canning venison ?

How picky do I need to be cleaning off silverskin and small pieces of fat/tendon for canning? Does the canning process liquify most of that stuff?

How is canned venison? I’ve never done it but was thinking about it this year.

Not picky at all, I try to trim some, but don't get obsessed with it.

The silver skin mostly melts away.

We always Raw pack so I am not sure how it turns out hot packed.

you dont want much fat unless you just like the flavor of venison fat. silver skin is not a problem. when you get a batch made make some home made bread. dump a jar of meat in a pan and simmer it ten minutes on the off chance botulism has developed. put the meat and liquid on top some of that bread slathered up good with melted unsalted butter.

Not to side track this, but does anyone add anything to the meat besides a little salt when canning? I once had some smoked canned salmon that was canned with some BBQ sauce that was the just terrific.

We can a lot and find it just tenderizes it. Can one inch cubes par boiled with a couple beef bouillon cubes. Use that as your cover liquid. 15 lbs. pressure 90 min.if memory serves. When come in from hunting in the cold, just pour off liquid add your choice BBQ sause on top, nuke for a few, then stir in jar it falls apart put open face on buns. Best hot BBQ sandwich you can find. 1 pint 2 sandwiches. Same with rabbits use chicken cubes. Pour off liquid reach in grab bones they come rite out, meat stays in jar, BBQ sauce nuke and stir. No dirty dishes, eating hot food in minutes. Then go clean game from hunting.

Im fairly fussy about it because Im overly cautious about not having any dissolved fat/silverskin get in between the lid and the jar, which will ruin the seal. When I crack a jar open, Ill typically have a glob of fat about the size of a pencil eraser floating on top. You probably dont need to be that fussy, but thats just my method...

I use Au Jus for the liquid and put an onion slice on top it’s great

We can most all our deer. I even have a small canner that fits 5 pints, perfect for a limit of squirrel or rabbit.

If you use bullion use cubes not the goo in the jars because the goo has thickener which is a canning no-no. I like one cube per pint, two per quart.

I prefer hot pack so i just add the bullion to my hot water that I use to top off the jars, and I also add 1/2 teaspoon salt per pint directly into the jar.

Always always heat canned goods before even tasting. This goes for commercial canned goods also. More botulism poisoning happens from bad store bought goods than home canned, but that is only because there are so many more store bought canned goods eaten. And heating to 185 degrees for 5 minutes destroys botulism toxin. All canned goods, home or store bought, should be simmered no less than 5 minutes before eating. In every case of botulism poisoning this step is skipped. And botulism is one of the most potent poisons known, I recently found information that one gram is enough to kill 250,000 people. Don’t even taste canned goods without cooking first. I mean yes its more dangerous to go for a drive in a car than to eat a commercial canned good without heating, but its so easy in most cases to cook first that i would only eat uncooked if i had no way to cook it.

Here in the lower elevations, 10 psi for 75 minutes is the standard for meat. Higher elevations require different pressure.

Lots of instructions out there on canning, be sure to understand what you are doing before you start.

If I have garlic that needs used, I add it.

It will become one of your fav meals I promise

My standard protocol is one slice of onion flat in the bottom of the jar, one clove of garlic and two beef bullion cubes in a widemouth quart jar and then cold pack to the top leaving an inch of headspace. Comes out with a 'stewed' flavor. Occasionally, Ill do a few jars with a tablespoon of chili powder and canning salt...ready and preseasoned for favorite chili recipe. Ive heard of folks that do the same thing with taco seasoning and really like the results for their venison tacos...I havent tried that yet

I corrected 70 minutes to 75.

Which is why I always get out the procedure reference and follow it when I can, even though I do it several times a year. I forget exact details and dont want to skip any steps. Others may not be as forgetful as me.

Ball canning guide, rabbit eared and in the kitchen with wife's other cook books. Mom and grand mom canned before metal lids used canning wax. Never had botulism that i know of. You'll be OK with care, and you will love the result.

One more, wife uses cheap, the cheaper the better burgundy, onion, garlic, sour cream, mushrooms. Makes a sauce in cast iron. Then fold in a can of venison, carful so it doesn't fall apart. Serve over noodles. Venison stroganoff. Great dinner. Don’t know the exact proportions but you can find your own recipe. If you like beef and noodles you’ll love it.

Wish we would have started canning venison many years earlier. Great stuff. We put salt, garlic powder, beef stock and worchester in with the meat. We trim fat but silver skin seems to melt away. We can bear to.

I don’t worry about silver skin, its pretty tasteless. But all of the fat has to go. One year I experimented with adding a piece of beef fat to each jar. Didn’t add as much taste as I hoped, but it did reduce the “dryness” that comes with well cooked venison.

LOL

Wouldn't last long on Rebel canners would he . LOL

I thought I could save the lower leg meat and can it , it would tenderize it .
Won't make that mistake again .
Canned venison is excellent eating , great in many dishes , and stroganoff is the best .
75 minutes for pints 90 minutes for quarts @ the pressure for your area.

All I add to a jar is salt.

Never have trimmed up the silver skin.

I take the sawzall to the rib cage, roll up sections of rib in a wide mouth jar. When you open a jar, bones pull right out. Dip in flour and fry.

Canned venison is great in vegetable soup.

Canned venison has a really long shelf life. Back in 1987, I ate a jar we found in my grandparents house. It was dated 1958, the year I was born. If the lid isn’t compromised, it’s good. I have some jars in the basement now that are from 2012. Good as the day when we canned them.

I use pressure canners today. And I know all the manuals call for pressure canners when doing meat. But I’ll add my grandparents canned hundreds of jars of meat in a conventional canner. Never heard of any problems.

You want a jar of crap,,or a nice jar of venison.I love canned venison,,but its ugly enough as it is done right. Get it as clean as you would if you weren't canning it,,,and youl be good.

Im just a vanilla, follow-the-rules kind of canner, its true. I have no doubt the “rules” can be broken safely, but for my purposes of just canning some meat and beans I see no need. The USDA has it dumbed down just for people like me. Others take it to an art form.

I can a lot of venison. Everyone here loves in in a ton of different ways, Venison vegetable soup, French dip sandwiches and venison salad sandwiches are big sellers. Never get real crazy about the silver skin removal but as said, remove as much fat as you can. I only add 1/2 tea spoon of salt per pint and 1 tea spoon per qt. That way its more versatile. You can always add flavor but you cant take it out.

I'm also a stickler for the rules when canning. Get a Ball canning book and follow the directions. You have to know your approximate elevation to adjust pressure, it tells you all about it in the book.

Par boil for 15min, one bullion cube per quart. I don't discard the liquid I use it to make a gravy . I use it for hot deer sandwiches, mashed potatoes two slices of bread topped of with the hot deer and gravy.

We wash the jars jars and rings good then pack the meat in cold and raw. Quart jars. Add one teaspoon of salt. Fill with water to the bottom of the neck. Use a butter knife to get out any air bubbles. Maybe add another chunk or two. We process at 18 pounds for 90 minutes. Thats it. Simple and good.

This surprises me a little. I was always told to add water only if you pre-cook the meat. If cold packed raw, it makes its own juices. Do you suppose the extra boils out the lid during the cook? Seems like it has to go somewhere ? I have only cold packed without adding water and my liquid level is always near the top.

never heard of canning meat or fish without water

Raw packed nearly every kind of meat never added water. Always came out great...just how I was taught.

Bear is my favorite canned, little onion and little (1/4 tsp)canning salt top and bottom, I don't leave much head space as it cooks down. Ten pounds 90 min.
Usually dump quart jar of bear in pan get meat hot ..slotted spoon remove meat make gravy out of the liquid ..put bear meat on rice or potatoes gravy on top sometimes sprinkle with garlic powder...eat till I'm stuffed.

never added water either. but a tablespoon of Montreal steak seasoning and a tablespoon of garlic changes everything!

Canned salmon , chicken , beef burger , venison , and vegetables without water .
Only one that I would do different is chicken or any fowl , remove the bones first .

Maybe just me , but the bones on fowl break down and are a pain to remove the grit they cause .
The ends of the bones just get too soft and break apart , same with the rib bones on leg quarters in the thighs .
Best chicken stock ever , but the bones in my case are a pain .
The meat is excellent .
To each their own , I may have had too much pressure and let it process too long .

I've canned lots of caribou and moose, cold packed pints with no added salt or liquid. I do trim fat, but not silver skin. I love the lower leg meat. The connective tissue gets gelatinous and I like it. Often pop off a lid and just eat it straight from the jar

going to do some today if things work out right ,10pounds for 90 min ,is what I have always done

Cold pack, some salt, no adding water for me. The process makes its own juice.

That’s for quarts at 1000 feet above sea level or less. Pints are 75 minutes at 10 pounds 1000 feet. 1001 feet to 2000 feet time stays the same but pressure goes to 11 pounds.

All good info, thanks folks.

No water for me either, just the way I've always done it
Some jars with just salt. Some we doctored up with everything but the kitchen sink kind of an instant stew
I'm partial to mushrooms,garlic,salt and carrots in mine

I’ve done with and without broth added. I always add broth now, much better that way IMO.

Agree, my pressure cooker instructions call for the same procedure. I use pint jars and I process at 10 pounds pressure for 75 minutes.

If you don’t adjust for your altitude, your pressure canner does not get the temperature to the recommended level. Water boils at higher temps the higher you are so the pressure needs to be adjusted.

Most canning books have a chart for pressure/altitude. Some even list many larger city altitudes.

I like the 15 pound weight better than the 5/10/15 three way weight .
I can use the dial gauge to keep it close to the pressure I want .
I keep it a couple pounds higher , 11-13 pounds for a 10 pound need .
Worked fine and was just a little wobble of the weight and a slight hiss that I could hear and work on something else .
I changed out my 15 pounders to the three ways this summer thinking it would be easier for my kids to use that way .
It works fine , and the dial gauge stayed right there on the 10 pounds .
I turned down the heat , and kept turning it down , because it was so nosey .
It's an irritating noise , but it kept it up and the flame was almost turned off .
It wasn't any different in the end result , as the 15 pound weight was close to the same flame level .
1/4 -1/2 Turn and it was off .
I was happier with the 15 pound weight . Only because it was quieter , less annoying .
You can add either weight to your canner , here's a link to get the parts you need .
Both gauges make for a more efficient canner .
Never have to worry about running it dry , and you know exactly what's happening just by the sound of the hissing .

https://www.cookingandcanning.net/naprcomo14.html

I have done some fish and deer at 15 pounds just because I thought it would be easier to let the 15 pound weight/giggler regulate the pressure rather than me regulating with dial.
I could really tell a difference in the product. The 15 pound stuff was cooked out more, or over processed. Still good but not as good as the stuff I do at 11 pounds. At my elevation anyway.

Never added water to a jar of meat.

I agree , like I said , I tried to keep it as close to the target pressure as I could , and would run 11-13 pounds .
It also depends on the product being canned , some it doesn't make much difference , others like bone in chicken , can cause bone deterioration and bone grit in the finished product .
It boils down to what's good for you .
The three way weight gauge will keep the pressure more accurate , but you waste fuel by not watching the dial gauge to slow the steam escaping .
Doesn't matter what you use , you learn how to use it over time .
I prefer the 15 pound weight and the slight hissing and wobble over the loud annoying hiss of a three way weight .
Both do their job , it's just a personal preference .

Remember a 10 pound weight doesn't keep it at 11 pounds unless you use more heat .
And you don't know what the pressure is without a dial gauge working with it .

I’ve been thinking about getting an extra weight for my prestos and taking a grinder to it little by little until it wobbles and steams at 11-12 pounds. Not sure if that’s possible but I could check it on the gauge easy enough. Would sure be nice.

You don't need to , you have a dial gauge ,just turn the heat down until you get what you want .
Over time you'll know just how much you can turn it down .
If you don't have a dial gauge , you can add one in most cases .

They sell different wheights for them.I have a gauge,,plus the rockers for mine.

I have both weight and gauge on my prestos as well upstate. I s never seen anything but 15 pound weights for them.

Ohio, I’ve been canning meat for a lot of years. Sometimes down at our summer kitchen on the river, sometimes in the house kitchen and other times in the garage on a Coleman. All three of my canners need adjusting during the process to keep them at 11-12psi. About the time I get it settled in there’s usually only about 5-10 minutes left of processing time. LOL I think an 11 pound weight would be handy.

You can get a three way weight , there's two types that I've seen .
One is a single weight with three holes in it , and another looks like the 15 pound weight i this diagram.
It comes apart in layers . Not sure as I don't have one , but seen videos of them.
I think there's two sections , for 10 and 15 pounds , never seen a canning recipe that calls for 5 pounds , they're all 10-11 or 15 pounds .

Use the ten pound part , and add a piece of tape or a thin washer and experiment with it .
On the one with three holes , try tape or a small bearing in the other holes until you get what you want .
I use most times my 941 AA canners on propane turkey fryer burners .
I have them pretty much down pat to keep the pressure I want .
Better than ruining another weight .


https://www.cookingandcanning.net/pr85prcareki.html

just can some fresh venison today 7 quarts no water added

When I go to fry up canned venison, I pop the quart jar in the microwave for about three minutes. All the hard tallow and gelatin will liquify, and you can dump everything out easily. I dip the pieces in flour and fry them. Pitch the goop from the jar into the garbage…never into the drain.

The 5 pound weights are for pressure cooking as opposed to pressure canning.

I have seen the 5-10-15 pound but the hole does not fit the petcock on my prestos.

Looks good BB, Good tip on micro also! But I never dump the juice!

No the 5/10/15 weight has it's own valve , both fit your canner , or at least from my rebuilding pressure canners , have found the old National , Presto , and AA have the same thread and hole size .
They are interchangeable .
I don't know about the single weight that can change with taking off a section , or where you can get it.
I've seen videos of it , and just assume it would fit your valve , because it looks just like the 15 pound weight , from Presto .
Just giving you options before you possibly ruin a weight .
Hope you figure it out , and happy canning .
I don't trash the juice either , makes good gravy .

Got ya, thanks.
I have two Prestos and one old National (became Presto). The National has an adjustable weight that doesn’t fit the prestos. Maybe some other Nationals will fit, I’ll do some checking. Thanks again.

2 things I need info about. Do the 5-10-15 jigglers made by mirro-matic fit the presto canner?

I also would appreciate a recipe for gravy using the liquid from the venison canning jars....thick gravy.

Thanks much fellas!

perfect Roy !

Marty, have a method more than a recipe you may know this. Poor liquid into cast iron and heat, add enough flour to absorb the liquid making a rue let it brown well. Now add milk till viscosity is thinner than you like your gravy, let simmer till it reaches your desired thickness. This could turn into a lot of gravy start small, if it's just for two. Salt and pepper to taste.

You can't leave this you must stay and stir till simmer. Then you can take it easy. Let it bubble on low for a while.

Thanks.

]

No, it won’t fit. You would have to change the stem too. Not sure if the threads on stem are the same though. You most likely need to be at 11-12 pounds for your elevation for pressure canning so the 5/10/15 may not help you much.

matry get yourself a small jar, pour your juice in to pan and heat it up, put some flour into jar and add water shake up flour and water mix really good, add to juice in pan and stir, till thick,

My 23 quart Presto came with a gauge on it and a 15 lb pressure weight.I bought the weight that adjust from 5/10/15 lbs for it,,because most of my canning is done at 10 lbs.The adjustable weight is available on line.

Trapset.. do you vent for ten minutes before you put your weight on?

By the way, for those that use the pressure gage it is important to make sure it is callabrated, around here our county extension office does it. We have ours checked every 2 or 3 yrs.

I don’t think I make it the full 10 minutes most times. I really should. I usually wait a few minutes after I have a steady stream then pop the weight on. I go longer if canner is not full of jars. An old timer once told me it takes longer to vent when your canner has less jars in it. He said the 10 minutes was for 1-2 jars so the recommendation was to cover all situations from 1 jar to full.

I am always telling people to follow the book and dont listen to internet advice, so I have to recommend the full 10 minutes and should be doing so myself. But I don’t always do it. Sound Familiar? Lol

I just purchased a presto 50332 5,10,15 pound adjustable weight. My models of Prestos, 23 quart model (01781) and 18 quart model (01751) are not listed as working with it but a canning site said they fit. Here's the site https://www.healthycanning.com/presto-pressure-canner-3-piece-regulator-weight/ . I'll post how it works when it gets here. It says on the site some people add washers to get to 11-12 pounds. Might try it.

The only reason I ask, is because you mentioned having a hard time regulating the pressure. From my experience, (and don't ask why because I don't know), but venting for the full 10 minutes makes the pressure easier to regulate afterwards. Just try it, lol.

There ya go.Dont add washers,,just turn the flame up a tad.Do enough canning and youl have it down to a science.Main reason I bought the weights,,is so I don't have to babysit the canner gauge as much.Still got to keep an eye on it,,but the ten pound weight helps A LOT.Good luck.

Venting for ten min. gets rid of all the trapped air in the canner,,so the canner is up to proper pressure before processing time begins.

Thanks! I'll go back to venting the whole 10 min.

You need to order the valve stem with the weight .
Yes they're interchangeable , maybe not the mirro matic , but Presto will except the AA stem and weight .
I have replaced them a few times
Here's where I got mine .just look up the AA parts , I replaced the stem and added the Presto 15 pound weight years ago from a spigot to the weight .
This summer I changed the 15 pound weight to the 3 way weight on my AA 941 canners , they had the presto 15 pound weight on them when I changed to the weight instead of the spigot years ago .
All my canners have dial and weight gauges .


https://www.cookingandcanning.net/naprcomo14.html



As for gravy , heat up like mentioned above , and use clear gel or therm flo , I get both at the local Amish store .
For 1/5 the cost of what's on Amazon . I now just get the therm flo because it's the same but the cheaper of the two .
Both are better for canning pie fillings and gravies .
DO NOT GET THE INSTANT ! It breaks down when reheated , the regular doesn't .

That's the third weight that I have seen like that .
All you need to do is get the weight , don't need to change the stem .
Good deal and information .
Found it , thanks for the part number .

https://www.cookingandcanning.net/pr50prcaprre.html

Thanks for the info trapset.

So, how does cooking at a few #'s over for the recommended time effect the results?

At sea level 15 pounds kills botulism spores. I go to 18. My all american canner is safe to 20. It has a gauge no wobbler. I still simmer any potato's carrots fish or meat before eating, but I feel its a bit safer. Botulism kills people every year. IMO the taste and quality is the same as canning at 10 pounds.