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Monday, December 7, 2009

Canning Venison

I'm still busy processing venison from the 2 deer I got this rifle season....


For canning, I clean and cube some of the meat. Then mix up a seasoning of 4 teaspoons of beef bouillon, 1 teaspoon of onion powder and 1/4 teaspoon of seasoned salt.

Also slice some onions and fresh garlic...








I fill hot sterilized pint jars with the venison cubes, leaving one inch of headspace. (the meat will expand).

Then to each jar I add a sliver of garlic, a few pieces of sliced onion and about 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of the beef bouillon mixture.









I keep my jar lids hot while preparing the jars. (hot but not boiling).


Add no liquid to the jars of meat, it will make it's own juice.

Wipe the rim of the filled jar and place a hot lid on top, then screw the band on tight.



Ready for the canner...



Into the pressure canner.....




Follow your canner's instructions for pounds and amount of time....


For my altitude, I can venison at 12lbs of pressure for 75 minutes (pints). Quarts take 90 minutes.

Bringing my heat up to adjust the pressure.


Let the jars cool on the counter...

They will seal as they cool...




The canned venison,...

Heat the canned venison in a pan, add a bit of flour or cornstarch to thicken the gravy and it's ready to top smooshed potatoes, or noodles, or rice, or ?


It's a bit of work, but will be worth the effort this winter. :)

20 comments:

Unknown said...

Canned Venison?
Are you gonna sell the recipe to Hormel?
You could call it SRANK for Shoulder, Rump and shANK.
So what do you think?

If you don't like that maybe you could call Maggi's and sell them as Bambi Cubes.

Another capital venture for you and the ranch?

Frugal Canadian Hermit said...

Now that does'nt look so complicated Jeanie. I will definately have to give that a try sometime. Could one can beef the same way?

cowgirl said...

lol Heck of an idea Marc! Bet I could do that. :) I did use some maggi cubes in a pot of venison stew last night. Thanks! :)

cowgirl said...

Hey Mark! It's not complicated at all. If you pack the meat in the jars raw, you do not add any liquid. If you pack the jars with cooked meat, you need to add hot broth or liquid.

You need to get a pressure canner... I know you have other things going on. Maybe you'll have time for it when your house is finished.
Canned foods are nice to have on hand though. :)

JunkerJunk said...

Ive canned my share of venison and it really is good. And it is so easy to work with when you go to use it. Shoot, it's so easy that I have only heated it up and put it over egg-noodles for a simple, great tasting meal. It can be used a million ways. Nice post Jean.

cowgirl said...

Thanks Marty! I bet your canned venison was tasty! Isn't it handy to have on the shelf? Kind of the original fast food...just heat and eat. :)

Tim said...

Does the canned meat need to be refrigerated?

cowgirl said...

Hi Tim!
No, the canned meat is safe to store on the shelf. Make sure it's sealed properly though. :) Once the can is opened you do need to keep it in the fridge.

Chris said...

Thank you so much for this post!! I just got done butchering a deer today and am planning on using your recipe to jar the meat. I've learned so many new ways to cook from your blog. I know I don't hardly ever write anything but I make sure to read everything.

cowgirl said...

Chris, you are so welcome. I hope the recipe works out well for you. You will need to check your pressure canning book for times and pounds of pressure to use where you live.
Congratulations on getting your deer, that's great!!

Thanks for reading my blog and thanks for stopping in, hope you stop by again. It's nice to meet you. :)

Chris said...

I'm back and need some advice. The canning of the venison was actually pretty easy but a little time consuming. Now that I've got this meat what are some good recipes I could experiment with? Now that my two girls have seen the meat in the jars they are a little apprehensive. I need to make something that will win them over. Any suggestions?? Thanks for all you do and Merry Christmas

cowgirl said...

Hi Chris! Glad to hear the canning went well.
I just made a batch of canned venison with gravy and served it over mashed potatoes..
Heat the venison in a skillet and add flour or cornstarch to thicken the liquid. Then season with salt and pepper.
If you want to you can use brown gravy mix instead of the flour... it adds even more flavor.
I like it over potatoes, but it can be served over rice or noodles.

Hope this gives you some ideas. :)

Chris said...

Thanks Jeanie
I took your advice with the canned meat and it turned out great. I used the brown gravy mix which I think helped. The kids loved it. Could not tell much difference in taste from beef. You are awsome!! Merry Christmas!

cowgirl said...

Chris I'm so happy to hear that it turned out well for you! Glad to hear the kids liked it!!
Thanks Chris... Hope you have a wonderful Christmas too. :)

Lacy in PA said...

I have a jar of canned deer meat my friend gave us for Christmas. My son wants me to cook it and put it over potatoes like as in hamburger gravy. I have never cooked deer meat before and not sure what to do. Can you help me?

cowgirl said...

Hi Lacy!
I'm not sure what spices your friend used with the venison but if you simmer the meat for about 10 minutes, then taste it, you can add seasonings and something to thicken up the juice to make a gravy.
(home canned meat is supposed to be simmered for 10 minutes before tasting to be safe). Not everyone does that though.

I like to thicken the juice with either flour, cornstarch OR brown gravy mix. Then season it with salt and pepper.

The brown gravy mix adds a lot of flavor and it's easy to use.

I made a post not long ago with some of my canned venison on smoked smooshed potatoes...

http://cowgirlscountry.blogspot.com/2009/12/canned-venison-in-gravy-over-smoked.html

It's tasty stuff!

Good luck to you hope this helps! :)

Rock Bottom Rabbitry said...

My mother and I canned venison for the first time last night using this as a guide. We packed it raw and didn't put any liquids in it. The liquid in the jars doesn't cover the meat. It's not too terribly low, but it's about an inch below the top of the meat. Will it be ok? Other than that, it went fine and it looks very tasty. We're going to open one up tonight for dinner to test it out. Thanks for the awesome website and all the ideas you've given me!

cowgirl said...

That's great Rachel! It's ok if the liquid doesn't cover the meat completely.
Good luck with supper.. I hope it turns out well for you. :)

Thanks Rachel!!

Shana said...

I make canned venison every year, but I use the shoulder and neck meat.....stuff you would normally grind into burger since the canning process will tenderize any grissle that is so full of good for me collagen. we should chat sometime--I'm a lot like you in my crusading--have owned a deer processing business for 8 years and have so many deer donated yearly that I can get real creative with food preservation!! :))

cowgirl said...

That's great Shana! Glad to hear from another hunter and home canner. :)
It's nice to have home canned venison on the shelf for the year. I still have a bit to use up before this season.

Foraging, hunting and preserving are some of my favorite things to do. It's nice to be able to provide food for the table instead of relying on a store.

Nice to meet you, thanks for stopping by!!