My pastor gave me FREE deer meat so I am sitting here listening to my canner jingle. Thought I would post how I did it while waiting for the timer.
The first thing you need to decide is do I want to Hot Pack or Raw Pack my meat..Below is a little information to help you decide.
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Hot Pack Method vs Raw Pack Method
Venison is a low-acid food and must be processed in a pressure canner. You can add salt for flavor but it is not necessary for preservation of the meat. You can use either the Raw Pack or Hot Pack. I prefer the Hot Pack method. Raw packing it is faster, but when finished processing the jar may only be partially full of liquid, leaving some of the meat uncovered. Raw packing also leaves some air in the jars and can cause meat to darken during storage. Hot pack does take longer, but has benefits.
1: You can fit more meat in the jar.
2: You can remove more air from the jar.
3: You have less liquid loss, which gives you better quality.
Reference
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My son cut the meat into cubes for me. I washed it several times in cool water.
Next I put it in a container of salt water and stuck it in the refrigerator. I let it sit in salt water for two days, changing the water several times. This will get rid of the gamey taste that some people don't like as well as draw out alot of blood from the meat.
As you can see where I am pointing in the picture. I will cut away a little more of the fatty tissue before canning.
Got my meat all washed up and ready to start canning it. I like using the hot pack method for my meat. Many people raw pack and that is ok, this is just how I do it.
I put all the meat in a large stainless steel pot. Cut up a big onion and threw that in. Ground some fresh black pepper on that.
I brought this to a boil and boiled gently for about 30 minutes. I dipped all the froth from the pot as it began to boil. While the meat was cooking I washed my jars and got everything ready.
I put a clove of fresh garlic and a chunk of onion in the bottom of each jar. Then I filled the jars with meat and the onion it cooked with using a slotted spoon. I didn't fill them quite full so that I would have plenty of broth. I added a tsp of canning salt to each jar.
I covered the meat with beef broth made from bouillon and left one inch head space. If you have fresh beef broth, then by all means use it.
I removed all the air bubbles and adjusted my head space. Then put on my lids and rings. I tightened them down finger tight and put the jars in the canner.
I put on my lid and vented my steam for 7 minutes for the All American canner. Most vent for 10 minutes. I then processed for 90 minutes. If doing pints you would process for 75 minutes. I let the pressure drop naturally and waited 10 more minutes and then removed my lid. I waited 10 more minutes to allow the jars to adjust to the room's temperature.
Placed the jars on my counter to cool for 24 hours before storing.
Adjust for your elevation
If you decide to Raw Pack your meat. Add onions or any seasonings you want to the jar. Then pack the meat into the jars leaving 1 inch headspace. Add 1 tsp of canning salt. DO NOT ADD ANY LIQUID, it will produce it's own. Process the same as Hot Pack.
