Home Canned Chili Con Carne

We do a lot of entertaining both at home and our vacation home.  One huge hit has always been chili dogs which basically are all beef wieners topped with chili, onions and grated cheese.  For years, I made chili with beans (chili con carne) from scratch then froze part for chili dogs.  Then a few years ago I decided to home can chili with beans as a homemade convenience product for the pantry.

Commercially canned chili con carne is available in the grocery store but hands down the winner in terms of flavour and price is home canned.  Home canned chili is processed in a pressure canner for 75 minutes at 10 lb pressure at altitudes under 1,000 feet above sea level.  This raises the internal contents of the jar to 116°C/240°F so the contents will still be boiling when the jars are removed from the canner.  While this temperature will destroy any botulinum spores that could produce toxin resulting in Botulism, it does produce a slight to pronounced textural change in some  foods.  Pressure canned meats can take on a slight rubbery texture some do not care for.  However, a nice selection of home canned meat products is ideal as homemade convenience products in the pantry as well as emergency supplies in the event of a power failure.