What Are You Preserving, and How Are You Doing It? (2016–)

[Shelby]

Thanks, @ChocoMom !  What cuts of meat have you done venison-wise?  My first thought was just doing the roasts...but maybe those tougher pieces like from the legs would work too?  I love the soup idea.  Maybe I should practice on a chicken......

[ChocoMom]

For the venison, I've canned everything except the backstraps.  I liken the backstraps to a beef tenderloin. Sliced into "steaks" or medallions, those are just so nice and tender - we eat those as soon as I cut them out and cook.  I did do the roasts, the shoulder area, and the legs. I kind of slide the knife blade down the sinew to remove that stuff, and then cut the meat pieces into smaller chunks.  The legs seems to have the most sinew.  Shoulders- a little, but not as bad as the legs.    You don't really have to practice on chicken, if you have some venison handy.  Beef, chicken and venison all get processed the same in the pressure canner.  You can add whatever you like for additional flavors- like onions, garlic, peppers, hot sauce, maybe a little smoke flavoring.   Just make sure you get that tsp of salt in there.  

The soup turned out great with the beef. I did a chicken - vegetable too. Its amazing how tender all the meat becomes. Once you try it, you'll be hooked. =) 

[Okanagancook]

ChocoMom and Shelby:  Reading the back and forth you two have been engaged in is what is so wonderful about our community!

[JohnT]

Mampoer Eggnog

 

So, up thread is @ninagluck's Eggnog recipe and this is an account of my version. A couple weeks ago I mentioned that I was having a problem getting 95% alcohol and ordered some from a pharmacy friend. Well, his pharmacy is around 30 kilometres drive from me and I have been delaying making the journey. Over the past weekend the phone rang and Garth, the pharmacist, asked if I still wanted the alcohol or did I want "something a bit better". It turned out that the "something a bit better" was Mampoer, fresh out of his illegal still. I chose the "something a bit better", which was offered to me at the very reasonable price of "free". So, Sunday I picked up a bottle of Mampoer (around 80% ABV) and today set about the highly technical task of mixing up the eggnog. From start to finish = 12 minutes = two 375ml bottles Mampoer Eggnog.

 

Now, somewhere in my distant memory was a song "Take my breath away" - very appropriate, as that is what a sip of this beverage does. Roll on Christmas! (That is if it manages to last that long). John.

[Shelby]

1 hour ago, JohnT said:

Mampoer Eggnog

 

So, up thread is @ninagluck's Eggnog recipe and this is an account of my version. A couple weeks ago I mentioned that I was having a problem getting 95% alcohol and ordered some from a pharmacy friend. Well, his pharmacy is around 30 kilometres drive from me and I have been delaying making the journey. Over the past weekend the phone rang and Garth, the pharmacist, asked if I still wanted the alcohol or did I want "something a bit better". It turned out that the "something a bit better" was Mampoer, fresh out of his illegal still. I chose the "something a bit better", which was offered to me at the very reasonable price of "free". So, Sunday I picked up a bottle of Mampoer (around 80% ABV) and today set about the highly technical task of mixing up the eggnog. From start to finish = 12 minutes = two 375ml bottles Mampoer Eggnog.

 

Now, somewhere in my distant memory was a song "Take my breath away" - very appropriate, as that is what a sip of this beverage does. Roll on Christmas! (That is if it manages to last that long). John.

It does taste very strong at first, but I bet it already tastes more mellow today.  I took a wee sip last night of mine.   It is SO good.  Too good.  Must be careful lol.  I'm also amazed at how much thicker it's gotten over time.  Not too thick....just right.

[ElainaA]

I'm not quite sure if these are preserving or if they belong in confections since they will eventually be dipped in chocolate and included in my holiday candy bags.

Candied pears and orange slices (Greweling's method). I found some very tiny bosc pears at the farmer's market. The pears are ready to start drying:

The orange slices have a ways to go - they are at 55 brix today.

Edited November 29, 2016 by ElainaA (log)

[ninagluck]

@JohnT, there is a reason, why I make it weeks ahead of christmas, the flavour develops and the "strong" taste fades away. stay strong and be patient ;-)

[FrogPrincesse]

Pear & vanilla jam (recipe by Christine Ferber). This is one of my favorite jams, so delicious when made with perfectly ripe pears. I used Barletts that I let ripen on the counter in a brown paper bag for close to a week. I had forgotten that this was a recipe that was two recipes in one. First you have to make green apple jelly that you use in the pear jam. So this is a bit time consuming, but well worth the effort.

 

 

A couple of Tahitian vanilla beans.

 

 

 

I ended up with some extra green apple jelly, so I made a very small batch of green apple & earl grey tea jelly (the pots on the right that don't have the vanilla beans).

 

 

 

Edited December 14, 2016 by FrogPrincesse
formatting (log)

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Last night I made 7+ jars of a jelly I've made before, and it was a complete failure. I always have a significant crop of chile perón, which in other parts of the world are called "manzana," or apple chiles. The outcome has always been a wonderful rosy spicy-sweet jelly that goes brilliantly with cheese, or just on buttered toast. Chile perón is a beautiful golden yellow.

 

I have to say outright that I rarely use pectin in my jams, preferring to let the fruit cook down until thick, so I'm not experienced enough to know what happened last night. I followed the same recipe as always but the jelly did not set up. The recipe is: 12 oz. of chiles, one red bell pepper, 6 c. sugar, 2 c. vinegar, one packet (6 Tbs.) powdered pectin. I grind the chile and red pepper in the Cuisinart with a cup of the vinegar and then put the chile-pepper mix into a kettle with the rest of the vinegar. I bring it to a boil and then stir in the sugar that has been mixed together with the pectin. Bring that to a boil and cook another minute. No gelling happened, so I cooked it a little longer and added more pectin (approx. 4 more Tbs.). Nada.

 

So my question is--what happened? I bought the pectin this last summer while we were in the US so it's not too old to work, if that happens with pectin. Should I try liquid pectin the next time? And what can I do with 7 jars of runny jelly? Can I open the jars and try again with more pectin, or is this batch destined to be an endless supply of poultry glaze? I think it would be quite good on pork roasts, but still--

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Nancy in Pátzcuaro

[TeakettleSlim]

You might try boiling it a bit longer. Gel point is 221F. Sometimes it can take a while to get there!

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

OK--I'll dump this stuff back into the pot and see if I can get it to gel at a higher temperature. We're at 7200 feet here so boiling point isn't 212 in the first place.

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

Nancy in Pátzcuaro

[Shelby]

Got my stuff all dolled up for gift giving yesterday.  

 

Just some tags from Etsy and then I stamped them with a snowflake and tied with twine.

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Dark chocolate & banana jam. This was a late request from my daughter for the small market we were going to be selling at. It is a very easy recipe (by Christine Ferber) and it was a big hit! We sold everything but one jar. I used Belgian dark chocolate from Trader Joe's and 99% chocolate from Switzerland.

 

 

Here it is on a slice of homemade brioche.

 

 

[sartoric]

A jar of mango chutney. It's simply chopped mangoes, apple cider vinegar, caster sugar and diced long red chillies.

I would have made more, not for lack of mangoes, rather lack of sugar and vinegar. Oh well.

Sampled in a sandwich snack with shaved ham.

 

 

 

 

 

[sartoric]

Today I made @liuzhous "found on the internet" mango relish.

I used two homegrown birds eye chillies and three mangoes plus other ingredients as indicatated in the recipe which I can't link because I naturally repel technology.

The stray relish is delicious. I can't wait to try it with an aged cheddar.  

 

 

 

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, sartoric said:

Today I made @liuzhous "found on the internet" mango relish.

I used two homegrown birds eye chillies and three mangoes plus other ingredients as indicatated in the recipe which I can't link because I naturally repel technology.

The stray relish is delicious. I can't wait to try it with an aged cheddar. 

 

I'm delighted to hear you decided to try it. Please do say what you think of it.

 

BTW, the recipe is here.

Edited December 17, 2016 by liuzhou (log)

[suzilightning]

From Vivian Howard's book the Rutabaga Pickles.  John's cousin Debbie and her daughter love rutabagas as do I.  I had one leftover from the dish I did for Thanksgiving and have a pint jar for both ladies and a half pint for myself.  Will report back on how they are ... Ms. Howard suggested letting them go for a week before trying.  What could be bad, though?

 

spoken as someone who drinks pickle liquid.......

[Shelby]

32 minutes ago, suzilightning said:

From Vivian Howard's book the Rutabaga Pickles.  John's cousin Debbie and her daughter love rutabagas as do I.  I had one leftover from the dish I did for Thanksgiving and have a pint jar for both ladies and a half pint for myself.  Will report back on how they are ... Ms. Howard suggested letting them go for a week before trying.  What could be bad, though?

 

spoken as someone who drinks pickle liquid.......

Oh cool!  Yeah, let us know how you like them!

 

PS You gotta learn that camera--I wanna see a picture 

[kayb]

I have been pickling things and canning things that will go in Christmas gift baskets. First, the aptly-named "firecracker pickles," a recipe my daughter got from a friend who makes them; she swears they're wonderful, though they're certainly the oddest pickle I ever made.

 

One takes a gallon of el cheap-o hamburger dill slices from the grocery, dumps them in a colander, and drains off the brine. Then one packs them back in the jar, layering them with sugar and a Whole Bottle of hot sauce.  It only looks like someone bled in it.

 

 

The sugar dissolves into a brine. I let it sit a couple of days, then transferred pickles with a set of tongs to smaller jars, poured brine over, and processed in a water bath to get a seal. I tried one before I canned them and I think it singed a hole in my tongue.

 

 

Then I decided to combine two childhood standbys into a single jar, and pickled quail eggs and chunks of Boar's Head ring bologna, sliced about 2/3 of an inch thick and cut in quarters. Each jar had a half a serrano pepper, half a red jalapeno, a clove of garlic and two tbsp. of salt, with a brine of 4:1 white vinegar and water. They look pretty, and there's certainly a novelty factor.

 

 

Finally, I made a double batch of bacon jam, simplified greatly by cooking the bacon (two three-pound packages of Wright's ends and trimmings) in the package from the store, sous vide at 147 degrees for about 18 hours. Drained the fat, dumped bacon in Dutch oven, added the caramelized onions, brown sugar, maple syrup, brandy, a couple of cups of strong black coffee, Aleppo pepper and allspice and simmered for two hours. Processed it in batches to semi-smooth consistency, and canned in half-pint jars. Marvelous on biscuits, grilled cheese sandwiches, and grilled burgers!

 

 

[Shelby]

Kay, you've worked your butt off!!  I love everything!  I still need to make some of that bacon jam.  Need to find some ends somewhere. And the quail eggs and bologna.  Brilliant!

[kayb]

@Shelby, I drove an hour and 15 minutes, one-way, to get to the Asian market in Memphis, as the local Asian market didn't have any. Bought all they had in the cooler -- five dozen. They looked at me funny.

 

The bacon jam rocks, if it IS my own recipe. This will be nice in gift baskets, and will be a good supply for me for a while.

[ElsieD]

@kayb  how did you cook the quail eggs?

[kayb]

Instant Pot, low pressure, two minutes, natural release, ice bath. I knew they'd get a little more heat when I processed them in the canner, so I decided to err on the side of maybe undercooking. Didn't split one open to check.

[liuzhou]

@sartoric et al. I woke up this morning with mangoes on my mind and remembered that I had printed out the article where I found the mango relish recipe. I still can't find that printout, but I remembered also that my printer at home was dead at the time and so I had printed it in the office. This meant I copied the file to a thumb drive to take to the office. Only question was which one - I have dozens. Miraculously, I found the article on the first drive I tried. 

 

Then, I was able to search for a distinctive phrase from the article and eureka, I found it!

 

Which is a long story to tell you where it came from and to give credit to Thomasina Miers, whose recipe it is.

[ElsieD]

15 hours ago, kayb said:

Instant Pot, low pressure, two minutes, natural release, ice bath. I knew they'd get a little more heat when I processed them in the canner, so I decided to err on the side of maybe undercooking. Didn't split one open to check.

 

Thank you.   I cook these things every now and again  for deviled eggs and have made note of how to cook them in the IP.  ONE other question - how easy were they to peel?