Canning Meat, Fish and Poultry

Pressure canning is the only safe method for canning meat, fish and poultry. It is the only way you can destroy the bacterium that causes food poisoning (clostridium botulinum). Be sure to process canned meats for the correct time at the correct temperature in a pressure canner. Canning low-acid foods, such as meats, in boiling-water canners is absolutely unsafe because the botulinum bacteria can survive this process. If clostridium botulinum survive and grow inside a sealed jar of food, they can produce a poisonous toxin. Even a taste of food containing this toxin can be fatal. Boil foods 10 minutes at altitudes below 1,000 feet to destroy this poison. Boil foods 11 minutes if you live above 1,000 feet.

Chill and can fresh, home-slaughtered meats and poultry without delay.
Do not can meat from diseased animals.
Remove guts immediately after catching fish, put on ice and can within two days.

Caution: Boil canned meat, poultry and fish before you taste it even if it looks and smells alright .

Chicken or Rabbit

Procedure: Choose freshly killed and dressed, healthy animals. Large chickens are more flavorful than fryers. Chill dressed chicken for 6 hours to 12 hours before canning. Soak dressed rabbits 1 hour in salt water (1 tablespoon of salt per quart of water) and then rinse. Remove excess fat. Cut the chicken or rabbit into suitable sizes for canning. Can with or without bones.

Hot pack -- Boil, steam or bake meat until medium-done (when cut at center, pieces show almost no pink color). Add 1 teaspoon salt per quart to each jar if desired. Fill jars with meat pieces and hot broth. Leave 1-1/4-inches headspace.

Raw pack -- Add 1 teaspoon salt per quart if desired. Fill jars loosely with raw meat pieces. Leave 1-1/4-inches headspace. Do not add liquid. Adjusts lids, and process as directed in Table-1.

Ground or Chopped Meat

Bear, beef, lamb, pork, sausage, veal, venison

Procedure: Choose fresh, high-quality, chilled meat. With venison, add one part high-quality pork fat to three or four parts venison before grinding.

Use freshly made sausage, seasoned with salt and cayenne pepper (sage may cause a bitter off-flavor). Shape chopped meat into patties or balls. Cut cased sausage into pieces 3 inches to 4 inches long. Cook until lightly browned. Ground meat may be browned without shaping. Drain excess fat. Fill jars with pieces. Add boiling meat broth, tomato juice or water. Leave 1-1/4 inches headspace. Add 2 teaspoons of salt per quart to each jar if desired. Adjust lids and process as directed in Table-1.

Strips, Cubes or Chunks of Meat

Bear, beef, lamb, pork, veal, venison

Procedure: Choose fresh, high-quality, chilled meat. Remove excess fat. Soak strong-flavored wild meats for 1 hour in salt water (1 tablespoon of salt per quart of water). Rinse. Remove large bones.

Hot pack -- Cook meat until rare by roasting, stewing or browning in a small amount of fat. Add 2 teaspoons of salt per quart to each jar if desired. Fill jars with pieces and add boiling broth, meat drippings, water or tomato juice (tomato juice is especially good to use with wild game). Leave 1-inch headspace.

Raw pack -- Add 2 teaspoons of salt per quart to each jar if desired. Fill jars with raw meat pieces. Leave 1-inch headspace. Do not add liquid. Adjust lids, and process as directed in Table-1.

Meat Stock (Broth)

Beef: Saw or crack freshly trimmed beef bones to help draw flavor from bones. Rinse bones and place in a large stockpot or kettle. Cover bones with water, cover pot and simmer 3 hours to 4 hours. Remove bones and pick off meat. Chill broth, skim off fat and return meat to broth. Reheat meat and broth to boiling. Fill jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Adjust lids, and process.

Chicken or turkey: Place carcass bones in a large stockpot, add enough water to cover bones. Cover pot and simmer 30 minutes to 45 minutes or until meat can be easily stripped from bones. Remove bones and meat pieces. Chill broth and skim off fat. Strip meat, discard excess skin and fat and return meat to broth. Reheat to boiling and fill jars. Leave 1-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process as directed in Table-1.

Fish

Blue, mackerel, salmon, steelhead, trout and other fatty fish except tuna

Caution: Immediately after catching fish, remove guts, put on ice and can within two days.

Note: Glass-like crystals sometimes form in canned salmon (these are magnesium ammonium phosphate). There is no way for the home canner to prevent these crystals from forming, but they usually dissolve when heated and are safe to eat.

Procedure: Remove head, tail, fins and scales. Wash and remove all blood. Split fish lengthwise if desired. Cut cleaned fish into pieces 3-1/2-inches long. Fill pint jars, place skin side next to glass and leave 1-inch headspace. Add 1 teaspoon of salt per pint if desired. Do not add liquids. Adjust lids and process as directed in Table-1.

Table-1. Recommended processing times for meat, poultry and fish in pressure canners.

Canner gauge pressures at different altitudes in pounds
Dial gauge Weighted gauge
Type of meat Style pack Jar size Process time (min.) 0-2,000 feet 0-1,000 feet Above 1,000 feet
Chicken or rabbit without bones Hot and
raw Pints
Quarts 75
90 11
11 10
10 15
15
With bones Hot and
raw Pints
Quarts 65
75 11
11 10
10 15
15
Ground or chopped meat Hot Pints
Quarts 75
90 11
11 10
10 15
15
Strips, cubes or chunks of meat Hot and
raw Pints
Quarts 75
90 11
11 10
10 15
15
Meat stock Hot Pints
Quarts 20
25 11
11 10
10 15
15
Fish Raw Pints 100 11 10 15

	Canner gauge pressures at different altitudes in pounds
	Dial gauge	Weighted gauge
Type of meat	Style pack	Jar size	Process time (min.)	0-2,000 feet	0-1,000 feet	Above 1,000 feet
Chicken or rabbit without bones	Hot and raw	Pints Quarts	75 90	11 11	10 10	15 15
With bones	Hot and raw	Pints Quarts	65 75	11 11	10 10	15 15
Ground or chopped meat	Hot	Pints Quarts	75 90	11 11	10 10	15 15
Strips, cubes or chunks of meat	Hot and raw	Pints Quarts	75 90	11 11	10 10	15 15
Meat stock	Hot	Pints Quarts	20 25	11 11	10 10	15 15
Fish	Raw	Pints	100	11	10	15

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