I do that also. In fact quite often when making a known excellent recipe for a stew or thick hearty soup I will double the recipe and can the excess. For the novice or so far non-canners out there, this really is little extra work for an outstanding convienent return. Once you have all the ingredients in the pot, and are fairly confident of what the results will be (and have it up to a slow boil simmer), ladle off enough to fill as many quart jars as your total quanity allows, to an inch from the top for headspace, and can them while simmering the nights main course. . The original recipe that started this thread was meant more as a way to process excess amounts of meat when the freezer is already close to full. Or, to empty the freezer when the power goes out. Your meat is usually the most expensive and easily lost item in your freezer in that situation. Having a gas stove or propane burner is important to have also. JMHO
I watched the video's yesterday where the gal set up everything dried for her soups and stews then just added the meat to it when she was ready to cook, Don't know if she had canned the meat before hand but it sure looked precooked. I am mainly thinking of putting away some of my smoked meats such as Brisket or Pork Shoulder that is mixed with my homemade bbq sauce. I'll probably go ahead and do some cubed beef for stews( saw price of chuck roast the other day and my jaw hit the floor of the store). Then i'll do some chicken for chicken and rice and chicken and noodles. with the price of meat going through the roof i wish I already had a bunch of stuff put away, but with my heart attack I had almost two years ago, and being disabled has really put a squeeze on what I had put up already, is making it hard to put stuff away now.
Have a canning party. In talking with other local preppers I know I have some who have never canned and want someone to show them. Others know sharing the work can make the whole experience like canning an entire freshly harvested deer much less of a chore. Others haven't even got a pressure canner yet (I have 3) and have been thinking about buying one to use.... maybe. You know how that is. They need a little more incentive. All these are possible solutions and ways to firm up contacts and local friends also.
We have canning parties with a couple friends of ours I'll sit on my tail cutting up asparagus squash and other stuff and put them in bags for the freezer while everybody else is working on the foods to be put in a jar. one day I did close to 300 lbs of asparagus, Hand cramps to infinity.
Canning chunks of meat makes it very easy to fix a quick dinner. Want nachos/burritos/stew/beef-on-noodles? Pop open a can, heat things up, and you're ready to go. MUCH faster than starting from scratch. This is very handy if you've got a busy household, without a whole lot of time once you & the kids get home in the evening. For even faster meals, I also do the TnAndy thing & make some canned stew. VERY fast, and it even tastes good!
