How We Bottle Meat

My wife is an expert in bottling meat using a pressure cooker. Since she is the expert, I've always let her do it. Labor Day O8 was a rainy mess and I needed to make room in the freezer because we had a few more hunting tags for later in the fall. So we took the day to put up 21 quarts of bottled elk meat. (some were pints which took an hour under pressure to preserve, but it totaled 21 quarts)

Filling the Jars

We had saved the elk trim to be bottled as my son and I cut up his elk he took on this years archery hunt. We usually save trim for burger or bottled meats. If it is to be bottled we are a little fussy and remove most of the fat. If we are going to grind it or process it into sausage we are not as selective. We vacuum seal it and freeze it for a winter day. Since I was around I decided to take a lesson.

Adding Salt

It was pretty easy but time consuming because the pressure has to be watch and tended in the pressure cooker. We cut some time by using our Camp Chef stove. Here is how it went.

We guessed that we had enough bottles for the volume of meat. We figured if we came in over with the meat vs the bottle count we'd have a great Sunday stew for the remainder. As luck would have it we were right on.

Adding Water

She fills the bottles up with meat to the shoulder of the bottle. She doesn't tamp the meat in but snug's it. Then she adds a teaspoon of salt. She then adds cold water until the level is up in the mouth of the jar. Placing a butter knife inside the bottle between the meat and the inside edge of the glass and twisting the knife allows the water to get down around the meat. She called this burping.

Burping the Jars

She then heats the lid cap and places it on the bottle and then the rings which she snug's with fair hand torque. The bottles are placed into the pressure cooker. The pressure cooker has about three inches of water in it. We changed the water out every time it avoids putting cool glass in hot water and risking cracking the bottle.

Preping the Canner Seal Ring

She had removed the rubber seal of the pressure cookers lid and bathed it in warm water. This helps insure a seal when the lid is placed. After placing the lid and locking it we moved the pressure cooker outside to the 30,000 btu side burner of the Big Gas Grill. We poured the heat to it and watched the pressure come up until it was near twenty. Then I took it into the house where it was placed over our 8000 BTU propane stove. The goal was to keep the pressure above 17 on the gauge for one and a half hours. Even in the house without the element of the wind the gauge would fluctuate, most of the time we ran the burner on the warm setting. When time is up we let it cool to zero removed the lid and lifted out the bottles. The seal as they cool and you can tell if they seal because the lid is concave. If you push on it and it clicks up and down it has not sealed so you'll be eating that one right away and it will need to be refrigerated. It is important that you "TEND THE PRESSURE GAUGE". Get a good book and sit by it and monitor it. If it falls below 17 you have to start over and retime it... don't know why. Just they say you do.

Warming the Bottle Lids

We love the bottled meat. It come out just like pulled pork only it tastes like elk. We have served it to some people that say it is great beef. We serve it over rice usually. Lately we mix a little BBQ sauce with it and put it on a bun. It was an all day adventure starting at 11:00a.m., finally finishing up at 11:30 p.m. that evening. I did add some Cajun seasoning in place of the salt in a pint. Also dressed up a pint with some of Uncle Henry's BBQ Hickory rub spice in another. I'll let you know how it turned out sometime this winter. I tried to take photos as we did this they are as follows. Read the pressure cooker booklet and follow exactly their safety precautions. My wife told me she had a friend whose mother liked to can beats. She blew up a batch. Luckily know one was hurt but they redecorated the kitchen.

Use Camp Chef Stove to Build Up Heat

Pressure Staying Above 17 psi

Final Product