Pressure Canning Beef Stew in Weck Jars
Yesterday the HH and I pressure canned beef stew and HOLY CANOLIES PEOPLE it turned out fantastic! The stew was so good, we’re going to crack open another jar of it for lunch today.
I just love it when I find a knock your socks off kind of recipe. And it’s even better when it’s a canning recipe that I can make loads of and store away for an afternoon when I don’t feel like cooking. And really, who wouldn’t love that? A pantry full of canned good for our long cold winters here in New England?
And in case you haven’t heard, two weeks ago we found an awesome deal on Weck canning jars on Craigslist {556 Weck jars to be exact!} and since then, I’ve been making a list of all the things I want to can this summer. Do you want to help me?
Pressure Canning is Easy!
If you’ve never tried pressure canning before, it’s super easy. I’ve been using my All American 21-1/2-Quart Pressure Cooker/Canner for about 14 years now and I just love it.
Over the years I’ve canned everything from things like green beans and corn to soups and it works like a charm.
This recipe for beef stew is a 10 out of 10 and we loved it so much, I just had to share the recipe. I took lots of photos of the canning process too in case you’ve never pressure canned before.
So here’s to a busy summer with lots of time spent in the garden growing fresh vegetables and canning the fruits of our labors. And to a winter staring back at loaded pantry shelves. 🙂
Keep Calm and Can On.
~Mavis
Pressure Canning Beef Stew in Weck Jars
Ingredients
4 to 5 pounds of beef stew meat
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 quarts peeled, cubed potatoes {about 5 pounds}
2 quarts peeled, sliced carrots {about 3 pounds}
3 cups chopped onions {about 3 large}
3 cups celery stalks {about 1 medium sized bunch}
4 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon Beef Base
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
Wash vegetables under cold running water.
Peel and cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes. Measure 3 quarts of potatoes. Peel and slice carrots ½ inch thick. Measure 2 quarts of sliced carrots. Remove the tops and root ends from the celery and cut stalks ½ inch thick. Measure 3 cups chopped celery. Peel onions, chop and measure 3 cups chopped onions.
Cut beef into 1 inch cubes. Brown beef in oil in a large stockpot. Stir in vegetables and spices. Add beef bouillon base to 2 cups boiling water to dissolve, add mixture to pot. Then add enough boiling water to cover and bring the mixture to a boil. Stir well.
Pressure Canning Beef Stew in Weck Jars
Ladle hot stew into hot jars, leaving 1 inch headspace.
Remove any air bubbles. Wipe the jar rims and threads clean if needed. If using traditional canning jars, cover with 2-piece lids. Screw bands on..
If using Weck jars, carefully place the Weck rubber gasket on the lid of the jars. Place the lid on the jar and secure the lid with 3 evenly spaced Weck clamps.
Place jars on the rack in the pressure canner. Add 2 inches of simmering water to the canner.
Place the lid on the canner and turn to a locked position. Tighten side clamps. Adjust heat to medium high and vent steam for 10 minutes. Put the weighted gauge on the vent and bring the pressure in the canner to 10 pounds {PSI}.
Process pint jars for 1 hour and 15 minutes or quart jars for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Turn off heat and let your canner cool to zero pressure.
After 10 minutes, carefully remove the lid of the canner and let the jars cool an additional 10 minutes before removing.
Cool jars for 12-24 hours. Remove rings or clamps. Check seals, label and store jars in a cool dark place.
This recipe makes about 20 pint jars or 10 quart jars.
Notes
This recipe was canned at sea level. If you need to make altitude adjustments for home canning you can find directions here: https://extension.sdstate.edu/altitude-adjustments-home-canning
How to Use a Pressure Canner – https://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/tutorial-how-to-use-a-pressure-canner/
How to Use Weck Jars – https://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/how-to-use-weck-canning-jars/
More Canning Recipes – 80+ Canning Recipes
Cindy says
That beef stew looks delicious!! Great to have this fall when it’s cool and crisp. 🙂
christina says
I’m curious why can the beef stew as opposed to just freezing? Does it taste better? or perhaps takes up less room??
Mavis Butterfield says
We are limited on freezer space. 🙂
Lana says
Beef stew and chili are on my to can list. Thanks for the recipe!
Lainey says
I love the fact that you’re using the pressure canner outside. They terrify me lol but outside would be more comfortable to start to learn how to use them
Natalie says
I just bought a used pressure canner and I was super afraid to use it but I tried it today for the first time and it was so easy! Nothing to it at all. Just follow the instructions and you can’t go wrong. You can even give it a dry run without any product in it so you can get the hang of heating it up, venting it, closing it or putting the weight on and adjusting heat to maintain pressure. You can also start with something like fruit that doesn’t take very long. I did peaches today and they only had to cook for 10 minutes so it was an easy first step. I cant wait to use it again. Im going to try this recipe.
Kath says
Do you have any problems with the wind blowing out the flame on your camp stove?
Mavis Butterfield says
Nope.
Diane says
Looks like the all American pressure canner is about twice the price of presto or other brands. I know nothing about these so could Mavis (or somebody) explain what would make it worth twice the price? Are there different features I should be looking for that aren’t included on all pressure canners?
Anna says
Diane, the all American does not have a rubber ring. You can pass it down to your grandchildren’s grandchildren. The presto is good, but you may need to replace the ring.
Mavis Butterfield says
The All American 21.5 quart pressure canner weighs 17.75 pounds, is built like a tank, has more saftey clamps and is made in America. The Presto 23 quart canner weighs 12 pounds and is made in China.
The All American pressure canner is worth every penny in my book. Lehmans sells the All American for the same price as Amazon and offers free shipping and an additional 10% off if you sign up for their newsletter.
Pam says
I love it! To me you are fearless! Canning is so intimidating-I might have to try it this summer. Do the jars need to be filled with liquid? Sorry, I literally no zero about it. I have to process this in my head before attempting
Nancy D says
Hi! This recipe does have liquid with beef bouillon base and then the broth it makes as it cooks down. Just divide the stew contents between the jars and add the broth that it created when it cooked to within one inch of the top of the jar. Good luck!
Annette says
One serving per jar?
Sue R. says
I’ve pressure canned various things over the years but have wondered about nutritional value after it is “cooked” for such a long time. Anyone have knowledge about that?
KC says
There are some nutrients that are reduced by high heat (I’m looking at you, vitamin C; I think folate is also on that list?), but for the nutrients that simply leach into the broth and are not damaged by heat: the broth is not being drained, so you’ll keep all the potassium from the potatoes and whatnot. The celery is probably losing most of its vitamin C and vitamin A, but most of the carrot nutrients are made *more* bioavailable by being cooked thoroughly, and beef nutrients go both ways, so this stew in particular is likely a toss-up (as long as you’ve got a different, consistent source of vitamin C in your diet somewhere; do not get scurvy).
This isn’t on pressure canning specifically, but is a reasonably comprehensible outline to some of the tradeoffs of raw vs. cooked nutrition: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/raw-food-vs-cooked-food
(I would be really interested if anyone ever did a study on pressure-canning food vs. long-braising it – a stew that you cook for 4 hours low and slow instead of the short-term high heat of pressure canning – and how the nutrient profiles differ given the same starting ingredients. But we probably won’t get that, because thorough nutrient testing requires a lot of time and money.)
Some of the heat-sensitive nutrients further degrade over time in canned goods, faster if the food is exposed to sunlight or at a high temperature, thus the value of a cool pantry for storage (but having canned goods visible is one of the best ways to remember to eat them; there are tradeoffs).
Unrelatedly, resistant starch (a prebiotic) is very high in raw potatoes, low in just-cooked potatoes, increases again when they’ve cooled (so potato salad is a better prebiotic than fresh baked potatoes are) and decreases slightly, although not to just-cooked levels, when potatoes are reheated. So, this stew fresh would have less resistant starch than the “leftovers” do, making leftovers potentially nutritionally better. 🙂
Fundamentally, food and nutrition: complex and pretty weird! But cool! And it is indeed worth checking whether high-heat canning would destroy most of the nutrient values in any specific food; I wish the FDA or USDA had an easy way of looking that up.
Bonnie Baine says
this spring so far i have canned chicken thighs, pork tenderloin, blackeyed peas w/bacon, pork and beans, lemon curd strawberry jam and lemon ginger marmalade. plus froze an assortment of veggies including collard greens today. it is always a busy time, but sure tastes good come winter.
Dawn says
I am confused, did you simmer the stew until the meat and vegetables were tender before canning, or did it finish cooking during the canning process? I have only ever done water bath canning. Thanks
Mavis Butterfield says
Just as the directions state, you add boiling water to cover and bring the mixture to a boil. Stir well and then ladle the hot stew into hot jars. It continues to cook as it’s being pressure canned.