So, I cube the meat into 1" cubes?

I have heard that I do not need to be too worried about silver skin or a little fat because the process will dissolve it?

Using a Presto Pressure canner, and can use basic instructions. Would not mind getting a phone # and talking to someone who has done a bunch of this. Thanks.

God Bless the USA!

Marty, we can lots of meat every year. You dont want to much fat on the meat. Silver skin is no problem. The process is really simple. You want to get a good canning book and follow the directions. There are two basic ways to do it, hot pack, or cold pack. We almost always use the cold pack method. We cube the meat trimming off most of the fat, then fill the jars. Since the meat is raw it will cook down and create its own juice, so you can fill the jars almost full. Then we process at 15 pounds for 90 minutes. Your elevation might be different so check the canning book. A trick I have learned is to give the rings a good snug twist when you put them on. After learning this I almost never have a jar not seal.

Yes 1 inch cubes

This is good advice. Don't worry Marty...this isn't hard. I was worried my first time too, but it's really simple. Don't overthink it.

Thanks!

Don't scrimp on the canning salt. It's a good preservative.

You can call me Marty. Helped Mom and Gramma when I was a kid and still can every year.

You need to simmer the contents for twenty minutes before eating to be safe. 15 pounds here in KS is enough heat to kill botulism spores but I do meat/fish/potato's/carrots at 18 pounds. When you read another newspaper article about botulism killing somebody 99% of the time its one of those four.

FWIW we always cold pack also. We also put a teaspoon of non iodine salt in each jar. Non iodine salt is cheaper than pickling salt and is the same thing, just finer ground.

All good advice and as pcr2 was fond of saying K.I.S.S.

One clarification, silver skin will NOT dissolve. It won't hurt the flavor to be in there, just know that it will still be there. Keep the fat out as best as possible, it' tastes terrible.

The pressure required is based on your elevation and both a good canning book and the instructions with the cooker should have the info you need. We sterilize the jars first by filling them and the canner with water just over the top of the jars. Once they have boiled we turn off the heat and remove the jars water and all. Dump the hot water from the jars but leave the rest in the canner. Pack the cubed meat (about 2 lbs meat per in a qt jar), add salt or not, put on the lids and back into the canner they go. Put on the lid and crank up the heat. Having the water already hot reduces the time to get to pressure. Follow the canner instructions for venting off the air before putting on the vent weight. Once pressure builds to the target value reduce the heat to maintain it there. It will be impossible to keep it exact so just let it go over and under some as you adjust the heat input and don't sweat it. 90 minutes at pressure is standard for quart jars. Let cool properly before opening.

Another thing I have learned is that the canners with a weight are easier to maintain the proper temperature as opposed to a canner with just a gauge. All American canners are regarded as the best canners you can buy. They used to just have a gauge, but now sell a kit so you can add a weight. We bought one for ours this year and i like it much better. The kit goes into the vent so you still have the gauge. We canned almost half a moose this fall, and usually can most of a bison in late spring.

When I can meat fish potato's or carrots, I use grammas old All American Canner. Mine is older than me and new parts will go right on. They dont have a rubber gasket to fail or an imprecise wobbler system. I recently bought a new gauge and set of clamps for mine. Thinking I should probably get a new safety over pressure valve. No telling if the one thats on there will release before it blows up.

If you want top of the line no problem canning these are worth it.

You can buy a new gauge online to be safe. These older models don't have the wobble device. You have to watch the gauge. They have a safety pressure release. You can replace them also just to be safe. These old canners let you use a higher pressure (temp) than the wobble regulated ones. There is no seal to replace either.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=VINTAGE+ALL+AMERICAN+NO.+7+CAST+ALUMINUM+15.5QT+PRESSURE+COOKER%2FCANNER&_sacat=0

Marty it never hurts to get a canning book. I recommend The Complete Guide to Home canning put out by the USDA.

All of the advice above seems good. I cold pack 1" cubes touch of salt 1" head space cooked 90 minutes @11 pounds here. I eat this stuff cold out of jar and have not had any problems. Was up at LOTW a few weeks ago and my canned venison was for dinner. The canned date was 2015. Everybody loved it. My favorite recipe is 1 pint venison, 2 cups black beans, 2 cups cooked wild rice warmed up. Feeds three.

i've been adding a dash of montreal steak seasoning to my jars with the salt. gives it a whole new flavor!

You can put a weight on that old canner and still have the gauge. It just threads into the hole where your vent is now. I like the weights because its much easier to keep a consistent pressure/temp than it is with just the gauge. Because the weight lets off steam you dont have to fiddle with the heat.

What size All American pressure cooker should I get? Is the big one (30QT) too big and take too long to get up to pressure compared to the smaller one (21.5QT)?

What if I wanted to put a roast in it, not canning. It would work for that too but if it takes an hour to build pressure b/c it so big then maybe the smaller one is the way to go?

You can change out the thinger and put a weight system thinger on it right? Weight seems like it would be the way to go.

We have the biggest one they make. Think its the #930 ? Its to big for cooking, but we can do 14 quarts when were canning so thats nice.The smaller one would be better for all around use.

I ordered the big one. I'll pick up a smaller used generic one on marketplace for cooking I guess. Thanks.

Yukon is spot on how I've been taught. I've canned nearly every meat, beef, pork, bear, elk, deer bvr....I quit cubing it long ago tho, it cooks down just fine in lots bigger chunks. We've add a tsp of canning salt, and slice of onion and tried lots of other stuff clove of garlic, couple slices jalapeno etc.

I use several presto, mirro garage sale canners with weights and gauges. Mine jiggle a lot during the process guess I run more heat than those who's canners only jiggle couple times a min ?