So quick question - if I cut it into 1" cubes, how much fits (raw pack) in each pint/quart? Going by Ball Complete Beef in Wine recipe, 2lb makes 3 pints but it's precooked and has onions, etc. so just raw meat figure 1lb/pint? NCHFP doesn't say how much meat per jar, just 1" HS. Thanks - I won't be doing the PCing until after I get DD in bed, so I can be uninterrupted and also can leave the jars to cool overnight and not have them out on the counter while we're doing dinner.

But if you want to do it then yeah, basically a pint = a pound (give or take a few ounces).

So assuming minimal if any trimming 6.5 lbs. = 6-7 pints.

Dave

OK, looks like I have a full canner load so I'll do some pints - 1 pint should do for a meal for us.

I'm also thinking raw pack would be less likely to siphon than hot pack with broth? I only have 1 can of broth anyway, plan on using that for dinner ;-) Too late for slowcooker, so I'll have to do a stroganoff or something (onions, mushrooms and broth) on the stovetop. STILL have a big pile of leaves on the front lawn of the church and the annual Holly Bazaar starts tomorrow.

Oh, NCHFP just says "fill jars, leaving 1 inch HS" - so loosely fill, don't pack it in there, right? I'll weigh the meat (trim and cut up what we're having for dinner first) but as long as it's 1" HS and about 1 lb/pint I've got it right?

Took me a little while longer to prep and pack the jars (I'd cut up the meat last night and left in a ziploc bag in the fridge). Prepped 4 jars but then needed another - and I hope I didn't pack them too tight, I didn't have enough for a 6th pint so I opened the first 4 jars, put the lids back in hot water (Ball demo on green beans they said not necessary but some of my lids were older) and kind of pushed down the cubes where I saw a big space (first couple of handfuls were just dropped in) so I could fit a little more in each jar, then wiped rims and put the lids back on. I know this is usually frowned upon, you don't want to pack too tightly, but since Dave said about 1 lb per pint and I got 0.8 lbs (4lbs 1 3/4 oz, including weight of gallon bag, packed into 5 pints with 1" HS) I figured it was OK. If I had had 5 lbs I would have gone for 6 jars.

Venting now - since I'm at 997ft I'm doing 10lb weight for 75 minutes. I'll post pix when they're out of the canner so you all can let me know if they were packed correctly. And since I haven't processed anything for this long yet, and my burner cycles, I'm going to stay in the kitchen and keep checking the gauge (as an indicator - it seemed to be accurate, read 10.5-11lbs for 10 lb weight) as well as listening to weight rock. I've got the burner set on 8 so it might take a little while to vent/come to pressure but I don't want to be adjusting it, even with the weight set, since if I turn it too low I'm afraid the burner will cycle and it will drop below 10 psig.