Home Canned Corn

We bought ten dozen ears of corn for the pig roast. About four dozen were left over so I decided to preserve most of it. I prefer to freeze corn because of the taste but decided to can the corn instead to save on freezer space. Instructions for freezing corn can be found on an earlier blog (here).

Home Canned Corn

Corn is one of the easier vegetables to can but as with other vegetables it is low acid (pH higher than 4.6) so must be processed in a steam-pressure canner. One of the most common questions asked in preserving forums is "Can a pressure cooker be used for canning?" The answer is no. A pressure canner larger and heavier than a pressure cooker designed to maintain the proper pressure to raise the internal temperature of the food being processed to 240ºF at or below 1,000 feet above sea level. The regulator on pressure canner can be adjusted to compensate for higher altitudes or lower PSI for some fruits whereas most pressure cookers have only one pressure setting of 15 PSI. The higher setting would overprocess most foods at or below 1,000 feet above sea level and would underprocess foods being processed at higher altitudes.

I like to process most foods in 500 ml (pint) mason jars. I also prefer to run the canner full (20 pint jars) whenever possible as processing but that is not always possible. The amount of corn needed will depend on the size of the kernels. Yellow corn gives better results than the peaches & cream variety for both canning and freezing but is not always available in all areas. I had a combination of both varieties. Corn can be either raw or hot packed but the processing times are the same. I used the raw pack method as I think that gives a nicer texture. The total yield was 8 - 500 ml jars (canned) and six 1 - guart vacuum bags (frozen).

Home Canned Corn

Husk the corn and remove the silk. Cut the corn from the cob without scraping. Pack the corn loosely into hot jars leaving 1 - inch headspace. Add 1/2 tsp salt* to each pint or 1 tsp per quart if desired. Ladle boiling water over the corn leaving 1 - inch headspace. Remove any air bubbles. Wipe the rim and adjust two-piece caps. Process 55 minutes for pints or 85 minutes for quarts at 10 pounds pressure in a steam-pressure canner.

*salt - is always optional when canning most vegetables and tomato products so feel free to omit or reduce if desired

Pork Roast

On Monday we celebrated our 30^th Anniversary by hosting a pig roast at our new house for our family and friends. A head count before dinner was 46 but people straggled in after that so the number served was likely closer to 55 with it growing to about 70 before the end of the evening. On the menu: roasted pig, roast beef, gravy, potato salad, pork & beans, roasted corn on the cob, coleslaw and macaroni salad. Snacks included: vegetable tray, fruit tray, potato chips and popsicles for the kids. Several people brought deserts and other snacks even though we had indicated not to so there was an abundance of food. Our daughter and daughter-in-law insisted that everyone took a care pack with them when they left and still there was a lot left over!

Marinating

The pig was 117 lbs and since we had to pick him up Saturday he spent most of Sunday in the commercial refrigerator of the restaurant of one of our friends. Sunday night the guys picked him up for marinating. The marinade was a mixture of orange juice, oranges, pineapple, lemons, garlic and spices. He slept in our lovely green tub (soon to be remodeled bathroom) while we prepared the yards and house for the party.

There was a lot of prep work to do setting up tables and getting the yards ready. Additional lighting had to be set up along with music. Outdoor speakers were installed the day before so we could hook up the iPod for continuous music. Tekki torches were added to the perimeter lighting to ward of bugs while giving a nice glow and complimenting the solar lighting. Three eight foot tables formed an L near the water and two eight foot tables were used as the food area in the patio.

Pork Roaster

The guys picked up the pork roaster on Saturday when they picked up the pig. They set it up in the yard between the house and garage out of the main party area. This was a practical location given that we would have little ones running around.

The roaster is quite large and is on a hitch to attach to a trailer hitch for moving. A huge crank on the right side (not pictured) can be used to hold the lid open if needed. The fuel was propane but it only took a 25 lb tank to cook the pig so that wasn't too bad. We were concerned we might run out of fuel so had a spare filled tank on hand just in case.

On The Roaster

Surprisingly a marinated pig weighs enough so it took three of the guys to get the pig onto the roaster. From there the humour emerged! We took a lot of pictures as jokes were told and antics unfolded. Well, let me tell you we have some great scrapbook photos!

Once the pig was settled onto the barbeque it was time for action. I was concerned that other pig roasts we had been to had the pig on a spit and we didn't have a spit. However, the guys thought it would roast just fine without a spit. The temperature was set to 150ºF for a slower roasting then increased to 350ºF about an hour before serving. The pig went on the roaster just before 9 am with dinner being served just after 6 pm.

Roasted!

The roasted pig was done to perfection thanks to the help of our son! His contribution to the party was cooking the meat and he did an excellent job. Not only did he roast the pig, he also cut it up for serving.

Roasted pork can have a tenancy to be dry which is why it needs to be marinated. This pork was tender and juicy. The skin normally kept for craklin's was a nice golden brown. Due to the size of the party and refrigerator limitations most of the skin and carcass was not kept. The next time we do a pig this way I will definitely make arrangements for both the skin and carcass.

If you are planning a large party and want an idea of how much this cost us, the pig was $100. We payed $80 for the roaster and fuel. I would estimate about $150 in additional food for a total of $330 or to our estimation about $6 per plate. We over bought on buns, corn on the cob, vegetables and fruits. Given the amount of left-overs the price per plate was more like$3 maybe even less making a pig roast a very frugal way to do larger parties like family reunions.

Pickerel Done Two Ways

During the nicer weather I like to fish. The most often caught fish here are perch, bass and pickerel although other fish are caught as well. I'm able to stock the freezers with fish for the winter as well as serve fresh fish on a regular basis during the other months.

To freeze: Clean and fillet the fish. Rinse. Dip in water and flash freeze on a baking sheet. Repeat twice so the fish is covered with a nice glaze of ice. Package into vacuum freezer bags. Vacuum seal.

Simple Beer Battered Pickerel

I don't often prepare deep fried fish. This time I decided to use a simple beer batter to coat the pickerel then deep fry. A simple beer batter consists of a pre-made mix such as complete pancake mix and beer. In this case I used Bisquick but I've used the homemade version of baking mix successfully. Don't laugh as this does result in very nicely English style battered fish despite the simple ingredients.

Of note is the yellow corn! I have been begging the farmer's market to grow yellow corn for ages. The norm here seems to be peaches & cream corn but yellow corn is better for freezing, canning or making corn relish. This year the farmer's market has yellow corn so I am going to be doing up a lot of it.

Simple Quick Beer Batter (for fish)

2 c Bisquick or homemade version
1 can/bottle light beer (preservative free eg. Sleeman's)
2 c unbleached flour
seasoning salt (optional)
fish fillet of your choice
vegetable or peanut oil

Pre-heat deepfryer to fish setting (375ºF). Peanut oil is best but vegetable oil works as a substitute. Mix the flour and seasoning salt in a shallow baking dish. In another baking dish mix the baking mix and beer. Dredge each fillet in flour then the baking mix mixture. If you want a thicker coating, repeat. Fry until golden brown then remove from fryer and drain.

Draining

I drain deep fried fish in a strainer lined with a layer of paper towels. Traditional English style fish & chips are drained in newspaper. This draining step is necessary to prevent the coating from becoming soggy as well as removing excess calories for the oil. Once drained, the fish is ready for plating.

Malt vinegar or lemon juice are the perfect accompaniment for fish prepared this way. A light sprinkle of salt is nice too but avoid the heavy tartar sauces.

Pan Fried

Pickerel is also wonderful simply pan fried. A small amount of oil and seasoning of choice is used for this method but no coating. Coatings range from very lightly coated to the more heavily coated English style fish. More often than not we fore go the coating to let the taste of the fish shine through.

Method: Heat a fry pan (preferably cast iron) with a small amount of extra light olive oil. Add the pickerel fillets and sprinkle oh so lightly with seasoning salt. Allow to fry about 5 minutes or until the side facing the pan is no longer translucent. Turn the fish and repeat. Fry the fish only until it turns white and no longer.

Baked Pollock, Freezer Pickles & Starting Party Planning

With the move, settling in and renovating in time for our party on August 6, I have been relying on the grill and simpler meals. Yesterday I made a batch of freezer pickles for the party. I'll post more about the party preparations this week as we fine tune the menu. Watch for tomorrow's post as I finally found yellow corn! As taste tester extraordinaire, a few ears will be sampled tonight with beer battered pickerel. The rest are being either canned as corn relish or froze depending on how busy I get. I'm also making a batch of sweet pickle relish so watch for that recipe as well.

In my spare time, I will be: painting, caulking, organizing and killing gigantic spiders and other critters that would rather be indoors ;) Oh, I should tell you about our resident skunk too. That will have to wait as produce is ready to be preserved.

Freezer Pickles

Freezer pickles are my standard, dependable, no fail bread & butter style of pickle. It is as easy as mixing the ingredients together, letting them sit then pack into one or more freezer containers. I keep several of these containers in the freezer. I think it is best to use smaller, fresh grown pickling cucumbers for this recipe.

I made a larger batch and froze them in a 1660 ml (7 cup) freezer container. They will go nicely as an accompaniment for the party menu. I'll thaw them the night before in the refrigerator ready for the following day.


Baked Pollock

Meals as mentioned have been rather on the simple side. Last night I baked pollock for a quick, easy meal.

Ingredients:

680 g thawed pollock fillets
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 lime, thinly sliced
1 tsp lemon pepper (salt free)
1 tsp lime pepper (salt free)
extra light olive oil
1 tbsp melted butter

Place the thawed fillets on a double broiling pan that has been brushed with extra light olive oil. If desired to prevent the juices from burning place a cup of water in the lower pan. Lightly brush olive oil over the fillets. Sprinkle with lemon pepper. Place two lemon slices and one lime slice on each fillet straggling as needed. Sprinkle with lime pepper. Bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes or until fillets feel firm to touch and lightly golden brown. Brush with melted butter.