Home Canned Beef and Mushrooms

Throughout the seven years that I have authored this blog, I have given considerable coverage on home canning.  Home canning is one of the most economical and eco-friendly activities a frugal home cook can do.  The bottom line is home canning very much fits in with my philosophy of home cooking so a lot of the dishes I make use my own home canned foods.  Like many who cook from scratch, I do appreciate using certain convenience products.  Unlike many, the vast majority of the convenience products I use are also homemade. 

One homemade convenience product I made with some of the mushrooms I recently bought was home canned beef and mushrooms.  This is a very versatile product that can be used as a soup or stew base, a sauce addition or the juice can be thickened for a rich beef and mushroom meat serving or meat pie filling.  The possibilities are endless.  A jar of beef and mushrooms combined with a handful of frozen vegetables along with pasta, rice, potatoes or bean and a mouthwatering dinner can be on the table in 15 minutes!  I made seven 500 ml wide mouth jars of this delicious homemade goodness that will be a welcomed addition in our pantry. I think the jars of beef and mushrooms look great!

Canning meats at home is not difficult and it can save considerable time and money.  It is a wonderful way to take advantage of those great meat sales you find.  Meats are low acid so must be processed in a pressure canner.  I use an All American model 921 pressure canner for all of my low acid canning needs.  I prefer using wide mouth jars for canning meat products if at all possible as it is easier to remove the contents for reheating later.  Standard mouth jars can be used but the shoulders can make it a little more difficult to get some meat products out of the jars later.  The jars pictured are the older Bernardin embossed pints that are slightly taller than their newer embossed 500 ml jars. 

Meats invariably have fat that can cause a seal failure.   Meats should be trimmed well before canning to remove excess fat and connective tissue.  I wipe the rim with alcohol to remove any grease that could prevent proper sealing.  A layer of fat will form on most home canned meat products once they have cooled.  Ideally, this will be minimal as pictured.  This fat can easily be removed before reheating if desired.