Fall Canning
The Canning pictured above, left to right:
Chicken Caccitore, Chicken Breast, Chunky Tomato Sauce, French Onion Soup made with Grass Fed Beef Bone Broth, White Bean and Sausage Soup, Teriyaki Chicken.
I wanted to share a little about each and also encourage readers to try to put up different things, main dishes and prepare ahead of time your own "fast foods".
We'll start with the Chunky Tomato Sauce. We were on vacation for 2 1/2 weeks in October and our daughter picked our tomatoes from our "Red Neck Greenhouse", that I will post about another time.
So I came home to a box full of them. Because they were the last of the season and had gone through some cooler weather and were not watered much in the greenhouse, they were a drier tomato. I coarsely chopped them in the food processor with onions and garlic. Added a couple of cans (yes, metal cans of store bought) tomato sauce and some salt. Then bottled and processed for 30 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. Yield 7 quarts. All of my canners hold 7 quarts.
I had some Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast from Zaycon, thawed out and filled 7 quarts with it. Added 1 teaspoon of salt and processed the chicken for 90 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure. Yield 7 quarts.
My dear husband requested a double batch of Teriyaki Chicken. This has come in really handy when the power has been off. I have been able to quickly stir fry some cabbage, carrots and onions, while some white rice was cooking on our wood cookstove to serve with this Teriyaki Chicken. A fast, healthy meal that is not soup when we're without power. So to make, I cut chicken about 10 pounds of thawed chicken into 1 to 1 1/2" chunks and place into a baking pan. Baking only partially through. While that's baking I make the sauce: 2 cups soy sauce, 2 tablespoons powdered ginger and garlic, 3 cups white sugar, 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 cup molasses, 2/3 cup cornstarch and 10 cups liquid (meat juice from pan that chicken was cooked in and water). Place all of sauce ingredients into large pan. Whisk to mix, heat over medium heat till boiling.
Place chicken into jars, add sauce up to 1" of top of jar. Seal and process for 90 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. Yield 14 quarts.
Chicken Caccitore - With the last thawed chicken and left over Chunky Tomato Sauce, I spiced up the sauce with Italian herbs and more garlic. Cut the chicken into serving sizes, dredged in seasoned flour and pan fried in a little beef tallow, just until the chicken is browned, but not cooked through. Place chicken it into quart jars, added some dried mushrooms and peppers, and poured the spiced up Chunky Tomato Sauce. Processed for 90 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. Yield 7 quarts. It has taken great restraint not to open one of these, heat it up and pour onto some pasta for a quick lunch.
Now for the soups. The French Onion Soup was inspired by the Canning Granny and Sally Fallon's Beef Bone Broth. We are blessed with friends who raise grass-fed beef that we purchase every year. I thawed out all of the soup bones, placed them in a large baking pan and roasted them for 2 hours on 325'. The bones and meat juice then went into a large stock pot with water and 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar. This broth simmered for about 66 hours with the lid on. Yes, it did simmer for 2 1/2 days! Remove the bones and picked off the meat. I knew that I wanted to make 14 quarts of soup, so I sliced 1 large onion and 1 cloves garlic for each quart. Then I sauteed 7 onions and 7 cloves of garlic in large saucepan with some beef tallow until soft. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and continued to stir until the onions became lightly caramelized. The reason for only working with half the onions as a time so I didn't burn them. I then divided the onions into the jars and the meat. I added 1 tablespoon of dry, non salted beef broth seasoning and 1 teaspoon salt per jar. I then poured the broth into the jars up to 1" of top of jars. Processed at 90 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. Yield 14 quarts. Now these smelt so good that Emily and I had to open a jar, toasted some whole wheat bread with cheddar cheese. Oh it was fabulous!
The Sausage Bean Soup is my version of the Olive Gardens. This is a layered canning method. It is easy and you can make up your own recipes. The following is per quart jar:
1/2 cup cooked sausage, 1 cup soaked white beans, 1/2 cup chopped celery, 1/2 cup diced potatoes,
2/3 cup sliced carrots, 1/2 cup chopped onions, 1/4 teaspoon dry oregano and thyme, 1 teaspoon salt,
1 tablespoon dry beef broth unsalted seasoning, 2 splashes Worcestershire sauce, 1 splash Tabasco sauce and enough water to 1" top of quart jar. Process 90 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.
I hope these recipes will enhance your meals and are understandable. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.
Comments