# Canning store-bought meatballs in spaghetti sauce?



## starlady (Sep 9, 2009)

There's a brand of frozen meatballs sold at Sam's Club that I like - not quite as much as I like my homemade ones, but they're pretty good for the price. I was wondering whether I could heat them up and can them in spaghetti sauce for easy meals. I'm interested in doing this both for disaster preparedness and for camping - it'd be nice to not have to use a cooler if I want spaghetti and meatballs for dinner on an overnight trip.

I know one can can meatballs in broth; would tomato sauce be too thick? What if I cut the meatballs in half (they're about 1oz and about 1" diameter each)? Could I do half-pints, or would pints be the smallest I could can? (A half-pint would be just enough for one dinner for me, and no refrigeration/cooler-ing of leftovers necessary.) 

I'm thinking of using the store-bought ones for a couple of reasons: my homemade meatballs are turkey-based and thus I think they probably wouldn't hold up to pressure canning, and the store-bought ones are uniform in size and composition, which I can't guarantee with homemade. 

Somewhat related: is it OK to pressure can in half-pints? If all else fails re the meatballs, I'll just do up some meatsauce - but again, I'd really like to do half-pints so that I don't have leftovers. If it's OK to pressure can in half-pints, do I just use the times listed for pints?

Any thoughts from the collective wisdom of this forum will be much appreciated!


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## Lucy (May 15, 2006)

You cannot safely can the store ones usually since they may have fillers, like bread crumbs, or other starch items. Then, sometimes I have seen them with cheese, too. 
You need just plain meat, not other added things to can. 
I don't see why your turkey ones won't work if you mix with ground beef. Just cook first, then can them. If you want them uniform, then use some sort of measuring spoon to make them all the same. They do make a "meatballer", too, like a melon baller. 
Yes, you use half pints if you want and process for pint processing times.


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## Just Cliff (Nov 27, 2008)

I can meatballs once a year. We use my wifes recipe which does contain bread crumbs, they always come out great. We brown them first and get as much grease out as possible. They are canned in a tomato based sauce. I have done quarts and pints no half pints. They range in size from an inch to and inch and a quarter or so. 
we do heat the sauce and meatballs together till HOT in a sauce pan then jar them up when quite hot, then process them. Never had a problem with food quality even two years later. Did have a lid/ring malfunction the year before last. It's amazing how fast a quart jar of meatballs will exit onto the ceiling, in the cabinets and all over everything in the kitchen!


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## starlady (Sep 9, 2009)

Hmmm - my homemade meatballs have breadcrumbs in them as a filler too. Maybe I'll just do meatsauce in the half-pints. Thanks for the help!


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## Lucy (May 15, 2006)

It is up to you if you want to risk it, but anything with starches in them are not considered safe. It changes not only the density, but also the ph level of the meat. 
You would be more safe with meatsauce, with a safety tested recipe, of course. Again, you may be willing to take risks with your own sauce recipe, too. Just trying to insure your safety.


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