Preserving meat at home is quite dangerous, because if a technology is violated, toxic substances are produced in the finished product, which are not only harmful to health, but deadly. Nevertheless, homemade canned food has been and remains a fairly popular way of processing meat products. The meat of old animals, blood, internal organs, and also the meat of bulls and boars are not subject to preservation due to their specific unpleasant odor.
Canned food is made from thawed or chilled meat. In addition, the meat of recently slaughtered animals is allowed to ripen for 3 days at a temperature of 0-4 ° C, so that it becomes juicy, soft and aromatic.
Preserve meat in half-liter or liter jars. It is not recommended to use larger cans for home canned food, since opened canned food cannot be stored and should be eaten as soon as possible. Preservation must be carried out in compliance with sanitary standards: in a clean room with sterile tools.
Before laying the meat, the cans are washed with hot water and soda, rinsed thoroughly with clean water, put on a clean tray so that water is left from the glass cans, and then sterilized. Pour clean water into a pot or other container and bring it to a boil. A metal sieve or wire rack or other stopper is placed on top of the pan, which will not allow the bank to fall into the pan. A jar is placed upside down on this stop, or, if the size of the container allows, several cans and they are kept above the steam for 15 minutes.
The lids with which you will roll cans, as well as forks, knives, spoons and other canning tools, are previously boiled and dried.
The canned meat is cut into pieces of 20-25 g, fried in fat with the addition of salt and spices, then rammed into jars and pour melted animal fat so that it completely covers the meat.
Then the cans are rolled and boiled. Why do you need a 6 L pressure cooker pan. At a pressure of about 2 atm. the pressure cooker is heated to 120 ° C, which is comparable to the temperature set in an autoclave in the industrial production of canned food. At its bottom lay a metal grill or stand made of durable wire.
In a 6 L pressure cooker, 4 cans of 0.5 or 0.7 L can fit simultaneously, which are installed on the wire rack, pour the pressure cooker with water to the maximum level, and then boil for 3 hours for sterilization. After that, the pressure cooker with jars is removed from the fire and, without opening the lid, allowed to cool naturally. To do this, it must be cooled for at least 1 hour. It is not recommended to speed up the process artificially, for example, by installing a pressure cooker in a container with cold water or by directing a fan on it. In this case, the lid should be opened very carefully, as otherwise the banks may explode.
Of all the methods for preparing homemade canned food, the pressure cooker method is the safest. However, there are other canning methods. However, we repeat that only strict adherence to technology will avoid undesirable consequences.
All tools, dishes, jars, lids are boiled and sterilized in the same way as when canned in a pressure cooker. The recipes for cooking meat and the procedure for rolling cans differ.
Cut the meat into slices of 20-25 g, fry in fat, tamp in a jar, fill with meat broth or melted fat, pour in spices and tightly close the lids for canning.
There is an easy way to check for leaks in a can. To do this, immerse it in water at a temperature of 80-90 ° C for 1-2 minutes. If air bubbles flow from under the lid, it means that the tightness of the can is broken, and such canned food is rejected. Banks that have been tested for leaks are sterilized. For this, first boil them in a 10-15% solution of sodium chloride for 2-3 hours, then leave them for 24–36 hours at room temperature and finally boil for 2-3 hours again. Store the canned food in a cold place for storage .
The shelf life of home canned food does not exceed 1 year, and banks should be checked regularly. A swollen lid or broth flowing out of a can indicates that the canned food has deteriorated. four
Cut meat into slices of 25-50 g and fry in fat until all moisture has evaporated. This will happen when air bubbles cease to stand out from meat and fat. It’s better to overcook the meat a little, otherwise the canned food will quickly go bad due to moisture.
Take an enameled pan with a volume of 3-5 liters, calcine it with boiling fat and transfer the meat into it. Pour it with boiling animal fat, wrap the pan with tracing paper or parchment paper and close the lid.
The shelf life of such canned food is only 1-3 months, and they need to be stored in the cellar or refrigerator. Periodically check the condition of canned food, paying special attention to the lower layers of meat.
In this case, you will need 800-850 g of meat and 200-250 g of fat per liter jar. Cut the meat, which can be even with a small amount of fat, into 3-4 cm pieces and sprinkle with salt (30 kg of salt is added to 1 kg of meat). Stir the meat thoroughly and leave for half an hour so that the salt is properly absorbed.
Melt the pork or mutton fat in a saucepan, bake it over high heat and put the meat there. Fry it until the juice ceases to stand out and is covered with a golden crust.
Tamp the meat in clean jars and immediately pour hot oil so that it covers it completely - there should not be voids or air bubbles in the jar, otherwise the canned goods will explode.
Then roll up the jars, cover with a thick cloth (plaid, blanket, quilted jacket, jacket) and leave for 16-20 hours, then let them cool at room temperature.
Canned food prepared according to this recipe can be stored for 1.5-2 months at room temperature. In the refrigerator at a temperature of 10 ° C, the shelf life of canned food increases to 5-6 months.
What can be the harm of stews or what is the danger of homemade canned meat
You can preserve the meat of any animals, but a prerequisite for it to be exceptionally fresh. Even if you strictly follow the technology of preparation and storage of stew, stale bacteria that are harmful to the human body can develop due to stale raw materials.
Also, it should be borne in mind that with home canning in jars with a blank, a favorable environment for the development of anaerobic bacteria can form due to lack of oxygen. The most dangerous of which, for the human body is the causative agent of botulism - botulinum toxin. When this toxin enters the human gastrointestinal tract, quite serious consequences can occur, from severe poisoning to death.
How to put meat in prepared jars
After the container for the preparation of the stew is prepared, we can proceed to the packaging of meat. Depending on the recipe, homemade canned food is made either from raw meat or from a semi-finished product that has already undergone heat treatment. Stewed, baked, fried meat must be packaged in jars hot.
We need to fill the cans with meat and gravy “on the shoulders”, that is, two centimeters below the neck of the can. Make sure that the contents in no case fall out or stick out of the jar. Keep in mind that during the sterilization process, the tendons and cartilage in the meat increase in volume and can overturn the lids in excessively filled cans. Thus, the contents will leak out of the cans and our workpiece will be damaged.
How to tightly seal containers with canned meat
In order to preserve homemade meat stew for a long time, it is important not only to correctly fill the container and sterilize it. The quality of the meat stew also depends on how carefully we rolled the can. After all, if the lid does not fit tightly enough on the neck of the jar, then during sterilization air or water can get in and the canned food will be unusable.
It is very simple to check whether banks are sealed securely. To do this, you need to place them in a container of hot water, and then bring the water to a boil. If the jar is not properly corked in boiling water, you can see air bubbles coming out of the jar.
Glass lids equipped with auxiliary metal clamps are considered the most suitable for corking cans with home stew. During the sterilization process, air leaves the cans and thus a vacuum is formed between the lid and the contents of the container.
In the process of cooling the cans, the volume of their contents decreases, as a result of which the external pressure on the lid increases, and it more closely adheres to the neck of the can.
How to sterilize jars with stew
We need to place hermetically sealed cans with home canned food in a container of a suitable size. Then we fill them with water and sterilize them at a temperature of at least 100 ° C.
The most suitable temperature for sterilization of meat preparations is t from 115 to 120 ° C. It is at this temperature that the botulinum bacteria die.
But, how do we achieve this temperature by sterilizing cans in ordinary dishes? It turns out there is a way. An ordinary pressure cooker pan when cooking homemade canned food can be used as an autoclave. In such a device, we can easily reach the temperature necessary for sterilization, and the process of heat treatment of home stew will take no more than one and a half hours (depending on the type of meat and its processing method).
But, even if there is no pressure cooker in your arsenal, you should not be upset. For the sterilization of canned meat at a temperature of 100 ° C, you can use any container. Some housewives have adapted to sterilize canned goods in boilers for boiling clothes. If the batch of canned food is large enough, then try to sterilize it in an enameled or copper boiler.
In cool or slightly heated (20-30 ° C) water, we need to place cans with canned meat, and then bring the water to a boil. After boiling water, the stew we need to sterilize the necessary amount of time according to the recipe.
If you used raw meat to prepare canned food, or if you plan to store this preparation for more than six months, you need to re-sterilize your home stew.
We need to do this procedure 48 hours after the first sterilization. In this case, cans with canned food can be stored at room temperature (from 20 to 30 ° C) before the repeated procedure. We can carry out repeated sterilization 90 days after the initial sterilization, but provided that the cans with canned food are stored at t no higher than 10 ° С.
Repeated sterilization, as well as the first, we need to carry out at t not lower than 100 ° C. But the duration of this procedure can be reduced by a quarter of the initial time of heat treatment of canned meat.
How to cool jars with stew after sterilization
Jars with canned meat at home can be cooled in two ways: either in the open air or using cold water.
If you plan to cool cans with meat preparations with water, use caution. Since the contents of the cans after a long heat treatment are hot, due to the temperature difference, the cans with the stew can burst. To prevent this from happening, add cold water to the jar container in small portions. With this cooling, try to ensure that the stream of water does not hit directly on hot banks.
But my advice is to let the jars with your best and most delicious homemade stew cool naturally. Best of all cans with canned meat just left to cool in the air. When cooled in this way, the contents of the cans for a long time maintains a high temperature. Therefore, you can sterilize such a homemade blank for a quarter of an hour less than the time specified in the recipe.
After the cans have completely cooled down, we definitely need to make sure once again whether the container is hermetically sealed and if there is any damage on the lid itself.
If during such a check you found a jar with a lid tightly closed, then after eliminating the cause, such canned food must be subjected to a repeated heat treatment (sterilization) process. Or, I advise you to immediately consume the contents of the jar (until the bacteria is affected).
How to store homemade meat stew
Jars with canned meat that have passed the test for tightness of corking, we need to store in a cool room. The optimum storage temperature for our home-made meat preparations is from 10 to 15 ° С. With the right temperature regime of conservation, the risk of canning by bacteria of botulinum toxin is reduced to zero.
If in the warm season, the temperature in the room that you use to store homemade food rises, you need to check the cans with stews several times a week. If during such a “revision” you have identified damaged (swollen, clouded) banks, immediately dispose of them. It is strictly forbidden to eat such a stew!
Having familiarized with my simple recommendations on home-made meat harvesting for the future, feel free to choose the recipe you like and start cooking stewed meat at home.
What is necessary for high-quality meat preservation
- As ingredients, you should buy fresh, top-quality meat products.
This condition is dictated by the fact that the stew will be stored in hermetically sealed containers. If substandard products are used, putrefactive bacteria may develop in them. This is due to the lack of oxygen in the banks, which contributes to the creation of favorable conditions for the appearance of canned toxins dangerous for humans, - The recommended containers for conservation are glass two-liter containers,
- The meat must be cooked in exact accordance with the chosen recipe. It is necessary to pack hot meat products in previously sterilized cans, doing this immediately after cooking,
- When filling the container with all components, they must be placed to the very top. However, containers must not be overfilled. Fill the jar with a centimeter two lower than the height of the neck,
- The technological process should occur subject to hygiene requirements at all stages of preparation,
- Each sealed jar must be checked for leaks. To do this, the cylinder should be placed in a container with hot water that completely covers the container. The appearance of bubbles will indicate that the jar is not hermetically closed,
- The sterilization process takes place at temperatures up to 120 ° C,
- It is almost impossible to provide the heating temperature necessary for sterilization at home, so the heat treatment must be repeated after three days,
- Meat prepared by canning requires careful attention during the period when there is an increase in air temperature. In the spring, once a week, the integrity of canned food should be reviewed. In the summer, this procedure needs to be increased up to three times.
Observance of all conditions of proper canning will allow not only to store products as long as possible, but also to safely use their excellent taste. Of great importance for ensuring the quality and safe use of canned food is the sequence of cooking technology.
How to cook canned meat at home:
- meat intended for preservation must be washed thoroughly, then cut the meat piece into parts convenient for placement on cylinders,
- laying out meat, you need to do this most rationally in order to fill the banks with the maximum amount of meat,
- the sauce is a hot liquid composition left over from frying or stewing. For the same purposes, you can pre-boil the broth from bones or cartilage, which are not used in the manufacture of canned food. Many culinary specialists prepare special brines as a liquid component, choosing the options that suit the tastes,
- always observe the sterilization time indicated in the specific recipe,
- roll containers with meat immediately after cooking,
- canned meat products should be stored in a dry room, placing canned food in places protected from sunlight.
Following the suggested tips and recommendations for cooking, homemade preparations will always meet the highest nutritional requirements. Homemade canned meat is a great way to save your family budget and provide your family with great food!
