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How to make and can soups and stews with meat at home - easily!s

Canning stews with meat at home - easily!

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Making and canning your own meat -based or meat and vegetable soup, stew or stock is also quite easy. Just scroll down this page to see how to do it, in easy steps and completely illustrated. These directions work equally well for a variety of types of soups: vegetable, dried bean or pea, meat broths, poultry broth, or seafood broth soups can all be canned. The only special equipment you need is a Pressure Canner and canning jars with new lids. Caution: Do not add noodles or other pasta, rice, flour, cream, milk or other thickening agents to home canned soups.  And if dried beans or peas are used, they must be fully rehydrated first.  If you want to can soups that contain only vegetables or vegetables with meat broth, see this page. Also see this page for how to can tomato soup or tomato-basil soup

Ingredients

• meats and any desired vegetables
• Vegetable broth, tomato juice or water
• Seasonings: yes, you can add herbs like salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, oregano, basil, etc.
• Caution: Do not add noodles or other pasta, rice, flour, cream, milk or other thickening agents to home canned soups.  And if dried beans or peas are used, they must be fully rehydrated first.

Equipment

• Jar funnel ($5 at Target, other big box stores, and often grocery stores; and available online - see this page) or order it as part of the kit with the Jar grabber .
• Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)- Big box stores and grocery stores sometimes carry them; and it is available online - see this page. It's a tremendously useful to put jars in the canner and take the hot jars out (without scalding yourself!). The kit sold below has everything you need, and at a pretty good price:
  
  See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon
• At least 1 large pot; I prefer 16 to 20 quart Nonstick ceramic coated pots for easy cleanup.
• Large spoons and ladles,
• 1 Pressure Canner (a large pressure  pot with a lifting rack to sanitize the jars after filling (about $75 to $200 at mall kitchen stores and "big box" stores, but it is cheaper online; see this page for more information).  For low acid foods (meats and most vegetables, you can't use an open water bath canner, it has to be a Pressure Canner to get the high temperatures to kill the bacteria. If you plan on canning every year, they're worth the investment.- and it helps support this web site!
• Half pint canning jars (Grocery stores, like Publix, Kroger, Safeway carry them, as do some big box stores - about $7 per dozen 8 ounce jars including the lids and rings)
• Lids - thin, flat, round metal lids with a gum binder that seals them against the top of the jar. They may only be used once.
• Rings - metal bands that secure the lids to the jars. They may be reused many times.

Optional stuff:

• Lid lifter (has a magnet to pick the lids out of the almost-boiling water where you sanitize them. ($4 at big box stores or it comes in the kit at left)

Directions to can soups with meat

Step 1 - Collect and wash your ingredients

Select, wash, and prepare vegetables, meat and seafoods as appropriate for each type; generally just washing under running cool water.

Step 2 - Wash the jars and lids

Now's a good time to get the jars ready, so you won't be rushed later. The dishwasher is fine for the jars; especially if it has a "sanitize" cycle, the water bath processing will sanitize them as well as the contents! If you don't have a dishwasher with a sanitize cycle, you can wash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse, then sanitize the jars by boiling them 10 minutes, and keep the jars in hot water until they are used.

NOTE: If a canning recipe calls for 10 minutes or more of process time in the canner, then the jars do not need to be "sanitized" before filling them. But really, sanitizing them first is just good hygeine and common sense!  See this page for more detail about cleaning and sanitizing jars and lids.

Put the lids into a pan of hot, but not quite boiling water (that's what the manufacturer's recommend) for 10 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" to pull them out.  Leave the jars in the dishwasher on "heated dry" until you are ready to use them. Keeping them hot will prevent the jars from breaking when you fill them with the hot jam.

Step 3 - Cook meats (if you are including meat)

Cover meat with water and cook until tender.

Step 4 - Cool and remove bones, ligaments, etc. (if you are including meat)

Cool the meat and remove any bones or inedible pieces.

Step 5 - Cook the vegetables

Cook the vegetables (simmer until soft in boiling water, or steam). For each cup of dried beans or peas, add 3 cups of water, boil 2 minutes, remove from heat, soak 1 hour, and heat to boil; drain.

Step 6 - Combine

Combine the solid ingredients (meat and vegetables) with meat broth, tomato juice, tomatoes, or water to cover.

Step 7 - Get the lids warming in hot (but not boiling) water

Lids: put the lids into a pan of hot water for at least several minutes; to soften up the gummed surface and clean the lids.

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Step 8 - Boil for 5 minutes

Boil the combined mix for 5 minutes. Caution: Do not thicken with any starch, flour or other thickeners.

Salt to taste, if desired.

Step 9 - Fill the jars and put the lid and rings on

Fill jars halfway with the solid mixture (the bottom of the pan). Add remaining liquid, leaving 1-inch headspace. . Then put the filled jars into the canner!

This is where the jar tongs come in really handy!

Step 10 - Let the canner vent steam for 10 minutes

Put the heat on high and let the steam escape through the vent for 10 minutes to purge the airspace inside the canner.

 

Step 11 - Put the weight on and let the pressure build

After 10 minutes of venting, put the weight on and close any openings to allow the pressure to build to 11 pounds.

 

Step 12 - Process the jars in the pressure canner (NOT a standard water bath canner)

Once the gauge hits 10 pounds, start your timer going - for the time in the charts below, generally 60 or 75 minutes.  Adjust the heat, as needed, to maintain 10 - 14 pounds of pressure, again, as appropriate for your type of canner

Note: the charts below will help you determine the right processing time and pressure, if you have a different type of canner, or are above sea level.

Adjust lids and process following the recommendations below according to the method of pressure canner you have.

Recommended process time for vegetable soups or soups with vegetables and meat broth in a weighted-gauge pressure canner
			Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Style of Pack	Jar Size	Process Time	0 - 1,000 ft	Above 1,000 ft
Hot	Pints	75* min	10 lb	15 lb
	Quarts	90*	10	15
* Caution: Process 100 minutes if soup contains seafoods.

Recommended process time for vegetable soups or soups with vegetables and meat broth in a dial-gauge pressure canner.
			Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes
Style of Pack	Jar Size	Process Time	0 - 2,000 ft	2,001 - 4,000 ft	4,001 - 6,000 ft	6,001 - 8,000 ft
Hot	Pints	75* min	11 lb	12 lb	13 lb	14 lb
	Quarts	90*	11	12	13	14
* Caution: Process 100 minutes if soup contains seafoods.

Note: This document was adapted from the "Complete Guide to Home Canning," Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA, revised 2009 and Reviewed November 2009. The Ball Blue Book uses longer processing times, but this is the most recent recipe from the USDA National Center for Home Food Preservation, while the Ball Blue Book appears not to have been recently updated. 

It is important to learn how to operate your pressure canner by reading the owner's manual that came with your particular canner. If you cannot find your owner's manual, you can obtain find one online: Here is where to find some common manufacturer's manuals:

• Presto canner manuals

or by contacting the company that made your canner. Give the model number to the manufacturer, and they will send you the right manual. Click here for more information about pressure canners and a variety of models you can order.

Step 13 - Turn off the heat and let it cool down

When the processing time from the chart above is up, turn off the heat, and allow the pressure canner to cool and the pressure to drop to zero before opening the canner.  Let the jars cool without being jostled. After the pressure drops to zero (usually, you can tell but the "click" sound of the safety release vents opening, as well as but the gauge.  Let the pressure in the canner drop to zero by itself. This may take 45 minutes in a 16-quart canner filled with jars and almost an hour in a 22-quart canner. If the vent is opened before the pressure drops to zero OR if the cooling is rushed by running cold water over the canner, liquid will be lost from the jars. Too rapid cooling causes loss of liquid in the jars!

Step 14 - Remove the jars

Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool on a wooden cutting board or a towel,  without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight), here they won't be bumped. You can then remove the rings if you like, but if you leave them on, at least loosen them quite a bit, so they don't rust in place due to trapped moisture. Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok. You're done!

Once cooled, they're ready to store. I find they last up to 12 months. But after about 6 to 8 months, they get darker in color and start to get runny. They still are safe to eat, but the flavor and texture aren't as good. So eat them in the first 6 months after you prepare them!

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  This document was adapted from the "Complete Guide to Home Canning," Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA, revised 1994.

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FAQs - Answers to Common Questions

• As my jars are cooling after i take them out of the canner, they sometimes make a popping or hissing noise.  Is this normal and safe?
  Yes, the lids are designed to flex and that's actually a key selling point.  You can tell if a jar hasn't sealed properly (after it has cooled completely) if the lid flexes and makes a popping sound when you press the center of the lid with your finger.  The popping sounds while it is cooling is the lid being sucked down by the vacuum that is forming inside the jar - which a normal part of the sealing process.  Hissing sounds are usually just escaping steam or hot water evaporating on hot surfaces, also normal!

Canning Books, Supplies and Accessories

These are my favorite essential canning tools, books and supplies. I've been using many of these for over 50 years of canning! The ones below on this page are just the sampling of. my preferred tools. but you can find much more detailed and extensive selections on the pages that are linked below.

• Vacuum Foodsealers for freezing, dried foods, and refrigerated foods - the FoodSaver line
• Selecting a KitchenAid mixer and attachments for home canning
• Steam Juicers
• Strainers, pit removers, seed-skin-stem removers, jelly strainers, etc. All types, makes and prices (from $19 to $350)
• Cherry pitters reviews, prices and ordering
• Food dehydrators - easy and fast to dry your own fruits, veggies, sun-dried tomatoes, etc.