Question for the beef canners around here...

[326326]

When I was a kid my Mom canned beef roasts and it was truly wonderful. I am getting ready to can some beef roasts as well..... but I have one question..... the gravy we had as a kid i believe was from the juices our meat was canned in.... natural..... it was absolutely wonderful...... i would like to replicate this......any suggestions on how to can this properly in order to get a real nice natural gravy.....or any advice on what to do with the juice in order to make a nice gravy when ready to cook..??

Thanks in advance...... unfortunately I cannot replicate the good ol days but maybe this will get me a bit closer to a pleasant past......and a great dinner.

[goatlady]

All depends on what if anything is added to the jar with the meat. I personally raw pack browned a bit but not cooked) and do NOT add any additional liquid. I get nice rich juices, about 1/2 the jar full and use that as a gravy base. Some folks pre-cook the beef and then add broth or plain water to the jar "shoulder" to more juice, but to my taste it's not a rich flavored. Have no idea how you mom did it.

[liteluvr]

I straight up raw pack mine, but I leave about 1 and a half inches headspace on the meat. When all the jars are packed, I make a triple strength beef broth from soup base or bullion, based on how much I think I'll need. 1 cup per quart seems to be a decent rule of thumb.
Then I top off the jars to about 1" headspace with the broth.

When you open the jar and put it in the pan to heat, you only need add a little more water or stock, and use a little cornstarch slurry to thicken, and you get a pretty decent amount of good gravy.

Since the liquid was triple strength, you can add a fair amount of water and not lose much flavor.

[orion commander]

I cut mine in chunks. Brown the chunks really good. Pack jar. Use a mixture of the meat juices and water to cover the meat. Not too much salt as you can add more later.

[Summerthyme]

I agree with those who brown the beef first... that's what gives you the nice rich flavor and color for gravy.

I really prefer a "natural" gravy, not with soup base or bouillon... no comparison in flavor, although it's more work to do it the old fashioned way.

I use my homemade seasoned salt (the Lawry's clone recipe- it's posted here somewhere) for seasoning. I'll add other herbs if I want, but that seasoned salt is a good basic start for any meat dish.

Summerthyme

[326326]

Thanks All. I will give it a shot ....again, thanks for the ideas.

[Alder]

I also semi-cook and brown my beef, then pack in it's own beef juices. (Wet pack).

Simply make your gravy after you open the jar...like you would with any roast beef juices. I'm sure your Mom thickened with either cornstarch or flour. I am a flour-gravy person myself.