Making beef stock - Part II - the canning instructions

Pressure canning the beef stock is actually the quicker of the two days of making beef stock.

The first step was to take the large stock pot full of clear broth out of the refrigerator and skim off the excess grease. I just use a metal spoon and lift off the grease.


(the grease we skimmed off of the stock)

I forgot to take a picture before I started skimming, but here's what the stock looked like about halfway through the skimming process.



Then I put it on the burner and turned the heat up to high. Before canning the stock it needs to be at boiling.



While the stock was heating up I assembled my equipment and supplies for canning. I counted out the lids and placed them in a small saucepan. I heated up the water. You need not boil the lids. They just need to be warmed so the lids form a better seal with the jars.



I brought out my magnetic lid lifter, my jar lifter, a canning funnel, and my narrow jar rings.



Then I got out my jars and began to warm them. Some were filled with water and set in the pressure canner to warm up.



And since this was going to be a large batch, I also set some in a clean dishpan to warm up in hot water.



When pressure canning it's important to have clean jars, but they don't need to be sterilized in boiling water like jars must be when using a water bath canner. Pressure canning will bring the internal temperature of the beef stock to 240 degrees Fahrenheit when working at ten pounds of pressure and can be as high as 250 degrees Fahrenheit at fifteen pounds of pressure. That's far safer than the 212 degrees Fahrenheit achieved in a water bath canner. For this reason, and the general ease of using the pressure canner, I find I use it even with high acid food canning.

Then when my stock was boiling hot I used the canning funnel to carefully pour stock into the jars. With meat based foods I only fill my jars to the lowest ring to prevent leaks during the canning process.



Then I used a clean damp cloth to wipe down the jar rim and used my magnetic lid lifter to pull a warm lid out of the water. I placed the lid on the jar and tightened it down with a ring.



Then I placed it on the rack in the bottom of the pressure canner. The pressure canner was filled with about an inch and half of warm water earlier and had been heating up while I was working on assembling tools, etc. At this point the heat on the burner was turned up to low (about 2 on my range).

I continued filling jars and sealing them until I had eight jars filled. That comprised the first row of jars in my pressure canner.



We have the All-American 921 Pressure Canner. It will hold 19 pints or seven quart jars. I love it because it has both a dial gauge and the weight. With the weight I can know what pressure it's at even if my dial gauge might fail. It also doesn't use a rubber gasket. Instead it has a metal-to-metal sealing system. And it's made in the U.S.A.

Then I continued filling jars until I had my second row filled.


(second rack on top of the first row of jars - this will hold my second row of jars)

That gave me a total of 18 pints of beef stock sealed in jars and reading to pressure can.



The next step was to put on the canner lid and tighten it down.



I turned the heat up to high and started to watch for steam coming out of the steam vent. When a clear stream of steam was coming out I set my timer for seven minutes. My pressure canner needs to vent for seven minutes before I put on the weight. After venting was completed I put on the weight at the ten pound marking.

Then I watched my gauge and listened for the clinking of the weight to tell me the canner was at ten pounds of pressure. Once it achieved ten pounds of pressure I set my timer for 20 minutes. Clear beef stock (clear means without meat or vegetables added) needs to process at ten pounds of pressure for 20 minutes at my altitude.

After processing for 20 minutes I turned the heat off and waited for the dial gauge to tell me that the canner had returned to zero pressure. I waited another five minutes after that to loosen the lid and take it off. That five minute waiting period is a safety precaution in case my dial gauge might not be perfectly calibrated.

After removing the lid I usually let the jars sit for a few more minutes and then remove them using my jar lifter. I cool them on a piece of heavyweight cardboard set on my Hoosier countertop.

And here you see the sixteen pints of homemade beef stock:



And here is the extra quart and pint of beef stock that I set aside for making beef barley soup for tonight's dinner.