Ground beef is a staple in so many recipes, and canning your own makes these dishes so fast to cook up! I stock up on grassfed ground beef from ButcherBox when they have a ‘blast’ sale and the price goes down to $5 or $6 per pound.

Use homemade canned ground beef just as you would in recipes; 1 quart jar holds approximately 2 pounds of ground beef and 1 pint jar holds approximately 1 pound for easy measuring.

Some recipes we love our home-canned ground beef in:

Home Pressure Canned Ground Beef

Course: staple
Cuisine: GAPS, Gluten Free, Paleo, SCD
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings: 3 Quarts
Author: Cara Comini

Tip: Pressure canning makes meat shelf stable and easy to store and transport, as long as you have room for glass jars. It’s really that easy to use- just open a jar and heat and eat or add to a recipe!

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Ingredients

  • 6 pounds Ground Beef or more, adjust the amount of jars you use to accomidate. 1 pound = 1 pint jar.
  • 3 tablespoons sea salt optional

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat jars and lids to hot but not boiling.
  2. Brown ground beef over medium-high heat until browned but rare on the inside. Beef will continue cooking in the canner. Add desired seasonings now, I usually only add 1 teaspoon sea salt per pound. Drain off fat if desired, I leave mine in.

  3. Pre-heat pressure canner over medium heat with 3-4 quarts water, or the amount indicated by your pressure canner’s manual.
  4. Add hot cooked beef to each jar, using a canning funnel, leaving 1 inch at the top. Add a little hot water if there are not enough juices from the beef- do not fill above the 1 inch. This is called headspace.

  5. Use a clean towel dipped in vinegar to wipe the rim of each filled jar. Top with lids and screw on bands until firmly secured but not over tightened. As tight as you can get them without really forcing anything is just fine.

  6. Place hot jars in hot canner and secure lid on canner. Turn heat to high.

  7. Once steam is coming out of the vent pipe, allow to vent with steam coming out for 10 minutes.
  8. Cover the vent pipe with the counter weight (dial gauges) or weighted gague (jiggler)
  9. Once proper pressure is reached, process for indicated time below.
  10. After the time has been reached at the proper pressure, remove from heat by either lifting off the electric burner or turning off the gas.
  11. Allow canner to de-pressurize on its own, do not open the vent pipe. This takes about 30-45 minutes.
  12. Once depressurized, remove jars carefully and allow to cool 1 inch apart on a cooling rack or folded towel. Once cool check lids for seal. If they are sealed, your meat is now good for 1 year at room temperature! Remove rings before storing.

Pressure & Time

  1. Pressure: Under 1,000 feet 10 lbs Over 1,000 feet 15 lbs

  2. Time: Pint jars 75 minutes, quart jars 90 minutes. *If mixing pint and quart jars, process all for the longer time

Learn more about canning at home here: Meat and Soup Canning

Don’t forget, meat is good for you and good for the planet! Is this a surprise to you? Read more here: Red Meat is Good for the Earth and You 🌎

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