Every Step in Canning Part 14

Cup chopped watermelon pickles or green tomato pickles.

1 Teaspoon of cinnamon or nutmeg.

1 Teaspoon of salt.

Teaspoon cloves, mace or other spice.

Mix together all ingredients except the meat, add the meat broth and simmer for about 1 hour. Add the meat. Pour into jars, and sterilize.

Remove and seal.

STEPS IN CANNING MEAT AND GAME

For all meat, poultry or game canning the following general instructions should be kept in mind.

1. Sterilize the jars, caps and rubbers.

2. Grade the meat for size.

3. Cut up into convenient portions for cooking or canning.

4. Saute, fry or bake, broil or stew as desired. This step can be omitted if you are an experienced canner.

5. Pack in sterilized, hot jars or tin cans.

6. Add 1 level teaspoonful salt per quart of meat for seasoning if not already seasoned.

7. If gla.s.s jars put on rubber and seal, not too tight. Seal tin cans.

8. Process in boiling water or steam under pressure.

9. Remove, completely seal the jar.

10. Invert to cool and test the joint.

11. Label and store.

If you can in tin use the enamel or lacquered cans. A slight amount of water in the bottom of the jars of prepared meat will insure quicker sterilization of the air remaining in the jar. Where meat has been stewed the liquor can be poured into the jar for filling. If you use a steam-pressure cooker outfit of course the time of cooking will be much shorter than if you use a wash-boiler or some other homemade outfit. If you cook in boiling water we call that the water-bath method.

The following data will be of interest to those who contemplate canning meat.

Hog on foot--weight 500.

Liver, heart and a part of the ribs were eaten at the time of butchering, therefore, not canned. The remainder of the ribs canned six No. 3 cans:

Ham 18, No. 3 cans

Shoulder 18, No. 3 cans

Roast 18, No. 3 cans

Sausage 26, No. 3 cans

Hash 4, No. 3 cans

Gravy 5, No. 3 cans

(which is also called stock)

The sausage weighed 52 lbs. before it was canned, making 2 lbs. to the can.

There were 200 lbs. of fat for lard. After it was rendered there were 176 lbs. of lard and 20 lbs. of cracklings.

TIME-TABLE FOR CANNING MEAT, POULTRY AND GAME

[A] IF USING HOT WATER BATH OUTFIT AT 212F [B] IF USING WATER-SEAL OUTFIT AT 214F [C] IF USING STEAM PRESSURE 5 POUNDS [D] IF USING PRESSURE COOKER 15 POUNDS

TIME TO STERILIZE PRODUCTS [A] [B] [C] [D]

---------------------------------------------------------------------- PARTIALLY COOKED MEAT OF ALL KINDS

Roast beef Corned beef Sweetbreads Tongue Brains Headcheese Spareribs 1 hrs. 1 hr. 40 min. 30 min.

Kidneys Sausages and other meats Rabbits Pigeon Chicken

UNCOOKED OR RAW MEAT

Beef Pork 3 hrs. 3 hrs. 2 hrs. 1 hr.

Veal and all other meats Poultry and game

All meat stocks with or without 1 hrs. 75 min. 1 hr. 40 min.

vegetables and cereals

NOTE.--This time-table is for No. 2 and No. 3 tin cans or pint and quart gla.s.s jars. If larger cans or jars are used more time must be allowed for the sterilizing. If canning in tin, scratch on the can at the time of sealing the initial of the contents. For instance--S.R.

means spareribs; G. means goulash; R.B. means roast beef. You can make out your list and mark accordingly.

CHAPTER VIII

FISH

People in some sections of the country are interested in canning mountain trout and others live where there is an abundant supply of either fresh-water fish or salt-water fish. Heretofore we have been wasteful and lax about the fish supply. But as we have learned to can vegetables and meats so we are going to learn to can fish. Fish is really canned the same in every step after preparation as peas and corn are canned.

In order to have a good product, fish must be fresh when canned. No time should be lost in handling the fish after being caught.

Putrefaction starts rapidly, and the fish must be handled promptly.