Thursday, March 10, 2011

More Cannin', Beef Stew...............

Yesterday I decided to can some beef stew.  I'm trying to can up a bunch of quick meal type stuff so that this spring and summer when I'm too busy to cook, we'll still be eatin' good. 

Now there are folks out there who will tell you you can't can certain stuff.  I'm all about safety but I feel that as long as you research canning times for each item in your concoction and you process your jars for the length of time required of the longest item (good grief, does that make any sense?), you'll be ok.  That said, get a good canning book and follow those rules!!

About 2 1/2 lbs of cut up beef, 2 cups diced onion, 1 quart cut up carrots, 2 qts diced 'taters......


Season the beef, then brown in a bit of lard in a stock pot.......


Dump your 'taters, carrots and onions in there and stir.....


Then add in a quart or so of tomato juice.  I used a quart of V-8 that I'd canned a couple years ago, and if it isn't soupy enough add in some water.  Also season well with your favorite seasonings.  I used celery seed, salt, and black pepper.  Then heat to just to boiling.........


As soon as your stew is boiling, you can it up!  Process in a pressure canner for 75 minutes at 11 lbs pressure and you have this.......


Can't wait to try it!

When you can soups or stews they can't be very thick or they might not get heated all the way through and might not be safe to eat.  When I heat this stew if I want it thickened I'll just thicken it up with some cornstarch or flour.



God Bless................





7 comments:

  1. I love looking at food in jars! Very pretty. I used to can a lot, when my 5 kids were home, but now a days it is mostly jellies and pickled peppers. You inspire me to do more. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ...you are such a kitchen queen...I am even totally afraid when I accidently leave groceries in the truck over night that freeze, then google what to do with them, and they like tell you that you will die if you eat it after it thaws because of botchulism...So i am basically eyeballing every can in the store because you dont know if those puppies froze on the truck on the way to the store or not - so maybe i will make my own botchulism in a can someday...or not.

    But I would eat your stew for sure !

    ReplyDelete
  3. great idea!! i've only canned once. fig preserves last year. looking forward to learning and doing more this year!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm a canning virgin. Never tried it. But I would love to try some of your stew!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think I can officially say I've never had beef stew.... I must live under a rock!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your gonna be eatin good this summer when your too tired to cook! Looks great :)

    ps love the new look of your blog & the pictures!

    ReplyDelete

If you'd like to comment, I love to hear from folks and I will do my absolute very best to comment back or answer any questions!