Basic Food Preservation - Canning Meat

Canning is a widely practiced form of food preservation both commercially and in households because it is one of the best ways to keep them from spoiling for a great length of time. While there may be easier methods of preservation that can keep foods such as meat from spoiling for several months, canning is not at all a very difficult process and, if done properly, actually allows you to store them for up to several years. All it takes is a little bit of cooking, storing them in sterile cans or jars, and keeping the containers sealed so as to prevent air and microorganisms from making their way to the food. Pretty much all kinds of meat can be canned, including poultry and fish. When you buy meats for canning, though, ensure that you are getting nice, lean meats that are still fresh and far from spoiling so as to ensure a better quality for your product.

To prepare your meat, cut them into the desired portions and trim all the excess fat if there are any because they can alter the taste of the meat. The best thing about canning is that meat can be stored in both raw and cooked form. If you are planning on storing raw meat, it is important to take measures to minimize the risk of contamination. Such measure include cooling the meats during preparation and storing them in the jars as soon as they are ready. Uncooked meats should be canned without any liquids.

If you prefer to cook your meat before canning, you can roast or cook it in the pan until they are about 2/3 done, or simply follow a cooking guide for canning meat. Fill the jars with the cooked meat and some hot broth, leaving a headroom of about an inch or so. Now it's time to finalize the canning process. Pressure canners are recommended to use when canning meats because of their ability to sustain the temperature necessary to kill the remaining microorganisms and toxins in the meat as well as on the containers.

You can use either a weighted-gauge pressure canner or a dial-gauge pressure canner but the former is more preferred because it allows you to monitor its internal temperature more accurately than the latter. Use the pressure canner according to instructions and requirements depending on the amount of meat you are canning. After the pressure canning, leave them out for about 24 hours to cool and then test the lids by pressing them. If they are not slightly curved inward or if they move when pressed, it means that the canning process did not go well and you need to do the food preservation process again or store it in the refrigerator to avoid faster spoiling.
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