Canned venison stew

[Bureaucrat]

Looking for new ideas to eat venison, and to create space in the freezer, I tried canning some venison stew. Never did it before, turned out great.

*Beef soup base

*Venison

*Onions

*Baby Carrots

*Potatoes

*Salt

-Thaw out your venison and soak in salt water for a couple hours. I drained and rinsed every 30 minutes to get rid of blood.

-Chop your venison into bite sized pieces.

-Chop potatoes into half inch squares.

-Chop up some baby carrots into bite sizes.

-Whip up beef soup base (salt to taste) to be half the total volume you'll can.

-Brown your venison.

-After you've sanitized your jars, fill each one halfway with soup base.

-Add another 1/4 of it venison, the other quarter onion, potato, and carrot.

-Stir a little bit to distribute.

-Heat up your lids in boiling water and seal them up.

-Process in the oven at 260 for 75 minutes (pints) or 90 minutes (quarts).

Let sit for a week. Enjoy.

[delcecchi]

I don't think canning in the oven is recommended process to prevent botulism. At least boil for a few minutes(authorities would say 20 for stew) before eating to deactivate toxins.

[Bureaucrat]

I'll admit it's a new idea. Can't tell you how many grandmas I've talked to that never heard of or considered using an oven to can.

I'm not scientist, and I'm still skeptical myself, so please don't simply take my word for it. Do your homework, and if you're unsure, don't risk it.

I watch my jars very closely in the closet and do a thorough smell test before I dive into it.

However, here's my crack at the science:

Boiling can only get you to around 212 degrees depending on your elevation. Meat is recommended to be pressure canned because you can get your heat in a pressure cooker up to 240-255 degrees depending on pounds of pressure.

So I'm trying to mimic the chemistry using the oven instead of the pressure canner due to the fact I can do 20 quarts at a time in my oven as opposed to 7 in my pressure canner.

If I understand the biology of it all, the whole idea behind pressure canning is to simply get the temp high enough to eliminate risk of spoiling and brewing a new strain of botulism.

Like I said, i'm not a scientist, but i'm tinkering. Please don't try this if you're unsure.

[LABS4ME]

Botulism kills. Really worth the risk?

Can't smell it either when you open a jar and it will not cause the seal to break....

When doing meat, I will stick to the methods approved to can meat. Thanks for your disclaimers... I agree you are doing so at your own risk.

Good luck!

Ken

[Walleyehooker]

You should e mail the University of MN and ask them about your canning in the oven and see what they say. They do testing there and they probably have tested a oven method before. I have heard of others doing it that way before but I wouldnt do it myself.

[delcecchi]

Every reputable institution recommends against oven canning (I searched a few before commenting). The problem is that oven temps fluctuate as the thermostat cycles, and the dry heat is very inefficient at getting the inside of the jar hot enough. Also the oven temp might be off. Boiling water at 15psi is a very precise temperature and conveys a lot of heat.

Safe Home Canning of Fruits, Vegetables and Meats

Canning Basics

If you want to take a chance on Botoxing your insides, I guess that is your decision.

[BLACKJACK]

Pressure canners are not that expensive, you can get a big one for canning for less than $100 - whats your life worth??!

[LABS4ME]

I read up on 'oven canning' the other night. Though no agency endorses it for things like meat, it is used in some veg. applications. One thing they do recommend if you go the oven route is to put the jars in a pan with 1" - 2" of wate rin it. They find the transfer of temps is done better by having the jars set in water and the risk of the jars exploding by dry canning minimized.

I guess I would buy a pressure cooker. You can use it to pressure cook food as well as use it to can. Cheap investment and will leas tyou a life time. My son and I will be out to get one last doe next week and I will can many jars of venison. It is a great way to put up a years worth of meat with out using up freezer space.

A good reading up of botulism will probably change many people's thinking on food safety. My buddy has eaten canned venison from a porcelien canner for years. He has re-thought that now... it is waaay too easy to say "I never had a problem before", but the one time you do, may be your last and only time you have a problem....

Good Luck!

Ken