Friday, July 23, 2010

Preserve It . . . Canning Corner: Bottled Hamburger!

I am sooo excited about this one,
and I'm sure you've been on pins and needles waiting
to get the recipe for canning . . .
Ground Beef and Sausage!
I have to admit the first time I saw canned hamburger
I wasn't feelin' the love.  It was pink and had a weird texture.
Times have changed . . . thank heavens!
The recipe I'm going to share with you has been pre-cooked.
Now it just looks like it's been browned and put
into a jar with a little bit of water.

The Hamburger is on the left and the Sausage is on the right.
Soooo much better!
When you have bottled meat one hand
the possibilities are endless, and because it's already been
cooked, it's safe to eat even if you have no way of heating it.
You could whip up a batch of Sloppy Joe's or Spaghetti
in minutes and you won't even smell like cooked hamburger
when you leave the house.
A great reason in and of itself to can your own
Hamburger and Sausage!
Here's the How To:
Remember . . .
You have to use a

Pressure Canner
to can meats!
Start by:
Browning you ground beef.
I use my onions from the cannery to season my hamburger.
(If you cook with onions, this is a great time saver.)

I didn't add onions to my sausage.
(Pictured Below)

Salt will be added at a later point in the process.
It takes about 1 pound per pint jar and 2 pounds per quart jar.
Strain the cooked hamburger to make sure that all of the fat
has been removed.

Place your cooked ground beef into sterilized jars.

Press down with your spoon and leave 1-inch head space.

Pour hot water into the jars.

You could put in 1/4 tsp. of salt if you wish at this point.

Heat the lids to a simmer . . . do not boil the lids.

Wipe the rims of the jars well.

Place the lid on each jar and secure it with a canning ring.
Add 3" of water to the Pressure Canner as well as
1-2 Tbsp. of white vinegar.

(This will help to keep the jars clear of hard water.)
Place your jars into the Pressure Canner.

Process pint jars for 75 minutes at 15 lbs. psi.
Process quart jars or 90 minutes.
If your pressure canner doesn't have a guage . . .
Make sure you get a good rock . . . before you start the clock!
Here's the finished product!
Looks Delish . . . and NO FREEZER BURN!
The texture of the hamburger is a little bit different than
you are probably used to.  The texture is similar to what you
would find in a pot of hamburger stew.
If you want to crisp it up, just drain the juice and throw
it into the frying pan for a few minutes.
(The meat is very lean, so you may want to add a little bit of oil
to the pan before adding the hamburger.)
See how easy it is and once you have some on hand,
you can make:
Tacos or Enchiladas, Shepherd's Pie, Beef Stroganoff, Taco Soup,
Sloppy Joe's, Lasagna, Spaghetti, Sausage Omelets . . . etc.
Sooo many possibilities!
Here's the PDF:
Bottled Hamburger Recipe PDF
Follow the same recipe for bottled sausage
minus the onions.
Don't you just love it when you thought you pushed
"Post"
but found out later you pushed
"Save as a Draft?"
Sorry . . . I guess I was a little sleepy this morning!!!
Just a Note on Your
Gossner's Milk Order:
The cream is on back order.  It will be delivered
August 6th.

9 comments:

Robyn said...

You could make this process even easier by cooking your hamburger in the crock-pot overnight. I have a 6 qt. crockpot, I hadn't ever tried this before, but I put in 7 lbs. of hamburger and probably 1/2 to 1 cup of water and turned it on. I think I cooked it on high overnight, but my hamburger was frozen. I stirred it in the morning and let it cook for a while longer. (I think I turned it down to low since it was almost done, it was just a little pink still.) It worked great. I was then able to throw together 6 lasagna's for the freezer in no time.

If you wanted to do more than 7 lbs in a 6 qt I think that you would be fine. Mine was frozen solid and I wasn't able to squish anymore in there.

Hope that help someone!

Tori Bennett said...

Thank you for the instructions. I am going to give this a try

Cheryl said...

I am with you. The first time I saw this done it was raw packed and the ground beef was really fatty with vein chunks in it. (You know the stuff stores put on sale in the chub that you can't see through? Girls, if you can't see through the chub their could be a reason.)
Anyhow, it made me Google your post for a nicer example.
Great Job!

Andie said...

I want to try your hamburger recipe and was wondering if you have it available to print it out. Thanks!

Andie said...

I am interested in your hamburger canning recipe and was wondering if you had it where I can download just the recipe. Thanks

The David and Tricia Smith Family said...

Andie,
I added the PDF this morning!
I usually always post the recipe, I glad you caught that!
Have a great day canning!
Trish

Tori Bennett said...

I am doing this right now! I used your instructions and have them under pressure as I type.
I wonder if you can tell me how long these bottled meats (beef and chicken) will last on the shelf?
I have done chicken before and do about a year supply, so I have never stored them longer than that.

Thanks so much for this blog. You do great work

The David and Tricia Smith Family said...

Tori,
Canned meat lasts between 3-5 years. Longer than fruits and veggies! Cool huh!
Happy Canning!
Trish

Girltwin64 said...

I do it the same, but I don't add the extra water. I think it gets mushy with added liquid. I plan on doing ground beef and sausage this weekend cause it on sale.....grass fed antibiotic free was just 2.97 pound. Makes dinner a breeze!!