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Monday, December 12, 2011

Canning Venison

Pin It Pin It It's that time of year again! After, the long awaited deer season it's time to process this years harvast. Normally, I would process the venison as it's taken but this year is a little different. Beings that I was ill I decided that I would wait. So we froze everything that we wanted to can this season and now i'm ready to process it. 
Roughly cut off the bone in huge chunks. 
If you have ever eaten canned venison, you know its so good and so tender. It's amazing served over mashed taters, noodles or even rice. Canned venison is perfect for those nights that you are late getting in and need to put something together. 


Canning venison is extremely easy, that is , if you are familiar with pressure-canning. If you are not familiar with it, I sugguest buying the Ball Blue Book for the current year. This is the book on home canning, and everything in it can be trusted.


The first step in the process is to wash and heat your jars and lids properly, and prepare the canner. Cut out any excess fat from the meat. Then cut the meat into 1 inch cubes.


Add some beef bouillion to the bottom of the jars, about 1/2 cube to pints and 1/2 to 1 whole cube to quarts. Also add 1 teaspoon of canning salt to each jar. Place some onion slivers in each jar as you are filling the jars. Fill the jar within 1 inch of the rim (this is known as head space.) I alternate meat and onion so that it has layers the flavors. Pack each jar tightly.


Raw venison packed tightly in quart jars.
Do NOT add any liquid to the jars. It will make its own juices when it is processed. Take a second to wipe the rim of the jars off with a clean damp cloth and affix lids and rings. Process pints for 75 minutes and quarts for 90 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure. Please check your ball blue book for elevation differences.


Canned venison with its own natural juices.
And here is the final product. 

 * NOTE: Pictured above was 2 gallon freezer bags and part of a quart freezer bag. This meat yeilded 5 large mouth quarts and 1 pint. 

~Farmgirl

9 comments:

  1. CrysDecember 14, 2011 at 8:54 AM

    This looks great! I'll probably try some of it this year. Did you let the meat thaw thoroughly in the fridge? Mine will be frozen when we pick it up.

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  2. Country MommaDecember 14, 2011 at 10:43 AM

    Thaw it completely. Chunk it up and pack tightly in the jars. I find using a wooden spoon handle or a long cake icing spatula works the best to get as much as the air bubbles out.

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  3. AnonymousNovember 26, 2012 at 4:36 PM

    I just canned up a bit of Bambi last week,you can also make stew in a jar by adding raw potatoes and carrots, if you want to you can lightly brow the meat first, cooking time is the same. We also can "chunks" of pot roast for quick easy dinners. good article, thank you

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    Replies
    1. Country MommaNovember 26, 2012 at 5:30 PM

      Thanks for the tips. I was thinking about making some venison hash also. What ever I decide I'll be sure to blog about. I'm actually taking a short break from cutting up a few deer myself.

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  4. AnonymousJanuary 7, 2013 at 2:02 PM

    I have some venison from last year in my freezer. I would like to try and can some of it. Will it be safe to try. How long will venision last when you can it.

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    Replies
    1. Country MommaJanuary 7, 2013 at 2:30 PM

      Awesome! You can thaw your meat in the fridge as I did in this post. It will have the same shelf life as fresh meats.

      Happy Canning

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    2. AnonymousJanuary 7, 2013 at 2:59 PM

      I like to thaw my venision out in milk to get the wild flavor out of it or should I do this when I open the jar to cook it?

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    3. Country MommaJanuary 7, 2013 at 4:16 PM

      No, the reason why is you can't can milk products safely. If you put a beef boullion in the jar it will not have the gamey flavor in my opinion. I love my canned venison better than fresh.

      Delete
  5. UnknownFebruary 20, 2013 at 6:48 AM

    My husband and son are avid (and successful!) hunters and fishermen. My three freezers are full of venison, pheasant, and fish of all kinds. I am always looking for new things to do with the bounty they bring home. I can't wait to try this method of canning venison. Thanks for sharing!

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