# Dry & Tough Canned Beef- WHY????



## shellybo (Nov 9, 2013)

Hi,

I am a new canner and really like it. In fact it seems to be addicting since I'm always thinking of what to canned next!  I PC several pints of chicken and they came out great ( used 10 psi due to my altitude x 75 mins) and then canned some beef. I can't remember what cut it was but got it from Sams Club and they were out of stew beef. I think it was chuck roast(?) but it did not have much marbled fat - but it did have a thick one inch layer of fat on the underside which I was surprised to see. Anyway, I opened a pint tonight and made some beef stew and was very surprised to find the beef dry and tough.

Here's how I canned the beef .I used the raw pack method and cut the beef in 1 inch cubes. Maybe I vented my canner too long since I waited for a THICK stream of steam ( this took about 15 mins) before applying the 10 lb wt. When I canned my chicken I had the temp on med-high to bring it up to pressure, yet for the beef I turned it up to high and could hear the jars rattling and kept it on high after applying the weight until it came up to pressure then decreased the heat to keep it at a steady rocking ( I have a Presto 16 QT vintage canner). I also cooked it about 80 mins :ashamed: just to be safe). I let the canner cool and waited for the gauge to come to zero and this took about 30-40 mins. When I took the pints out of the canner none had liquid completely covering the beef it was only 1/2-3/4 the way up. 
Thanks for reading this and for any help or suggestions.

What did I do wrong??

Shelly


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Not real sure but could have been the starting out on high and turning it down. Did you decrease it really fast or gradually turn the heat down?


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## shellybo (Nov 9, 2013)

Danaus29 said:


> Not real sure but could have been the starting out on high and turning it down. Did you decrease it really fast or gradually turn the heat down?


Hi Danaus29,

Maybe that was it since once the weight started rocking I turned the heat from super high ( gas stove) to low. I'm planning on canning some more tomorrow we'll see how it goes. 

Thanks!

Shelly


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

That would do it. There wasn't enough water in the jars to process the meat.

Either start on medium and turn down very slowly or start on low and adjust if necessary.

Although when my grandma was in a hurry she would start on high to get the contents of the canner heated then turn the heat down before putting the weight on.


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

Shelly, when you raw pack meat the liquid won't totally cover the meat and that's fine. I had one batch of stew come out with tough meat and it was made from a chuck roast, I just figured it was that particular roast.


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## shellybo (Nov 9, 2013)

Danaus29 said:


> That would do it. There wasn't enough water in the jars to process the meat.
> 
> Either start on medium and turn down very slowly or start on low and adjust if necessary.
> 
> Although when my grandma was in a hurry she would start on high to get the contents of the canner heated then turn the heat down before putting the weight on.


Hi Danaus29,

I think I will not have the heat alway the way up next time since I could hear the jars rattling! 

Thanks!

Michelle


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## shellybo (Nov 9, 2013)

Vosey said:


> Shelly, when you raw pack meat the liquid won't totally cover the meat and that's fine. I had one batch of stew come out with tough meat and it was made from a chuck roast, I just figured it was that particular roast.



Hi Vosey, glad I only canned 5 pints of it since its like eating rawhide . Yes I think it was chuck roast! I had a bit more left and made some pints of beef soup last night. I cut the pieces really small so it won't be so noticeable. Yet,I know it will be tough since it was tough when I was browning the meat. Gave some to my dog and he loved it! 


Thanks!

Shelly


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## netskyblue (Jul 25, 2012)

Yeah, don't heat up too fast or cool down too quickly, you'll lose liquid. I don't raw pack usually, I brown the meat, load into heated jars, and put hot broth over the meat. I've got the water in my canner already heating, and add the jars. Takes less time to reach hot that way, as opposed to starting out with cold meat in cold water.


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

I just raw packed a large pork loin in chunks. For some reason I automatically started to cover the pork with boiling water (I'd been canning a lot of veggies recently!). I realized, whoops, I'm raw packing, but just redistributed the water between the jars as I had also put some garlic powder and chili powder in and didn't want to lose all that goodness. It came out incredibly well, and I think that inch of water played a role.

I always start with hot jars in the canner with the water boiling or close to it so it takes very little time to bring it up to venting. I put a little water in the jars to keep them upright, a trick I read on here somewhere!


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## shellybo (Nov 9, 2013)

netskyblue said:


> Yeah, don't heat up too fast or cool down too quickly, you'll lose liquid. I don't raw pack usually, I brown the meat, load into heated jars, and put hot broth over the meat. I've got the water in my canner already heating, and add the jars. Takes less time to reach hot that way, as opposed to starting out with cold meat in cold water.


Hi netskyblue, Thanks for these helpful tips! have to give hot packing a try - I'll try anything not to have tuff meat.


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## shellybo (Nov 9, 2013)

Vosey said:


> I just raw packed a large pork loin in chunks. For some reason I automatically started to cover the pork with boiling water (I'd been canning a lot of veggies recently!). I realized, whoops, I'm raw packing, but just redistributed the water between the jars as I had also put some garlic powder and chili powder in and didn't want to lose all that goodness. It came out incredibly well, and I think that inch of water played a role.
> 
> I always start with hot jars in the canner with the water boiling or close to it so it takes very little time to bring it up to venting. I put a little water in the jars to keep them upright, a trick I read on here somewhere!


Thanks Vosey, I like your trick about putting a little water in the jars since did not know I could do that with raw packing. I've had a few jars bobbing around ;-) since they weren't heavy enough


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

Shellybo - I have no idea if it's OK to put a little water in the jars with a raw pack. I can't imagine why not but maybe someone will enlighten us. 

When I heat the jars up with water to stabilize them I usually dump it in the canner or the sink, if I used it to can with I'd be afraid it would splash up out of the jar as I put stuff in. At least with pints.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

My grandma always added a little water to her meat when canning. I didn't even check the BBB to see if you should or not.

According to the Ball Blue Book raw pack pork and chicken should have liquid added. It doesn't give directions for raw pack of roast or beef. My MirroMatic instructions do not give any specifics for raw pack meat. Just the same general ones as fruits and veggies which include water or broth.


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

My Ball book (late 1990's) said not to add any liquid to a raw pack, so confusing! But I really can't see why a little hot water (1 inch is about what I had in each quart jar) should affect the heating and temp of the meat. The pork loin I did was amazingly tender, especially as pork loin has so little fat.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Mine is dated 2005.

Surprisingly they don't have meat canning instructions on the 'net.


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## shellybo (Nov 9, 2013)

Vosey said:


> Shellybo - I have no idea if it's OK to put a little water in the jars with a raw pack. I can't imagine why not but maybe someone will enlighten us.
> 
> When I heat the jars up with water to stabilize them I usually dump it in the canner or the sink, if I used it to can with I'd be afraid it would splash up out of the jar as I put stuff in. At least with pints.


Vosey, I plan to add a little water on my next try;-)


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## kasilofhome (Feb 10, 2005)

When doing meat I put in a few tablespoons of ionions diced to flavor and it is easier to clean the jars and a few tables of broth and then the cubes of meat. When bacon was cheaper I would add a cross of bacon for dry cut of meat.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

I always add water when raw packing


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