Canned Venison Recipe

>6 June 2010 2,911 views

I canned five pints of venison over the weekend, using my pressure canner for the first time ever. I have to say, having such a large contraption hissing and steaming at you is quite intimidating! At times, it was downright scary. And my husband wasn’t helping. He kept telling me, “Uh, Kendra, maybe you should get back from that thing. No, seriously, Get Back!” He’s so funny.

A friend of ours who hunts had a freezer full of venison. Well, his freezer went out and all of the meat had thawed, so he had to do something with it. He gave us several ziploc bags full of meat, but I knew I couldn’t re-freeze it, and it was way too much to eat within a few days, so I determined to can it.

After looking online for a good recipe for canned venison, I found THIS ONE:

Ingredients

1 pound cubed lean venison

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon minced garlic

4 slices onion

1 tablespoon minced green bell pepper (optional)

Once the pressure has subsided and the canner is safe to open, remove the jar to cool on a rack. The jar will seal with a pop as it cools; refrigerate the jar if it does not seal. Properly sealed jars may be stored in a cool, dark area.

Place jar into a pressure canner filled with water according to manufacturer’s directions. Affix lid and bring to a boil with the pressure valve open. Boil for 5 minutes before closing the pressure valve. Bring to a pressure of 10 psi, then reduce heat in order to maintain this pressure. Process for 75 minutes, watching gauge closely so the pressure stays at 10 psi. After 75 minutes, turn off heat and allow the canner to cool until the gauge reads 0 psi.

Directions

Place the venison into a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic; toss to combine. Place venison into canning jar along with onion and bell pepper. Jars should be filled to within 1/2 inch of the top. Wipe rim with a clean, damp cloth, and seal with lid and ring.

It was really easy, ’cause you don’t have to cook the meat or anything beforehand; just chop it up and pack the jars. I wondered if the meat would be cooked after being canned. YES! It is definitely cooked. It smelled SO good when it was finished.

I haven’t tried any yet, but I’m sure it will be yummy. All I’ll have to do is dump it out of the jars and heat it up before serving. Here are some ideas for using the meat:

Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, or noodles.
Eat it on a sandwich.
Make venison quesadillas, or tacos.
Use it in a stew or soup.

I’m pretty proud of myself! I’m even tempted to thaw out a bunch of the beef we have packed in our freezer to can as well. I also made deer jerky from what our friend gave us… but that’s another post!

Oh, and by the way, I used my canner on my flat top stove… even though you aren’t “supposed to”. They warn that the weight of the canner could crack the glass top stove surface, or that it will ruin the burner element due to the pot being larger than the burner. I just crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. I’ve had a lot of other people tell me that they’ve had no problem canning on their flat top stoves. I’m happy to say that I had no problem doing it as well.

Have you ever canned venison? Do you have a favorite recipe to share?

9 Comments »

shannon said:

It’s funny, but as I’m reading this, I can almost taste the cold-packed deer. It’s YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMY!!!!

# 6 June 2010 at 7:19 pm

Stephanie said:

Thanks, this will come in handy this fall if son (14) gets another deer! We have frozen what came from the first ever one this year, and almost all of it is gone already lol. Told him to shoot a bigger one next year!

# 6 June 2010 at 7:34 pm

Nikki said:

I have never canned venison(or anything else)but my Grandma used to can it.It sure was good.

# 7 June 2010 at 3:59 am

Holly Crawford said:

womderful!!!! I am so happy for you I feel so blessed and complete when I have learned a new skill….gives me a sense of security for the future Love ya

# 7 June 2010 at 6:35 am

katlupe said:

I can meat all the time and we like it better than frozen meat. In fact, venison is usually much more tender after being canned. I can venison stew as well as other stews. Canning is so smart as if you have a power outage you don’t have to worry about the meat in your freezer. Enjoy your new canner!

# 9 June 2010 at 11:00 am

journey11 said:

I’ve never canned it before, but plan to this fall now that I have a pressure canner. I was given some by my grandmother once and I used it to make venison bbq sandwiches. Just add sliced onion and the bbq sauce to meat in a crockpot. Simmer until onion is cooked and sauce is thick. Quick and easy!

# 12 June 2010 at 12:22 am

mark piekarski said:

well here i go. just got the jars in the cooker. hope i dont blow the place up. did everything your recipe called for. now i have to wait and maybe have a beer to take away the anxiety. haha

# 30 November 2010 at 5:58 pm

Kendra at New Life On A Homestead (author) said:

Mark,

I’m so proud of you!! Just follow the directions for your canner… don’t freak out when it starts hissing and steaming, you’ll be okay Let me know how it turns out!

# 30 November 2010 at 6:06 pm

Heidi Roth said:

I have canned venison years ago and just started again. We have always added a small cube of beef tallow to the jars, a piece of onion and a clove of garlic, canning salt to taste. This is a great way to process that gnarly old buck, so tender after the pressure cook. Cheap too! Awesome quick meal, 10 minutes to the table!

# 22 January 2012 at 3:28 pm

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