Others here at ATP indicated an interest in learning more about safety in canning meats. So I created this thread for folks to discuss any of the subject, and hope you will all join in.
As for me, I'm very busy during the garden season. So I've decided to try to prepare as much food as I can through the winter season that is easy to fix during the busy season. I enjoy chicken and noodles and chicken salad (spread type for sandwiches). I also enjoy beef and noodles and barbecue beef for sandwiches. So I canned my own beef and chicken to be able to quickly and easily make those lunches/dinners for one or two (small quantities).
For the chicken, I like chicken salad (spread type on bread) with white meat only. So I canned both jars of white meat only and then a combination of white and dark meat for chicken and noodles.
While cooking both my meat and chicken in large large pots or a large slow cooker, I added lots of extra water, and I also canned Broth from both the chicken and beef. My meat was canned in half-pints, while I canned broth in pints.
For canning meats, one *must* use a pressure canner for safety to kill botulism. This is my first year to do this, so I do not know the shelf life of canned meats. Perhaps I will check dates on cans of tuna or salmon to see how long they are good.
I have found all this very satisfying, in more ways than one.
Both of these jars, although one looks smaller, are half-pint (8 ounces) jelly jars:
