Let's try this.

Friday, May 2, 2014

I canned, we ate, and we didn't die!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I tweaked a meat recipe, then pressure canned it.  Well, we pulled a jar of it out, heated it up, added the missing ingredients, and VOILA!  Dinner!

So, here is the original recipe for Ground Beef Stroganoff.  It's excellent! It's super easy to double and freeze, but I live in an apartment and have very limited space in my freezer.

I tweaked the recipe for canning like so:

Ingredients:
  • 2-4 TB of ghee or coconut oil (depending on your cooking vessel and meat), divided
  • 3 lg Onions, diced (I use the gargantuan ones from Costco)
  • 24 ounces of sliced mushrooms (I use Baby Bellas)
  • 6 pounds of ground beef
  • 1 6oz can of tomato paste
  • 1.5 tsp dried thyme
  • 1.5 tsp dried rosemary
  • 12 cloves of garlic
  • 1.5 cup beef stock (I use the organic canned in tetra pak from Trader Joe's)
  • 1.5-2 tsp of sea salt (probably more if using grass fed beef)
  • 1.5 tsp black pepper
Directions:
In a skillet, melt half of the ghee or coconut oil. Add the mushrooms and onions, and saute until slightly softened and browned around the edges. Remove to a plate.

 
 
 


If you're using fatty ground beef (mine is), then no need to use the other half of your cooking oil. If you're working with very lean meat, then use the other half of your cooking oil and brown the meat.  Return meat, onions and mushrooms to pan. Add tomato paste, salt, pepper, herbs and garlic. Saute’ for about 3 minutes to allow the flavors to develop. Reduce heat to medium. Add beef stock and stir to mix in.  No need to simmer it...you're getting ready to simmer the CRAP out of it in the pressure canner.

Ladle this mixture into jars, use additional broth if you need to cover the meat and veggies and leave one inch of head space.  Pressure can for 75 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure.  You MUST pressure can this.  Do NOT try to water bath can meat.  It's a low acid food.  You'll die from botulism or something. ;-)

VOILA!
 
 
Wait!!  You're not done!  When you decide to crack one of these bad boys open, you have to add the missing ingredients:

 
  • 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
  • 1 Tablespoon arrowroot powder
Whisk together the coconut milk and arrowroot powder, then add it to the stroganoff and simmer until it thickens. 

 

Pour it over spaghetti squash or cauliflower rice!  Here's a crappy iPhone picture: