Sometimes I get obsessive about canning and filling my freezers. Â I make a point to get to it the markdowns at the meat counter and in the produce department. Â You get great deals that way. Â The butcher was marking meat down as I was making my selection today. Â I simply handed him my purchases and he checked the date and marked it right then. Â If I had been five minutes earlier, I’d have paid thirty percent more. Â It made my day. Â I make sure to watch the dates in he freezer and can the meat up if it’s been there a few months. Â I buy whole turkeys after the holidays, bake them, and can the turkey and broth. Â I still have four quarts of canned turkey from Christmas. Â It makes great soup, turkey salad, pot pies, and casseroles.
Yesterday I got twenty pounds of assorted apples off the markdown rack for six dollars. I canned seven quarts of apple pie filling, five pints of apples in light syrup and juice and five pints of apple jam from the peelings. Â It’s incredible to think of all that produce for just six dollars. Â I’d cooked two pounds of dried navy beans and pork the night before, so I canned four quarts of beans as long as I had the canners out. Â I’d been wanting to can sausage gravy, so I made a batch and canned two quarts of that, as well. Â It turned out great! Â The main thing to remember when canning meat, is that it has to process at least ninety minutes at ten to fifteen pounds pressure to kill off microbes. Â Vegetables and fruit take far less time, so they will fall apart if you process them with at the same time as meat.
I have two of these pressures canners, so I can can fourteen quarts at once. Â I have an smaller canner I can use for pints or smaller. Â Should you stumble up on a used pressure canner, you can find replacement parts easily on line. Â You can also find brand specific instructions and parts lists on line.
Bud built shelves in the garage for storage. Â I mark and date jars with Sharpy.