Canning Corned Deer meat

[WV Sawmiller]

   For several years I have corned the backstraps, tenderloin and brisket off the deer i have killed. We used to package in small packs we'd eat at a meal or two and freeze them. Last year I shot a ML doe for sausage and corned the prime cuts and after they finished corning I canned them in the pressure cooker in pint jars. We like them for hash or such and they are ready to eat. I just finished canning 10 lbs of meat off a crossbow killed doe I shot last week in half-pint jars as that is the size that works best for the 2 of us. 10 lbs of meat made 23 half pints and I found my 7 quart pressure cooker does 13 half pints at a time. I'll keep my eyes open for bigger, deeper canner so I can stack the rows of jars and do a bunch more at a batch.

[moosehunter]

We can venison. We corn venison. We have never canned corned venison. Can you elaborate on the process? Complete corning process then can? 
mh

[WV Sawmiller]

   Yes. I complete the corning process which takes about 5-7 days in a pickling solution made of mixed pickling spices, brown sugar, garlic powder and sodium nitrite. The meat is cut into chunks and put in this "tea" in a plastic bucket in the fridge downstairs. I put a heavy china plate on top to make sure all the meat is underwater all the time and I stir the mix every day or so to make sure all sides of the meat get exposed to the liquid/solution. After 5-7 days it is corned and ready to cook. We used to package and freeze it at this point.

The canning preserves and cooks the meat in the jars. We also can raw deer meat to use to make BBQ or Hash or such. Once canned the meat is actually ready to eat and you could eat it straight out of the jar although we still cook it to make BBQ or hash or stroganoff or such.

I think you could do this in one step and put the raw meat in the jars with the spices then can it and it would corn as it cooked/preserved in the high temperatures of the pressure cooker. I cook pints or half pints for 75 minutes on 10 lb pressure in my area.

I have never found the recipe of how many spices to add to the raw meat to can/corn at the same time but if anybody has such a recipe I'd love to see it. Please share with us all.

The sodium nitrite (called pink salt) is a preservative and if you corned and canned in one step I don't know if you'd need it. I do not add salt to my raw meat I can although some people do. It is not needed for preservation but added for flavor.

The corning is a pretty simple process - make the tea/solution, add the meat, store in the fridge and forget it for nearly a week then package or can it. When we cook the frozen corned deer my wife just puts it in a cast iron Dutch Oven with a little water and covers and puts it in a slow oven for a couple of hours and it falls apart when we go to eat it. You can add carrots, potatoes and/or cabbage and cook in the same container but they will taste a little salty. She now cooks the veggies separately for convenience. Any leftovers make great sandwiches and could be used for Reubens or such

I remember reading where someone took several old elk or deer roasts that had been in the freezer a long time and corned them to revive or extend the life and flavor.

We really like the corned deer. The whole process is fairly simple and the taste is very good. Of course I am using the prime cuts for it. Many people use the tougher cuts and that is just personal preference.

The canning process is not difficult either. It jut takes a while. The hardest part for me is getting the heat set perfectly on the pressure cooker once it comes up on pressure so the little weight jiggles about once a minute. Too much heat and it could run dry. Too little and I'm not cooking at the proper temp/pressure.

My plans for the canned corned deer are to open and drain and add to browned diced taters and onions and season with worshershire sauce and make hash or open and drain a jar and cook with onions to make sandwiches. If we want it like we currently cook in the oven we can just open and warm it and eat it with the veggies as we do now.

With canned deer we make hash as above, add BBQ sauce and a few chipped onion for quick and good BBQ or drain and add a can of cream of mushroom soup, then heat and serve over rice.

Either way it is ready for a quick and easy meal when you don't want to cook something more complicated or have unexpected guests. I'm canning the corned deer to save freezer space and convenience when time to cook.

[randy d]

We can venison for all of the above and if the power goes out its not going to spoil like a freezer. And it sure makes tough cuts tender.   Randy

[moosehunter]

If you are brining in a fridge you do not need the nitrates. I did some research as I don't want the nitrates (medical reasons).
We are going to try the canned corned venison this year. Thanks for sharing.
mh

[WV Sawmiller]

MH,

   My recipe instructions call for the fridge use. I am not adding any salt except the sodium nitrite. I have seen recipes where you corn large amounts of beef (I think the recipe was 90 lbs) for several months placing it in a cool (not refrigerated) place. As I remember you'd add water and periodically scoop off the scum. My recipe is much easier and more appealing but I can understand you avoiding the nitrites for medical concerns.

   BTW- I am using sodium nitrite not sodium nitrate IIRC. I don't know what the differences are for medical issues but maybe our resident doctors can help with that too. I suspect all of them raise your BP and probably are not good for other reasons.

[TroyC]

Howard, what is the ratio of spices and such for your "tea solution" in the corning process? I'm canning today but also want to do some corning. Thanks!

[moosehunter]

Our corned recipe



We stopped using the tender quick because of the nitrates. Just use a pickling salt without. It comes out very good with either.
mh

[WV Sawmiller]

   Here is the recipe I use. I downloaded it off the network years ago and hope I am not failing to give proper credit. It does 5 lbs so adjust accordingly when you have more or less meat. I usually do double or triple batches.

EDIT-ADD-ON: BTW - if you look at my recipe and MH's you will see that both are very simple to make with just a handful of common items/ingredients and very little prep time or processing work involved. 

[WV Sawmiller]

MH,

   I see on your handwritten recipe a note suggesting soaking the meat overnight before cooking and changing the water a time or two. I assume this is to remove some of the salt. I also see your recipe calls for about twice as much salt as mine does but you only process it about half the time I do.

   My wife often cooks her veggies (Typically potatoes, carrots and sometimes a little cabbage) in a separate pan to avoid the salty taste in them. She usually just cooks them in the same pan and they come out nice.  

   I also see my pickling salt appears to be a combination of sodium nitrite (6.25%) and sodium chloride (regular Table salt) but does not contain any sodium nitrate. It is also called Prague powder.