Canning Beef Stew

12 years ago

I have a question-- I am going to get a pressure canner this year (most likely a Presto with the extra weights, thank you for all the info about that, BTW), and my plan is to can stuff from the garden that I can't water bath. But, I am also planning to can some soups and stews for those quick meals that I can just put on the table in a hurry.

As a rule I use the Ball Complete Book for recipes.

Now searching on the internet, I saw a recipe for beef stew that basically involved cutting the veggies up, layering it in the jars with raw chunked beef, pouring boiling liquid over all, and then pressure canning it (don't recall how long). Although this seems easier it just seems... wrong. The Ball book does not do it this way. Am I just paranoid here or is this really easier? I have doubts but since I've never tried this I wanted additional opinions. Don't want to waste time canning a bunch of stuff to make my family sick!

Thanks!

Comments (4)

Linda_Lou
12 years ago
It is wrong... if a method says hot pack, then that is the only way it is safe. Stew is to be hot packed, not raw pack. It takes much of the processing time to just get the food hot that it cuts down on the amount of time it is heating to kill bacteria. It is considered underprocessed if you do a raw pack when it says hot pack.
missemerald
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks, LindaLou. I knew it sounded wrong... but I wanted to verify. Maybe the creator of the recipe I saw has been lucky so far?

Marcy
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amayura
11 years ago
I've learned from America's Test Kitchen that beef stew is more flavorful if you sear the meat before adding it to the stock. Seared meat adds a dimention of flavor that distinguishes ok beef stew from wow beef stew. Raw meat just doesn't cut it.
digdirt2
11 years ago
Maybe the creator of the recipe I saw has been lucky so far?

Yes, there are a lot of those "may the luck be with you" recipes out there on the web. Some people will try to can anything and then claim that just because it is pressure canned it is safe. Doesn't work that way.

Dave