Place raw meat pieces into jars, leaving approximately 2” of headspace for adding the tallow.

Add salt, garlic and onion powder to each jar.  ½ teaspoon of each for pints, and 1 teaspoon of each for quarts.  

Add some pieces of raw tallow on top of the beef in the jars.  Make sure it doesn’t stick up above the top of the jar. A half inch of headspace is recommended.  It’s okay to push it down so you have your headspace room.  You do not need to add any water to the jars, they will create their own juice during the canning process.  (See video below)

Wipe the rims of your jars with a clean cloth to ensure the lid will seal well.

Place the canning lids and rings on the jars.  They only need to be hand tight.

Place 1-2 quarts of water in your pressure canner, place it on your stove and turn your burner on high.  Place jars of meat to the canner and put the lid on, being sure to lock it into place.  You can refer to your canner manual for detail instructions related to your canner.

Allow the canner to continue to heat until a steady stream of steam is coming out of the vents. (See video below)

Place pressure gauge or applicable device over steam vent.

Process quarts at 10 pounds pressure for altitudes below 2,000 feet and 15 pounds pressure for altitudes about 2,000 feet.  

When desired pressure is reached, lower the heat so that the pressure is maintained.  You don’t want it to go too far above or below the desired pressure for best results.  On my canner, it has a little pressure regulator that jiggles, so when it is put on the canner for 10 pounds of pressure, it is supposed to jiggle 4-5 times per minute.  That is how I know it is at 10 pounds of pressure. This is very simple, but will vary from canner to canner, so please refer to your canner instructions for more details.

Set timer for 90 minutes.

At the end of the processing time, simply turn off the heat and let the canner cool down slowly.  

Once the canner is completely cooled, remove the lid and using the jar lifter, remove the jars and place them on a towel on your counter to cool.

Allow the jars to fully cool to room temperature.  You will hear the satisfying “pop” of the seals as the jars cool.  This means you’ve been successful!

Once the jars are completely cooled, check to make sure they all have a good seal.  To do this, you’ll want to make sure that the lid on each jar is indented downwards, and when you press on the center of the lid, it doesn’t move.  If you use the For Jars lids, you won’t have any trouble with jars sealing.  If you have a jar that doesn’t seal, you can put it into the refrigerator and use it within a week. Or you can replace the lid and re-process it in the canner.  Sometimes a lid won’t seal if there is a small crack on the rim of the jar, or if a piece of salt or food particle wasn’t cleaned off the jar rim properly.

Wipe down your jars and put them on your pantry shelf to be enjoyed for a long time to come. I hope you try canning your own venison and beef at home, and if you do, please comment below with any questions you may have. 

​When you open a jar of canned venison or beef, remove the chunk of tallow that is on the top of the jar and discard it.  Shred the meat with a fork and add it to any dish or make beef salad sandwiches.