Dave and I are avid hunters and typically freeze many cuts of meat each year.  Because of how much meat we store, we have a stand up freezer in addition to our regular fridge/freezer.  Freezing so much of our stockpile is slightly risky because if something were to happen to the freezer or power for too long, we'd lose it all.  My brother is also an avid hunter and introduced us to canning meat to have another storage option.

The downfall to canning meat is it does not have as much versatility when it comes to cooking but it is still very delicious.  Canned meat does not really hold the cube shape so it can't be skewered or stir-fried in the way frozen cubed meat can.  The meat is fully cooked in the can and ends up being very tender and more like a shredded meat.  Regardless, we still find plenty of good uses for canned meat - pasta, chili, casseroles, stews, sauteed with some onions, etc.

Here's how we do it:

First, cut the meat into about 1 inch cubes.

Then, sterilize the lids and jars in boiling water.


After everything is prepped, stuff the jars with the cubed meat.  You should really pack the meat tightly to minimize how much empty space there is. 

Hubs packing jars, he's so dreamy ;-)

This is how the jars should look once packed.   We found that approximately 2 lbs of cubed venison will fit in a quart jar.

Once the jars are packed, put a lid on each one and into the pressure canner!  Following the directions on the pressure canner, vent steam and then bring the pressure up to 10-15 lbs and keep it there for 90 minutes.



 




After the 90 minutes, allow the canner to cool off and the pressure to release.  Remove the jars (carefully, don't tip them!), and allow them to cool on the counter.  Listen and then check for each jar's seal to pop.  If a seal does not pop, store the meat in the refrigerator and use within a week.  Otherwise, store in a pantry!

Finished product

Happy canning!
Missy

I'm blessed with a husband who can cook, and chili is one of his specialties that he has taught me! We love to make this chili, especially during the fall and winter.

So, I don't really ever call this "Choose Your Own Adventure Chili", but as I was making it the other day I realized that you really can make this recipe in so many ways, it may as well be choose your own adventure!  I'm sharing the recipe as I made it recently and along the way I'll let you know where you can change it up (which is pretty much everywhere)!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground venison (or less. or more. or shredded. or cubed. or beef. or chicken. or turkey. or none. you get the point.
• 1 onion (or none. or 2. whatever)
• any combination of any peppers you like, this time I used:
• 1 green bell pepper
• 2 anaheim peppers 
• 1 jalapeno pepper

1 can (14-15 oz.) of each:

• diced tomatoes
• sliced stewed tomatoes
• red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
• black eyed peas (drained and rinsed)
• black beans (drained and rinsed)
• chili beans
• small can tomato paste (and I usually only use half of it)

The number of cans of tomatoes and beans is totally up to you.  Sometimes I use baked beans, butter beans, pinto beans, whatevvvvvvv.  I just use what we have on hand or what's on sale.  I typically stick with 2-3 cans of tomatoes (diced or stewed), and 4-6 cans of beans.

Spices - you can alter the amounts of all of these, but I really think the combination of them is what gives that good chili flavor.  So, even if you don't like it spicy, a dash of cayenne isn't going to hurt anyone.  I gave a mild suggestion for measurements.

• Salt (1 tsp)
• Pepper (1/2 tsp)
• Cayenne (1/2 tsp)
• Cumin (2 tsp)
• Oregano (1 tsp)
• Chili powder (1 tbsp)
• Garlic powder (1 tsp)

Chop the onion and peppers, toss into a skillet with some olive oil, salt and pepper.
(or don't. I'd suggest chopping them, but you don't have to cook them first if you don't want.)

Brown the meat, Open (and drain/rinse if necessary) all cans of tomatoes and beans (except the paste!), dump them all into a crock pot.

Add the onion, peppers, and meat to the crock pot.  Add the spices.  Stir.
Crock pot for 4-12 hours.  I try to do 6 hours on high.  If it's going to cook longer than 8 hours I put it on low.

I add half of the tomato paste about 4 hours in (or whenever is convenient), give it a good stir and taste.  Then I add more spices if I want.


And for some reason I don't have a picture of the final product...so I'll add that later!


Happy cooking!
Missy