I had no clue bacon could be canned! However, I found the process several places online and decided to try it. It would be nice to have bacon available in an extended power outage instead of it spoiling in the freezer from no power!
Bacon (raw or partially cooked) can be canned by laying the strips on parchment paper, covering them with a second piece of paper, rolling it tightly and packing it into a jar. If the bacon is longer than the jar you’re using, you can cut the strips in half to make them shorter, or fold the whole thing over before you roll it.
Bacon (raw or partially cooked) can be canned by laying the strips on parchment paper, covering them with a second piece of paper, rolling it tightly and packing it into a jar. If the bacon is longer than the jar you’re using, you can cut the strips in half to make them shorter, or fold the whole thing over before you roll it.
I used raw bacon and natural unbleached parchment paper, so you can't actually see the bacon through the paper in the photo above. Sorry I didn't take any photos of the process, but there are photos in the links below. Those 3 jars above contain about half a pound in each jar, my trial run. The next batch will be strips cut in half, to fit in wide-mouth pint jars.
Here are some links to check out. The first link below, and the maple syrup link, both have good photos of the process, and I like that they use food grade parchment paper, not brown paper bags others used that may contain chemicals.
http://texascookin.blogspot.com/2012/08/putting-up-canned-bacon.html
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/gay127.html
http://www.rural-revolution.com/2011/01/canning-bacon.html
http://akhomesteaders.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=foodcache&action=display&thread=289
Maple Syrup or Tabasco flavored Bacon
RuralSpin read and tried the various ways online to can bacon, finding fault with most of them. She details what she didn't like, and then she experimented to come up with her own hybrid version. She says, "You can consider other flavorings for your bacon besides just maple syrup or Tabasco sauce, including brown sugar, chili powder, cayenne pepper, dried thyme, dried basil, cinnamon, or a mixture. For dried herbs and spices, just sprinkle them liberally over your bacon before rolling."
One of the best lunches away from home that I've had in years was Shrimp and Cheese Grits. The generous garnish over the whole dish included hickory-smoked bacon laced with maple syrup. I think I could make that bacon with RuralSpin's technique, so I'm trying her method next!
I've been following your posts and links regarding canning (just in case the electricity goes out for extended periods of time). While I'm fine with veggies and fruits being canned, for some reason I haven't jumped on the meat wagon yet. I know I'll get there just like I did with going back to traditional fats -- butter, lard -- but I'm really leery of opening a jar of meat that I've canned. Maybe I'll try small with a chicken breast (as suggested by Wendy Dewitt).
ReplyDeleteI look forward to your future posts.
Sherrie, even thouh my mother canned meats, I was already an adult and living away from home by then.
DeleteThink about the caned meats you perhaps buy... tuna, sloppy joe filling, or even (gasp) Vienna sausage.
Canning meat took a leap of faith for me, too, but I did it in small steps. First I canned a vegetable bean soup with bits of bacon. The next year I moved to vegetable stews with beef chunks. The 3rd year I actually canned chicken and venison. Now I'm comfortable canning almost any meat. Truthfully, I haven't conquered the odd bits like hearts and kidneys, but that's mostly because I don't yet know what to do with them.
The canned meat texture is different, it's a lot softer. But since I don't have any teeth except ill-fitting ones in a jar, it's not a big deal for me. I'd rather have canned meat on the shelf than a freezer full of meat rotting for lack of power in an outage.