be used in casseroles. I haven’t canned in many years, but I always liked have quart jars of meat available for quick meals.
 

Milkweed Host

Veteran Member
I use clear pint jars for canning beef. At one time I browned the cubes, but now I
place the raw beef cubes in jars with beef flavoring. I finished the jar off with some
water to one inch from the top. Pint 90 minutes in pressure canner.

We use it in beef and noodles and beef in gravy over mashed potatoes, or rice.

It's so easy to buy meat on sale (it used to be, I mean) and can it. It sure saves time..
 

ReneeT

Veteran Member
Beef and noodles, beef and dumplings, beef hot shots - (beef Manhattan? hot beef sandwich cut in half, mashed taters in between the halves, gravy over all), beef bbq, beef stew, beef vegetable soup, beef hash.... Trying to think of more but stuck for now.

I can beef by cubing it in to 1 1/2" chunks. I fix up a pot consisting of a gallon of boiling water with the addition of a couple packages of french onion soup mix, drop the raw beef chunks in it until the outsides are sealed, the scoop 'em out with a slotted spoon and pack 'em into pint jars that I've first put a bit of the onion soup broth in. I add the same broth up to the curve of the jar, then wipe the rim and add the lids; and can at 10# for 60 minutes. It can be canned in quarts, but with a small family, pints are best for us. I usually buy roasts - arm, chuck, etc... for canning and trim off the fat/gristle before cutting it in to chunks. I can the fat/gristle separately to use to mix in dog food in the winter or as an emergency food source to add fat to meals.
 

SammiP

Contributing Member
Canned ground beef to add to spaghetti sauce, hamburger soup (just veggie beef soup using hamburger), shepherd's pie. I find a better flavor/texture if I brown it before canning.
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Canned ground beef to add to spaghetti sauce, hamburger soup (just veggie beef soup using hamburger), shepherd's pie. I find a better flavor/texture if I brown it before canning.

do you top the browned ground beef with water prior to canning?
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Thank you for asking that. I did a search and found this thread. I have canned for years but never just meat by itself. I've wondered how to can ground beef, among other things.

Not a problem. 75 minutes for pints 90 minutes for quarts and that's for basic sea level pressures (10 pounds at sea level up to 1500 feet).

We'll be canning hamburger patties this evening, you par-cook them first and drain the fat, then hot pack, top with beef broth or water and beef bullion. You can get six per wide mouth quart, form the patty using the wide mouth ring.
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Yes, I break it up in a roaster and roast it instead of frying, stir it around to brown somewhat evenly. Put into the jars, usually pint for us, top with hot water and pressure can for proper meat times for jar size and altitude.

Thank you, what do you use your loose ground meat for recipe wise?
 

Bolt

FJB
Not a problem. 75 minutes for pints 90 minutes for quarts and that's for basic sea level pressures (10 pounds at sea level up to 1500 feet).

We'll be canning hamburger patties this evening, you par-cook them first and drain the fat, then hot pack, top with beef broth or water and beef bullion. You can get six per wide mouth quart, form the patty using the wide mouth ring.

To be clear, I cover the patties with the broth leaving about 1" headspace?
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Thanks all for the info on beef here. Looking at doing ground beef soon

I'm opening a jar of those canned hamburgers tonight cause if we like them he's going back for another chub of the ground chuck! Fareway has their annual meat sale in May but I don't think that's going to be happening this year.
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Update on the canned hamburgers:

The canned hamburgers, we tried them last night in a pepper steak type dish with noodles and they were really good. The texture wasn't offensive at all. My only concern is remembering to drain the liquid from the jar first and then gently bring the patties out with a spoon as they fall apart and easily. If you're gentle with them they hold up well in the pot while cooking. These would be perfect for hamburger steak with onion gravy, swiss steak, Salisbury steak, and the pepper steak dish made last night. You could also make a brown gravy with the broth and serve with potatoes, rice, or noodles.
 

Publius

TB Fanatic
I waited until a few posted their ideas most sound good or workable.

Rice Roni quick and easy and they have a number of packages to pick from and one Beef flavored and there is the Spanish Rice mix that really good with home canned chicken.
Use one pint of canned meat to a package and add the meat after you add the water and seasoning pack and this allows the meat to heat up and absorb some of the seasoning flavor.
Now if all you have to work with is Quarts then it's best to have a large deep frypan or pot to do this.
 
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packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Update on the canned hamburgers:

The canned hamburgers, we tried them last night in a pepper steak type dish with noodles and they were really good. The texture wasn't offensive at all. My only concern is remembering to drain the liquid from the jar first and then gently bring the patties out with a spoon as they fall apart and easily. If you're gentle with them they hold up well in the pot while cooking. These would be perfect for hamburger steak with onion gravy, swiss steak, Salisbury steak, and the pepper steak dish made last night. You could also make a brown gravy with the broth and serve with potatoes, rice, or noodles.

If you have false teeth, or no teeth at all this is a perfect dish for you! The meat was incredibly tender!!!
 

raven

TB Fanatic
Door stop
Wood Putty
Some can be used as glue - not water proof
You can make a chess set - easy to carve.
bait for fishing
bait for trapping too
 

zeker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I waited until a few posted their ideas most sound good or workable.

Rice Roni quick and easy and they have a number of packages to pick from and one Beef flavored and there is the Spanish Rice mix that really good with home canned chicken.
Use one pint of canned meat to a package and add the meat after you add the water and seasoning pack and this allows the meat to heat up and absorb some of the seasoning flavor.
Now if all you have to work with is Quarts then it's best to have a large deep frypan or pot to do this.


ok I,m confuzzled.. as usual

are you saying add rice-a-roni to the meat (while cooking?)

and then can it?

or are you saying add rice-a-roni to the jar as canning?
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
ok I,m confuzzled.. as usual

are you saying add rice-a-roni to the meat (while cooking?)

and then can it?

or are you saying add rice-a-roni to the jar as canning?

He’s using canned meat to the rice mix to create a meal, he’s not canning 5he rice.
 

Nich1

Veteran Member
Today, I used an alternate way to canned hamburger. Yesterday, I canned hamburger patties using wide mouth jars. Sadly, I don't have too many of that kind of jar but lots of regular mouth, so what to do? Instead of regular patties, today I made sliders! Each quart held 10-12 sliders so that's a bunch.

Here's one way I plan to use them. For those who know about White Castle, this is a poor man's version. In a skillet (preferably cast iron) saute some onion. The amount is variable to taste. After the onions brown slightly, put the canned sliders (or if making fresh, use a fresh-made slider size patty) on top of the onions. If using fresh meat instead of canned, you can also add diced onion to the meat before making into patties. Cook until done.

Hamburger buns are too big for sliders so I like the Aldi Hawaiian dinner rolls instead of a hamburger roll. Small dinner rolls of any kind would also work. Cut them in half...or I cut them into fourths to reduce the carbs. Place the two pieces of roll on top of each slider and put a lid on to steam the rolls. This only takes a minute or two. Use caution to not get them too steamed unless you like soggy bread. Using a spatula, transfer a slider and the two rolls to the plate but before placing on a plate, remove the top bread slice and put on the plate to use as the bottom. Put the slider on that bottom piece of bread, add some mustard and a dill pickle slice or two, put "a lid on it," and you're in business!
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Today, I used an alternate way to canned hamburger. Yesterday, I canned hamburger patties using wide mouth jars. Sadly, I don't have too many of that kind of jar but lots of regular mouth, so what to do? Instead of regular patties, today I made sliders! Each quart held 10-12 sliders so that's a bunch.

Here's one way I plan to use them. For those who know about White Castle, this is a poor man's version. In a skillet (preferably cast iron) saute some onion. The amount is variable to taste. After the onions brown slightly, put the canned sliders (or if making fresh, use a fresh-made slider size patty) on top of the onions. If using fresh meat instead of canned, you can also add diced onion to the meat before making into patties. Cook until done.

Hamburger buns are too big for sliders so I like the Aldi Hawaiian dinner rolls instead of a hamburger roll. Small dinner rolls of any kind would also work. Cut them in half...or I cut them into fourths to reduce the carbs. Place the two pieces of roll on top of each slider and put a lid on to steam the rolls. This only takes a minute or two. Use caution to not get them too steamed unless you like soggy bread. Using a spatula, transfer a slider and the two rolls to the plate but before placing on a plate, remove the top bread slice and put on the plate to use as the bottom. Put the slider on that bottom piece of bread, add some mustard and a dill pickle slice or two, put "a lid on it," and you're in business!

Great ideas, I put my sliders onto a street taco tortilla, and add stuff as I go, yum!
 

Wildwood

Veteran Member
Sorry this is so long but I use to can a ton of meat and have a few pointers that I haven't seen mentioned yet.

I use canned chicken to make chicken and dressing. I add the meat and broth from the jar. It makes the best dressing I've ever tasted. I also make chicken rotel with it. Basically any kind of casserole you put chicken in is great with canned chicken. You can also add b-b-q sauce and have b-b-q sandwiches. Chicken soup and chicken and dumplings are great with canned chicken.

I can chicken thighs in a large mouth jar without the skin but with the bone in. They retain a better texture and you get the equivelant of bone broth in the liquid...the bone is like chalk when it's done. I reheat by simmering these in a skillet with the liquid, lid on for 10 to 15 minutes to kill any bacteria that may be present. These retain their shape, etc. and can be eaten like a baked chicken thigh.

I've also done the dry pack method with hamburger. Just brown it, drain the grease and fill your jars. Add the lids and process for the usual time for ground beef. It retains a much better texture than you get adding water. This method got the seal of approval from several canning experts after it appeared in Backwoods Home magazine several years ago. Be warned it does look different in the jar because a certain amount of fat and liquid settle to the bottom and the remainder of the meat is sitting above it, dry as can be.

I use to can meatloaf in the large straightsided jars and did do patties in them occasionally. They are just like a straight sided jelly jar but hold 24 oz. if memory serves. They are narrower than the typical canning jar...not sure I would do a solid piece of meat in a wider jar since it may not reach the required temps in the middle. The meatloaf was pretty good. I'd mix it up just like I was making meatloaf in the oven and when I opened the jar, the whole thing would slide out. I sliced it about 3/4 of an inch thick and put it in a skillet along with all the liquids that came off of it, cover with a lid and simmer it for around fifteen minutes because you are supposed to cook any canned meat at a high temp for at least 10-15 minutes to kill any bacteria that may be present. It makes great meatloaf sandwiches and fits the smaller hamburger buns perfectly...not the slider buns but the cheaper store brand buns that are always a little small.

Having said that, my mother made chicken salad with her canned chicken most of my life and it never killed us but she was a master canner. I'll do it with mine far a week or so after canning but then I lose my courage. It is good.

Again, sorry this is so long but I did enjoy remembering all my old techniques. this motivates me to want to drag that canner out.
 

Nich1

Veteran Member
Thanks, Wildwood, for the tips. An old Kerr canning book directed to dry can cooked meat with just 2-3 TBSP of liquid. I have recently used the dry process for some boneless pork chops. As you say, they "look different." I was hesitant but if you don't try, you'll never know. It may be great. The jury will be out until time to use them.

The use of these meats in different ways will certainly allow for some menu variation. As the saying goes, "If you're hungry enough, you'll eat anything!"
 

Wildwood

Veteran Member
Thanks, Wildwood, for the tips. An old Kerr canning book directed to dry can cooked meat with just 2-3 TBSP of liquid. I have recently used the dry process for some boneless pork chops. As you say, they "look different." I was hesitant but if you don't try, you'll never know. It may be great. The jury will be out until time to use them.

The use of these meats in different ways will certainly allow for some menu variation. As the saying goes, "If you're hungry enough, you'll eat anything!"
I'll be curious to know how those turn out. You would definitely need a tiny bit of liquid in those. The hamburger meat usually has at least that much or more after it's drained. Draining it for me meant dipping it out of the skillet with a slotted spoon and giving it just a few seconds to drain. That left just the right amount of liquid in the meat. It does't have that very processed potted meat taste that hamburger covered in water has to my taste.
 
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