# Potential problem canning meat



## wmsff (Jun 10, 2010)

Hello everyone. I am new to canning meat and I don't know if my end product is normal or if I have just wasted lots of meat.

I canned chicken and beef. In the case of the chicken, I boiled it enough to remove the bones and added water according to directions. When I removed it, the chicken is above the broth by about 1-2 inches. When I did the beef, it was raw pack and I cut the pieces into about 1inch chunks. I did not press them tightly into the quart jars, just enough to fill the open spaces loosely. The directions called for NOT adding water or broth, so I did not add any. The cooked out broth in the jars only fills the jars about 2/3 of the way up and the beef is about 2-3 inches above the broth. Is this normal? Should I have packed it tighter. When I did the chicken, I did have one jar break and I assumed it was because I packed it too tight.

Thank you


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

The meat is fine and is not wasted. The part that is not covered with liquid may turn darker and dry out just a tad over time, but still will taste ok and is still safe and nutritious. I would either put more meat in or more liquid next time, but you can still eat this. Sometimes I don't get enough liquid in a jar too.

The jar that broke probably had a tiny fracture or weakness in it. Perhaps it was bumped at some time, even prior to when you got it. I hate when that happens but we all lose a jar now and again.


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## thequeensblessing (Mar 30, 2003)

Meat can be successfully canned with no added liquid. As you see, in that method, the meat creates it's own broth, but not enough to fill the jar. The result is canned meat with no added water and about a half a jar of broth. The meat is still completely edible and shouldn't be thrown away simply because of that. As long as you followed a recommended recipe (pressure canning) you should be just fine. 
I agree, the broken jar probably had a small flaw that merely gave way under pressure.


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## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

Glass has 'memory', so everytime it gets bumped it gets weaker and will eventually do what yours did. (We've had milk glasses break for no apparent reason, I've told my guys that I'm gonna put the little boy plastic cups back in the cupboard...~lol~...)


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

For what it's worth, every jar that I have ever had break in my canner, broke by having a bottom blow out. It was a nice, smooth break without any shards or such. If the contents are still inside the jar, I have been able to salvage the contents and use them with no problem.

Just goes to show how tight I am.


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## wmsff (Jun 10, 2010)

Regarding the jar that broke, it was broken from the bottom. I thought I packed too tight but the other ones were OK.

About the beef; should that be packed tight?

Thanks again all


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## Gianni (Dec 9, 2009)

It should be tight but not compressed. IOW, some small gaps are Ok but not large one in th eproduct. My DW has a degree in food preservation and will not put up meat in larger than a pint bottle. Theory was too hard to get a complete temp to the core if things are too tight.


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

It depends on how you define "tight". Technically speaking, no. There needs to be enough looseness in the packing for each piece to be in contact with the liquid. Thus the guidelines say "pack loosely". When packed you should be able to shake the jar and see each piece able to move just a bit.

Jars that break out from the bottom are a result of thermal shock - too much of a temperature difference between the inside and the outside of the jar.

You can learn all about the causes of this problem as well as the liquid siphoning problem you are also having at NCHFP http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/

I note from your other post that you feel you are having to frequently adjust the heat to maintain pressure. That causes liquid to siphon out of the jars. It can be avoided and needs to be whenever possible. If you decide to buy the weight for your canner it will be much easier. But if you don't, just keep in mind that you only have to keep the pressure UP to the required level. If it goes higher that is fine and does not mean the heat needs to be reduced. There are several discussions here about how to learn to manage your stove and PC by doing practice runs with jars of colored water. It just takes a bit of practice.


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## wmsff (Jun 10, 2010)

Thanks all. The batch of pints worked well, however I did have a jar not seal and I think that was because I didn't screw the top on tight enough. I did pack them fairly tight, with no breakage and with sufficient broth.

I read somewhere that the pressure canned foods should be simmered for 5-10 minutes prior to eating just to be careful. I did this with the jar that didn't seal and it tasted great.

Thanks again everone


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## gimpy (Sep 18, 2007)

IMO you'll have a better tasting and better textured product if you can the meat with stock as opposed to water or as opposed to dry. Bottoms blowing out on the jars sound like the lids were screwed on too tight and the heat was risen too fast. Slow and gentle is the key. Oh yeah, NEVER use the pressure release during canning or the pressure differential can also make the jars explode. You have to just turn off the heat and wait 12-18 hours for the whole thing to come down to room temperature, not just cool enough to touch, but actual room temperature.


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

> You have to just turn off the heat and wait 12-18 hours for the whole thing to come down to room temperature, not just cool enough to touch, but actual room temperature.


Do you mean you leave your jars inside the closed pressure canner for 12-18 hours?

That is definitely not necessary nor is it recommended. Once the pressure has returned to zero and no steam is venting just remove the vent weight or pop the petcock. Wait 10 mins and then remove the lid. If the jar contents are still actively bubbling wait an additional 10 mins and then lift out the jars to the counter.

Leaving jars of food inside a sealed canner for several hours or overnight provides the perfect environment for heat loving bacteria to grow and since you don't know when the jars actually sealed, the contents of the jar can be recontaminated. We need to keep in mind that while the contents inside the jars has been processed, the water in the canner has only been boiled not pressure canned. 

NCHF: How to use a pressure canner. http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/uga/using_press_canners.html


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## gimpy (Sep 18, 2007)

judylou said:


> Do you mean you leave your jars inside the closed pressure canner for 12-18 hours?


Yes



judylou said:


> That is definitely not necessary nor is it recommended. Once the pressure has returned to zero and no steam is venting just remove the vent weight or pop the petcock. Wait 10 mins and then remove the lid. If the jar contents are still actively bubbling wait an additional 10 mins and then lift out the jars to the counter.


No because pV=nRT (I may have the caps wrong in that. It's been a long time since college physics)



judylou said:


> Leaving jars of food inside a sealed canner for several hours or overnight provides the perfect environment for heat loving bacteria to grow and since you don't know when the jars actually sealed, the contents of the jar can be recontaminated. We need to keep in mind that while the contents inside the jars has been processed, the water in the canner has only been boiled not pressure canned.


There are no extremophile bacteria living at room temperature and one atmosphere pressure to have infected the process



judylou said:


> NCHF: How to use a pressure canner. http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/uga/using_press_canners.html


Since I've been doing the slow way, I've never had a jar break and never had one not seal.


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

> Since I've been doing the slow way, I've never had a jar break and never had one not seal.


AFAIK and per NCHFP there is no statistical correlation between hours spent in the canner and jar breakage or seal failure. There is however, from the same source, statistical lab support for the contamination of foods left sitting in a canner for hours because there are heat tolerant bacteria that can grow inside the PC while it is cooling down. It does not reach room temperature for several hours.

This, not to mention, that very few of us would want to wait 12-18 hours between batch processing.

And the average home canner doesn't have to worry about computing the # of moles of PVT if they simply follow the standard useage guidelines for their pressure canner. None of them even come close to recommending 12-18 hours of cool down time prior to removing the jars from your canner.



> Standard size heavy-walled canners require about 30 minutes when loaded with pints and 45 minutes when loaded with quarts. Newer thin-walled canners cool more rapidly and are equipped with vent locks that are designed to open when the pressure is gone. These canners are depressurized when the piston in the vent lock drops to a normal position. # After the canner is completely depressurized, remove the weight from the vent port or open the petcock. Wait 10 minutes; then unfasten the lid and remove it carefully. Lift the lid with the underside away from you so that the steam coming out of the canner does not burn your face. Using a jar lifter, remove the jars one at a time, being careful not to tilt the jars. Let the jars sit undisturbed while they cool, from 12 to 24 hours.


While it is your choice to process as you please, let's not make the process for others any more complex than it needs to be.


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## Solarmom (Jun 17, 2010)

Im so glad I DON'T have to wait 12-18hours for every pc load!! I would NEVER can!!!
I just got into pressure canning recently and now, I don't think the thing ever leaves my stove top!


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## SueMc (Jan 10, 2010)

suitcase_sally said:


> Just goes to show how tight I am.


Glad I'm not the only one!

The only time I've had jars with meat break was when I put raw packed chicken in the canner when the water was too hot. Even though I started out with hot jars, they cool off too much to stick in the hot canner. Now I pack the meat and put it in the canner with warm water then slowly bring the heat up. When the jars seem warm/hot enough I crank up the heat and process as usual. I usually pack the jars of raw meat pretty tightly.


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## oldasrocks (Oct 27, 2006)

We canned beef one year and I cubed and browned it first. I packed the jars with the hot beef and pressure cooked accordingly. The flavor was so much better. Has anyone else tried that?


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

judylou said:


> AFAIK and per NCHFP there is no statistical correlation between hours spent in the canner and jar breakage or seal failure. There is however, from the same source, statistical lab support for the contamination of foods left sitting in a canner for hours because there are heat tolerant bacteria that can grow inside the PC while it is cooling down. It does not reach room temperature for several hours.
> 
> This, not to mention, that very few of us would want to wait 12-18 hours between batch processing.
> 
> ...


Wow...I don't know what you said, but I_ like _your answer! 
*LOL* :bouncy:


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

oldasrocks said:


> We canned beef one year and I cubed and browned it first. I packed the jars with the hot beef and pressure cooked accordingly. The flavor was so much better. Has anyone else tried that?


I didn't brown our venison first, but did partially cook it before canning it. I put the partially cooked, salted chunks into hot jars along with some onion, garlic cloves and a couple of bay leaves. I have used the canned venison for stews, soups and as cubed meat with gravey over mashed potatoes. I was sorry when we used the last jar.


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## Dixielee (Dec 5, 2003)

I'm coming to this thread late, but I wish I had two canners now. I found a great deal on boneless, skinless chicken breasts, hamburger meat and London broil. I have had the canner going for 2 days. I've had 4 canner loads per day, double stacked pints. I still have hamburger meat left and plan to do meat sauce (tomato, onions, bell pepper and spices) tomorrow. This will just about do me for a year's worth at least of canned meat. I felt like the prices were too good to pass up, and don't know what the future will bring, but we will have our protein source locked in!

I also follow the directions in the Univ Of Ga. "So Easy to Preserve" book and the Ball Blue book of canning and have never had problems. I also let the pressure come down naturally which takes about 30 min in my canner and remove the cars as soon as it is safe to remove the lid and the jars. I usually have another load to go back in at that point. 

I have canned with and without juice/water, and with and without bones in my chicken, so I guess it is just personal preference.

Years ago, I had the bottom of 2 jars blow out in one load and I really don't know what I did differently with that batch than any other, as I always process in the same manner. I did, however throw away the contents. It never occured to me to eat the meat with possible hidden glass, Yikes!


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