# Canning ham/pork



## Honduras Trish (Nov 30, 2007)

I still have some of the pork from our recent butchering in the freezer. I'm planning to turn a good bit of this meat into ham next week, and I was wondering if it would work to can that meat (after it has been cured) or whether it would be better to just bake it and then refreeze it. I think I read a thread around here where someone said that they tried to can ham and it turned an unappealing gray color. If the taste and safety are good, then I don't care so much about the color, but I would like to know what to expect.

Thanks!


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

I would can the pork as fresh as opposed to cured pork.

"Ham" is the hind leg of a pig. Curing pork does not turn it into ham.

The gray color ususally comes from the meat not being covered with broth in the cannning process. Any meat (or veggie, for that matter) will turn dark if not covered with broth. It is safe to consume.


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## Karenrbw (Aug 17, 2004)

When I bake a large ham, I can the leftovers cubed up with broth. I cook the ham and bone with water, onion, and celery. I can use the ham and broth as a soup base or drain the liquid and use the ham in a casserole, etc. Makes for a great quick dinner.


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## Honduras Trish (Nov 30, 2007)

suitcase_sally said:


> I would can the pork as fresh as opposed to cured pork.
> 
> "Ham" is the hind leg of a pig. Curing pork does not turn it into ham.
> 
> The gray color ususally comes from the meat not being covered with broth in the cannning process. Any meat (or veggie, for that matter) will turn dark if not covered with broth. It is safe to consume.


Well, we want to use the meat cured, rather than as uncured pork, just because we can't get cured ham here (except at great expense). We can purchase uncured pork. 

Thanks for the info on the gray color.


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## Honduras Trish (Nov 30, 2007)

Karenrbw said:


> When I bake a large ham, I can the leftovers cubed up with broth. I cook the ham and bone with water, onion, and celery. I can use the ham and broth as a soup base or drain the liquid and use the ham in a casserole, etc. Makes for a great quick dinner.


Thanks Karen. That's exactly what I'm looking to do with my ham.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

Karenrbw said:


> When I bake a large ham, I can the leftovers cubed up with broth. I cook the ham and bone with water, onion, and celery. I can use the ham and broth as a soup base or drain the liquid and use the ham in a casserole, etc. Makes for a great quick dinner.


I do the same thing. Color doesn't matter as long as taste is good.


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

Here's the column by Jackie Clay on canning ham.

Ask Jackie Â» Blog Archive Â» Q and A: Where to get chickens and canning ham

Hope it helps with your question.


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## Honduras Trish (Nov 30, 2007)

Stef said:


> Here's the column by Jackie Clay on canning ham.
> 
> Ask Jackie Â» Blog Archive Â» Q and A: Where to get chickens and canning ham
> 
> Hope it helps with your question.


Ahhh, that does help - thanks!


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

I'd like to bump up this question as our grocery store is featuring pork at some very appealing prices this week and I have a question. (or three...** )

Anyone ever can bbq pork, either raw pack or cooked? If you have, I'd love to hear about your experience: what recipe and/or method you used and what seasonings you added and if you were satisfied with the end result. Would you recommend it or not. Would you just leave the pork plain and season and bake it when you actually use it?


Thanks so much. Looking forward to answers from all you great home canners! stef


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

I can cured and smoked hams, and haven't had any problems with it turning gray unless there wasn't enough broth in the jar. It's one of the few meats that I don't raw pack without broth. If you're canning (naturally) smoked ham, sometimes it comes out not very smokey... so if you know you're going to can it before you smoke it, cut it into smaller chunks beforehand so the flavor gets into it more.

I can pork sausage which is great, but I don't find that plain old pork is very good canned. It's fine to add in soups and such, but it's not the best eaten by itself IMHO. Pork is one of the hardest meats to season after it's already cooked, so I find it really has to be seasoned before you can it if you really want something that tastes right.

I have canned "BBQ pulled pork" and it does work out extremely well. So if I have a bunch of plain pork I usually opt to cube it up and can it with whatever BBQ sauce I have ready. This also works for pork ribs or beef short ribs... bones and all as long as they fit in the jar. I don't worry much about the actual BBQ sauce recipe since I'm pressure canning so acidity doesn't really matter much... the only thing to really watch out with is sage and rosemary because those can really intensify and turn bitter in the canner. But I've done BBQ pork with Kansas City style, Texas style, Louisiana style and Carolina style and Chinese style sauce and it they all came out great. The canner really saves you HOURS of waiting for conventional pulled BBQ to slowly braise down and fall apart and the flavors totally get infused into the meat.


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