  Use only good-quality meat or poultry—home-produced or purchased from a farm or store. Chill home-produced meat immediately after slaughter to prevent spoiling and to permit tenderizing. Meat is easier to handle when it is cold. For thorough chilling, keep meat at a temperature below 40° F. until time to prepare it for canning; can it within a few days after slaughter. If refrigeration is not available and if the maximum daily temperature is above 40° F., process the meat as soon as body heat is gone. If meat must be held for longer than a few days, freeze it. Store frozen meat at temperatures of 0° F. or lower until canning time. Then cut or saw frozen meat into pieces of desired size. If frozen meat is thawed before canning, thaw it in a refrigerator at a temperature of 40° F. or lower until most of the ice crystals have disappeared. Keep all meat clean and sanitary. Rinse poultry thoroughly in cold water, then drain. Keep all meat as cool as possible during preparation for canning. Handle it rapidly; process it as soon as containers are packed. EquipmentTo control the bacteria that cause spoilage, keep everything that touches meat as clean as possible. Scrub metal, enamelware, and porcelain pans in hot soapy water. Rinse pans well in boiling water before putting meat in them. Wash knives and kitchen tools to be used in canning; rinse well with boiling water. Cutting boards, wood utensils, and wooden work surfaces need special treatment to keep spoilage bacteria under control. Scrape surfaces if necessary; scrub with hot soapy water and rinse well with boiling water. Then disinfect clean surfaces. For disinfecting, use a liquid chlorine disinfectant (household laundry bleach) or other disinfectant. Dilute according to directions on the container. Cover wooden surfaces with the disinfectant solution and leave 15 minutes. Wash solution off with boiling water. Pressure cannerTo insure the safety of canned meats and poultry, jars or cans must be processed at a sufficiently high temperature for a long enough time to kill all bacteria that cause spoilage or food poisoning. The only practical way to get this high temperature is to use a pressure canner. When steam is held under 10 pounds of pressure at sea level, the temperature in the canner quickly reaches 240° F.—the necessary safe temperature for canning meat. A pressure canner should be equipped with a rack to hold jars or cans. A pressure saucepan with accurate controls may be safely used for processing meats in pint jars or No. 2 cans. If you use a pressure saucepan, add 20 minutes to the processing times specified. Before using the canner, wash the kettle well. Do not put cover with dial gage in water. Wipe the cover carefully with a hot soapy cloth; repeat with a clean damp cloth. Dry. Keep the petcock and safety valve clear. Before each use of the canner, inspect these openings. To clean, draw a string or narrow strip of cloth through the petcock. Pressure adjustments.—If you live above sea level, you may need to adjust steam pressure in your canner to get a temperature of 240° F. The rule: For each 2,000 feet above sea level, increase the pressure by 1 pound. Caution: Do not increase processing time when you increase steam pressure. If a weighted gage is used at a high altitude, have it corrected for altitude by the manufacturer of the canner. Gage adjustments.—When a weighted gage is adjusted for altitude, it needs no further regulation. A dial gage should be checked before the canning season. If you use the If the dial gage is not accurate, tie a warning tag to the canner. On the tag, write the margin of error, the date the canner was tested, and the gage setting to use for the correct pressure (see below). All directions in this bulletin require processing at 10 pounds of steam pressure. The following adjustments give the correct pressure: If the gage reads high— 1 pound high—process at 11 pounds. 2 pounds high—process at 12 pounds. 3 pounds high—process at 13 pounds. 4 pounds high—process at 14 pounds. If the gage reads low— 1 pound low—process at 9 pounds. 2 pounds low—process at 8 pounds. 3 pounds low—process at 7 pounds. 4 pounds low—process at 6 pounds. It is not safe to use a canner if the dial gage registers as much as 5 pounds high or low. Replace a faulty gage with an accurate one. Glass jarsJars may be widemouth or regular type. Pints and quarts are satisfactory sizes for canning meats and poultry. There are two types of jar closures:
Be sure all jars and closures are perfect. Discard jars with cracks or chips; discard lids and bands with dents or rust. Defects prevent air-tight seals. {jar and lid}
Before canning, jars must be thoroughly clean. It is not necessary to sterilize them before they are filled, however. Processing at the recommended steam pressure sterilizes both the containers and their contents. Wash jars and lids in hot soapy water; rinse well. Some metal lids with sealing compound may need boiling or holding in boiling water for a few minutes before use. Do not reuse metal lids with sealing compounds. Follow the manufacturer’s directions. If you use rubber rings, get new ones of the right size to fit jars. Don’t test by stretching. Wash rings in hot soapy water. Rinse well. Tin cansUse plain tin cans in good condition for canning meats. C-enamel, R-enamel, and sanitary-enamel cans are not suitable for meat. Fat in meat or poultry may cause enamel to peel off the inside of the can. Meat in such cans appears unappetizing, but it is not harmful. Make sure that cans, lids, and gaskets are perfect. Discard cans that are badly bent, dented, or rusty; discard lids with damaged gaskets. Protect lids from dirt and moisture by storing them in original packing. Directions are given for canning meat in No. 2 and No. 2½ tin cans. A No. 2 can holds 2½ cups; a No. 2½ can holds 3½ cups. Wash cans in clean hot water just before use. Drain upside down. Do not wash lids of cans, because washing may damage the gaskets. If lids have become soiled, rinse with clean water or wipe with a damp cloth when you are ready to put them on cans. SealerIf you use cans, you need a sealer in good working order. Before processing meat or poultry, adjust sealer according to manufacturer’s directions. The finished seam between lid and can should be smooth and even. Test by sealing a can containing a small amount of water. Submerge the sealed can in boiling water for a few seconds. If air bubbles rise from around the can, the seam is not tight. Readjust the sealer. ThermometerIt is a good idea to use a thermometer both when meat is packed hot and when the canning directions call for removing (exhausting) air from jars or cans. With a thermometer, you are able to make sure meat is heated to 170° F.—the minimum temperature needed to exhaust air properly. Place thermometer in center of jar or can that is being heated. The thermometer bulb should be about half-way to the bottom of the container. If a thermometer is not available, follow the times given in the directions. 76627—B |
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