# Canning ground beef



## lazydaisy67 (Nov 24, 2011)

So I found some ground beef on sale and bought a big 10 lb tube of it. I also have about 10 lb of ground venison that I HAVE to get out of the freezer so I thought I'd mix the two and can 20 lb of ground meat today. I usually get my canning info from simplycanning.com and she says to brown first and can quarts for 30 minutes. I've used this lady's advice for almost everything I've canned for the last 2 years or so and I trust her information and experience. Having said that, I do go to other sites for info as well and some say to brown and can for 90 minutes. I'm not sure why you'd have to can for 90 if you're browning it first, but I don't want to mess this up.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

The canning time is based on how long it takes to kill anything in the product. Cooking time is accomplished long before your canning process is done. For example, if a jar does not seal you can put another new lid on it and put it through the canning process again. The cook time starts all over. If the pressure drops below 10psi (or whatever your target pressure is) then the cook time starts all over.

I raw pack my meat but pre cooking ground meat will probably help keep it crumbly rather than a meatloaf consistency.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

lazydaisy67 said:


> I usually get my canning info from simplycanning.com and she says to brown first and can quarts for 30 minutes. I've used this lady's advice for almost everything I've canned for the last 2 years or so and I trust her information and experience.


I think this is fine to do if you go directly from the hot skillet into the jars and can immediately.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

LincTex said:


> I think this is fine to do if you go directly from the hot skillet into the jars and can immediately.


You could be right LT it is hard to argue with success. Call me a coward but I'll go with the 90 minutes.


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## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

When i make meatloaf its raw packed too..i just leave alittle extra room for the grease and can quarts 90, pints 75.

When i can beef burger for taco meat i cook it first all the way just as if im making it for fresh tacos to eat now..then i pack into jars, usually i use pint size and can for 75 min or if quarts 90. It turns out just fine too and stays crumbly. I do add some water to keep the meat from drying out. 

Beef just went up from 2.99 a pound for 80/20 burger to 3.99 in the last 3weeks so ill be doing some more soon before it goes up again. Gas keep going up a few cents every few days too so expect prices to keep going up..


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## lazydaisy67 (Nov 24, 2011)

Hooch, that's why I snagged a 10 lb tube for $2.67 a pound. I should probably have gotten another one, but I didn't have the money for it right there and then. Can I just admire you? Anybody who cans 90 of anything impresses the hell out of me!!! Here I am feeling smug when I get 2 canners done in a day...


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

lazydaisy67 said:


> Hooch, that's why I snagged a 10 lb tube for $2.67 a pound.


That stuff around here is like 67%/33% .... yuck!!!

What is the percentage you got?


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## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

Oh no..lol..90 minutes..for quarts..75 minutes for pints..generally i only run the canner once a session..sometimes twice but once with prep time is plenty for me..ive always got alot going on and ill get bored babysitting a canner all day. Lol..


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

I par-brown?? where I partially brown ground beef and then strain the grease out, and can that. So far it's worked out well, I picked up 12 lbs of ground beef from their butcher trimmings today at Costco and I'll be canning that... ehhh maybe tomorrow. 

As hooch also mentioned, 75 mins for pints, 90 mins for quarts. Since my meals are planned for me, a quart is a LOT to open up at once, so I stopped doing quarts of meat, I still have a lot of meatloaf but now I do soups and stuff in quarts mostly.

Speaking of which, I've got 2 dozen quart jars I've been trying to think of a project to fill them with. hmmm...


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## txcatlady (Sep 26, 2013)

I brown my meat, drain and rinse some grease off. Add broth. Husband complaining about texture. Wondering how dry pack would be. I thought it had to have moisture to get the pressure right in jar to seal while killing any organisms. This is my second year on red meats.


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## lazydaisy67 (Nov 24, 2011)

Ok, well I did 2 canners. Browned almost all the way, but did leave just a little pink. Added onion and then poured beef broth over the top. 90 min both times. Every one of them sealed so I'm pretty happy with that. Every now and again I will have a jar that breaks it's bottom while it's in the canner, which ticks me off, but recently I've been very lucky with that. No breaks and everything has sealed. So yeah, feel pretty good about it, but reserve final judgement until one has been eaten.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

lazydaisy67 said:


> Ok, well I did 2 canners. Browned almost all the way, but did leave just a little pink. Added onion and then poured beef broth over the top. 90 min both times. Every one of them sealed so I'm pretty happy with that. Every now and again I will have a jar that breaks it's bottom while it's in the canner, which ticks me off, but recently I've been very lucky with that. No breaks and everything has sealed. So yeah, feel pretty good about it, but reserve final judgement until one has been eaten.


Sweet! I don't remember the last time I broke the bottom of a jar. I put a thin wire rack on the bottom of my canner to keep the jars from direct contact with the bottom of the canner. This leaves a thin layer of water under the jars. Also, I was told years ago that as the canner cooled that a vacuum could develop between the jar and the canner bottom. I also place a wire rack between each layer of jars.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

Dakine said:


> Speaking of which, I've got 2 dozen quart jars I've been trying to think of a project to fill them with. hmmm...


Rice and beans... dehydrated soup veggies... 

Lazydaisy, I also make sure it's 90 min for quarts, regardless of pre-cooking, since the goal of canning isn't to cook, but to get the core temperature up to 240 degrees for a set period of time in order to kill the boogers.


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

I started canning my mince (ground) browned, we hated it, only raw pack now. I think it is one of those individual things, each to their own. The 75 mins pint and 90 mins quart is the accepted standard for ANYTHING with meat. Nothing to do with prep, all to do with heat resistant bacteria (this has a HUGE margin for error though). I'm not one for following the 'rules' but this one I do.


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## lazydaisy67 (Nov 24, 2011)

I'm a moron. I went back and re-read the web site directions and she DID have it listed as 1 hour and 30 minutes. I apparently just read the '30 minutes' part. UGG! I swear sometimes my brain isn't working right.


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## myrtle55 (Apr 1, 2014)

I did my first last week, browned it, drained it, rinsed it and packed it in jars, no liquid added. Its what I heard ppl here say, and it came out look on just like it went in, dry and crumbly


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## arwenmark (Mar 23, 2014)

So we agree that 90 min for quarts, 75 for pints is correct for any meat product including broth, so that begs the question why is Link Tex still alive?

I really hate to see people go on the internet and give deadly advice. Or my grandmother did it and no one died, well that was SHEER LUCK.

Always follow the proper time after venting and after getting to your full pressure for your altitude, and let cool naturally.

THing is if someone does get sick or die from what you read on here, it is unlikely anyone is going to come on and tell about it is it?


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

Saw a report this morning on the cost of beef going up (so what's new, eh?)... Even the 11 year old is now bugging me to get more ground beef to can.


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## partdeux (Aug 3, 2011)

arwenmark said:


> , so that begs the question why is Link Tex still alive?


Because he hasn't gotten sick yet. If botulism isn't present, then it won't grow. If it is, only safe pressure canning will kill it. So how do you know if it's there or isn't there?


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