Canning Ground Beef Recipe and Instructions

Whether you buy, raise or grind your own beef roasts, having ground beef handy makes meal preparation easier and faster. The same rings true having pre-cooked ground beef in a jar on your pantry shelf which is a benefit of home canning. Home canning ground beef also saves valuable freezer space. These instructions may also be used if you wish to preserve ground venison, bison and any ground red meat.

Use these simple instructions to preserve ground beef in a jar making it shelf-stable for up to five years when stored properly. Feel free to get creative and add seasonings, spices and fresh herbs and vegetables to give your ground meat added flavor. Also be sure to keep some jars of ground beef unseasoned so you have versatility of use when popping open a jar lid to heat and eat!

Need some recipe ideas to use your home canned ground beef? Taste of Home is a great place to start, and this article offers 50 creative ground beef recipes. You may use your pre-cooked ground beef in each of the recipes. Simply empty a jar to reheat rather than brown like instructed then follow the recipe. This is also a great way to get ideas to season your ground beef when canning so it is prepped and ready to go! My personal favorite is their Shepard’s Pie Twice Baked Potato recipe using my home canned ground beef. You can have a meal on the table in minutes!

Ground Beef Canning Recipe and Instructions

Makes about 7 quarts or 14 pints

Ingredients

• 14 pounds ground beef
• ¼ cup of your favorite seasonings (Italian Spice Blend is listed below)

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, brown the ground beef in batches until cooked through. Be sure to drain excess fat. If using lean beef, like 90/10, you do not need to drain the fat as some fat is required to avoid lean beef from drying out during processing.
2. A quart jar will fit 2 pounds of ground beef and a pint will fit 1 pound. Using a funnel, hot pack the cooked ground beef into each jar, tapping down the beef as needed to ensure it is evenly dispersed among the jars. Fill to a generous 1 ¼-inch of headspace.
3. Wipe the jar rims with a washcloth dipped in vinegar. Apply lids and rings and hand tighten.
4. Place the jars in a pressure canner and lock the canner lid and bring to a boil on high heat. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and process quarts for 90 minutes and pints for 75 minutes at 10 PSI for a weighted gauge canner/11 PSI for a dial gauge canner according to your canner type and your elevation. (Click here for my elevation guide and resources.)

Ingredient Tips:

Want a heartier ground beef in a jar? Here are some ideas.

• Dice up 2 large onions (red, white or yellow) totaling 3 cups diced and 4 tablespoons of minced garlic. Add to the ground beef when browning.
• Chop up 4 to 5 sprigs of fresh herbs like rosemary and thyme and finely chop a half-bunch of parsley and add it to the ground beef while browning.
• Add a tablespoon of pre-made dried soup mix like French Onion to each quart jar, ½ tablespoon to each pint.

Get creative and add fun flavors based on how you intend to use the ground beef in meal creations.

Italian Spice Blend Recipe

Makes about ¼ cup

• 4 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1. Add each dried seasoning to a small bowl and whisk together to evenly blend flavors.
2. Add 1 ½ tablespoons to each quart jar and 2 ½ teaspoons to each pint jar when filling the jars with browned meat. You may add a bit at a time as you hot pack the jars to help disperse the seasoning blend throughout the meat.

For more instructions and techniques, be sure to tune into my podcast, Canning with The Diva!™, available where podcasts are played.

Happy Canning!
xo
Diane, The Canning Diva®
www.canningdiva.com