sullivan k,

i agree they should have been packed tighter ...
but they should be ok !!
this meat was frozen also and may have lost some moisture ..

i use 90 minute's 10 # presure 2 teaspoon's of canning salt per quart i pack my meat in the jar clear to the top !! my jar's are hot when i pack and so are my lid's !! they come out lil less than 1/2" from the top with liquid !!

enjoy your canned deer meat ...

halfpint..

Don't shortchange yourself Swifty, you posted very good explanations yourself. But if anyone has questions feal free to ask.

I will only follow recipes and process instructions from a reliable source (Ball Blue Book, USDA, NCHFP, or one of the universities). Never trust a 'run of the mill' source on the net. And, never trust a recipe from your best friends, wife's, uncle Joe's, Mother-in-Law! Many recomendations have changed over the years, due in part to better research and a better understanding of the subject matter by scientists. So, that old recipe Uncle Joe's M-i-L used may be suspect with todays understanding of the organisms.

Also, never deviate(sp?) from the actual recipe. For example, putting in extra peppers or onions into a salsa may tweak the pH value enough, that the thermal process for that recipe is no longer valid.

I have never canned deer meat myself, but would like to try it. How do you guys eat it? LOL I mean is their a good dish to eat with it like with taters and gravy?

I just read the above information and had to add my two cents. I have been pressure canning meats that are fresh as well as meats that have been previously frozen. The pressure canning tenderizes tough cuts of meat,and makes meal preparation quicker, not to mention eliminating freezer burn! For example, I pressure can venison ( antelope, whitetail, mule deer, and moose) burger, after precooking and sometimes add onions, peppers, or even celery to the mix. We even make up chili and pressure can it, just dont add beans. Beans can be added when you reheat to eat. I keep the precooked meat warm, fill the jars, and cover with low sodium beef stock,which is hot, leaving 1" of head space, keeping the top of the jars clean and place two piece lids on jars and pressure can at 11 lbs pressure for 90 minutes. It turns out great. The same method can be done with venison stew meats. I also pressure can fish, both precooked and raw. Once you give it a try you will be amazed at the flavor and ease of meal preparation. As has already been mentioned, follow the directions provided with your pressure canner, or recipe book. Keep in mind that the time for pressure canning can be different depending on your elevation.

I've had the best results by filling a hot jar with raw cold meat adding enough water to fill about half way add one beef cube for a quart jar and cook in pressure cooker at 10pounds for 90 min also yummy with caribou.

looks good to me. those pears look amazing might i add?

I try to put about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of vinegar in the canner,this helps keep minerials from forming on the jars.
Then they are easier to wash befor putting into storage.

Is there a dfference in table salt and canning salt?

Yes there is a difference in the two salts.
There are added chemicals to table salt that will make for cloudy liquid in the canned food.

Any more I seldom use any salt while canning.

Also, the jars were probably full enough when you packed them.
Looks to me like you may have releashed the pressure on the canner somehow.
A pressure canner has to cool down by it's self or the juice will be forced out of the jars.
It takes about an hour at least to cool down.
That's another reason I use a dial gauge and a weight gauge.
The dial gauge tells me when the pressure is down to zero, BUT there can still be pressure in the canner.
So remove the weight slowly.