Maybe it's not
better than Grandma's because I did have to cook it, but that is the
only reason. Actually my grandmother was a pretty good cook, limited
in what she could make, but pretty good nonetheless. Anyway, so I have
shown you have to make your own 'pre-stock', white and brown stocks,
and soup bases to create a variety of soups and stews. But I can hear
the wheels turning in the back of your head and you want to know if
there is a easier way to may great soup and stews without going
through the whole stock and soup base making process.
Well of course there
is, the flavor of the stew will not be as full bodied and have as
great a depth of flavor as one made from a stock or soup base, but
they are still quite tasty. Making and canning beef stew without
using a homemade stock or soup base means that you will have to use
either a powdered bouillon or canned broth. For the homemaker trying
to save money there is really only one option and that is using the
powdered bouillon. Using pre-made canned stock is simply to expensive
if you are living on a budget and trying to stretch your food
dollars. Powdered bouillon may contain some ingredients that some
people may not like, I will be honest I use them all of the time, but
you may not want to. For more information regarding using powdered
bouillon, see my article 'Restaurants Use Them So Should You?'
The Recipe
The ratio of fresh
chopped vegetables you put in your canning jars will depend on what
you like. Generally what I do is estimate that I will need ¾ of a
large onion, 1 large carrot, 1 stalk of celery, and ½ diced boiling
potato per quart jar. The amount of beef you put in your stew, will
determine if you need more vegetables or not. Not listed in this
recipe are a few additional items I like to add when I have them
available such as corn, tomatoes and even green beans. I generally
add them fresh from the garden when I have them, but I have already canned all of my
tomatoes and green beans for the season. As with many of my recipes,
this is really more of a stew base, that you would add additional
ingredients such as corn or tomatoes to once you open the jar as they
are already cooked and only need to be heated. The potatoes, onions,
and carrots of course cook in the jars while pressure canning.
4 to 6 quart canning
jars
2 – 3 ponds roast
or stew meat
3 large boiling
potatoes (Yukon Gold or Red New Potatoes)
4 to 6 onions
4 to 6 carrots
4 to 6 stalks of
celery
Ingredients Per Each
Quart Jar
1 teaspoon chicken
bouillon*
1 teaspoon beef
bouillon*
½ teaspoon minced
garlic
¼ teaspoon black
pepper
* Because
powdered bouillon tends to be high in sodium, I do not add any
additional salt to the jar when canning soups and stews using this
method. You can adjust the seasonings when you open the jars and heat
up the contents.
As always when
canning, you need to get your jars and all of your canning supplies
ready before you start prepping for canning. This includes getting
your pressure canner filled and ready, washing and sterilizing your
jars and other equipment so that once your prep is down you can get
down to the business of canning.
Once your canning
supplies are ready, you want to trim all the fat away and cut up your
roast in bite size pieces. If using pre-cut stew meat, trim any extra
fat off, and cut the large pieces into bite size chunks. Then in a
small sauté pan with a little olive oil you want to brown the beef
just to give it some color and texture. You do not need to cook the beef
until it is done, just brown it, again we are looking to add color and
texture to the meat, the beef will finish cooking while it is being
canned. Cook the meat in batches and place in a bowl until ready to
layer into your jars.
When the beef is
partially cooked, it is time to work on the veggies. Scrub your
potatoes clean to remove any loose dirt, peel them if you wish, but I
generally do not. Then dice your onions, carrots and celery and set
aside. I cube my potatoes last as I do not want them to change color
(start to brown) while I am doing my other prep.
Now that your 'mis
en place' is done (everything is prepped and ready), it is time to
start adding the dried ingredients to your sterilized jars. Once you
have the bouillon, black pepper, and minced garlic added to the jars,
then layer your vegetables and meat in the jars as you desire. There
is no right or wrong way to do this, you just want to evenly
distribute the meat and vegetables. I usually start out with some of
the onions first then the celery and then the meat and potatoes and
top off the jar with more onions and vegetables as necessary.
Chef's Note: This
is not a thickened stew as thickened liquids do not can very well.
When canned the stew will actually be more soup like. If you like a
thickened stew (which I prefer) then you will need to thicken it
after you have opened the jar and are heating it up.
Processing Your Stew
Anytime you process
a recipe that contains meat, raw or partially cooked it must be
canned in a pressure canner. Attempting to can meat or meat products
in any other fashion besides using a pressure canner is unsafe and
could cause you, your family, or anyone you share your bounty with to
become gravely ill. But don't fret, if you pressure can your stew as
recommended by the USDA, you will never have any problems. Ok, now
that you have been warned, let's get on with it….[GRIN]...
One at a time, ladle
your boiling water into your beef and vegetable filled jars leaving
1-inch of headspace. Then, wipe the rim of the jar with a damp clean
paper towel. Place the heated lid on the jar then hand tighten the
ring and using your tongs, place the jar in the simmering pressure
canner. Repeat this process until your canner is full, then place the
lid on the canner and process at the recommended time and pressure
(see below).
If you have more
stew to process than your canner will hold, only fill enough jars to
completely fill the canner. Once the first batch of stew has been
processed and removed from the canner, check the water level in the
canner and adjust it as necessary. Then fill the remaining beef and
vegetable filled jars and following the previous instructions and
process the remaining stew. Continue to do this until all of your
stew has been safely processed.
If per chance, you
do not have enough jars of canned stew to fill the pressure canner
(which happens to me all the time) Take empty jars filled with warm
water without lids and add those to the canner to take up the empty
space. These water filled jars will keep your precious bounty from
falling over and possibly breaking during the pressure canning
process. Remember to take care as any jar you remove from the
pressure canner will be boiling and quite hot to touch.
Processing Time In
Dial Gauge Pressure Canner
Pint Jars 75 minutes
at 11lbs (0 – 2,000ft), 12lbs (2,001 – 4,000ft), 13lbs (4,001 –
6,000ft) and 14lbs (6,001 or greater).
Quart Jars 90
minutes at 11lbs (0 – 1,000ft), 12lbs (2,001 – 4,000ft), 13lbs
(4,001 – 6,000ft) and 14lbs (6,001 or greater).
Processing Time In
Weighted Gauge Pressure Canner
Pint Jars 75 minutes
at 10lbs (0 – 1,000ft), 15lbs (greater than 1,001ft altitude).
Quart Jars 90
minutes at 10lbs (0 – 1,000ft), 15lbs (greater than 1,001ft
altitude).
Thickening Your Stew
Making stew using
this recipe is quick, easy and relatively painless. However, for my
tastes there is one step left to do after you open the jar and heat
up the stew, and that is to thicken it. Now, there are several
different ways to thicken a hot soup or stew, check out my article
'Thickening Soups, Stews, and Sauces' on or blog to find fast easy
ways to thicken your soups stews and sauces.
Conclusion
Most often we make
soups and stews when we are able to get roast on sale. When it is on
sale or we can comp it at Walmart for half the normal price, we buy a
lot of it. Not only do we make stew out of it as in this article, we
also use it to make stroganoff, beef tips and rice, and roast.
Sometimes, we simply cook the beef partially done then can it in a
light beef broth made from powdered beef bouillon.
By purchasing food
(especially meats) when it is on sale and either freezing or canning
it, is one of the many strategies we use to stretch our food dollars.
Having pre-made stews or soups either canned in the pantry or
vacuumed sealed in the freezer really help when you have had a long
day and need to feed yourself or your family quickly. In order to be
as efficient as possible, we try and have one big canning day in
which we can a variety of soups, stews and gumbos as well as beans
and other vegetables.
If you are looking
to find additional ways to stretch your food dollars, be sure and
check out some of my other articles on the subject on our blog. And
as always, if you have enjoyed this article, please share it with
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