10 Reasons Why You Should Be Canning Your Own Meat

You’ll be hooked, I tell you. Once you learn how to bottle your own meats, you’ll never go back to the old way of doing it.

Think about your meat habits. Do you put up a 1/2 beef in your freezer every year? Do you buy fresh from the butcher and take it home to prepare? Do you buy in bulk and freeze what you aren’t using right away? Do you buy canned meats? All of these practices have their own pros and cons. Today I’m going to share with you my top reasons for learning to bottle your own meats, and if you give it a try, your life will never be the same.

#1 – Save freezer space

For most people, freezer space is at a premium. If we can get those meats out of that precious space and into a bottle on a shelf then the space can be much better utilized for things like ice cream and otter pops. You know, the important stuff.

#2 - Buy in bulk

When we see a great ‘do-not-pass-up’ deal on meats, we’re able to take advantage of it, get our bottles filled and processed and not have to eat the same meat for every meal that week/month before it goes bad or gets freezer burned.

#3 – Use fuel you have now

In our everyday, non-emergency lives, we have fuel. We cook, heat and cool with it all the time and don’t think much about it. Many have the plan that when the power goes out, they’ll just pull out the camp chef and propane and bottle the meats in the freezer at that point. I’m here to tell you that when things go crazy, there will be much more to worry about than canning your thawing meats. Why not take care of it now when you have the time, readily available fuel and energy to get it done?

#4 – You know what goes in the bottle

No hidden ingredients. What goes in is what comes out. No artificial anything. Unless you are into that sort of thing. Then by all means, add those artificial ingredients!

#5 – Painless power outages

Cooking during a power outage is so simple with bottled meats. They are completely cooked through so we just add them to whatever recipe we are throwing together and heat it up. No extended cooking times (which use up precious alternative fuels).

# 6 – Save money (really this reason alone should convince you)

Canned meats are expensive. Where I live a small tuna sized can of chicken, 10 ounces, is about $3. With my large family, a meal gets pretty pricey buying canned meats. But I can bottle a whole quart (2 lbs) of chicken for about $3.00. I buy my chicken in bulk, usually 80 lbs at a time for less than $2 per pound, sometimes way less. Then I’m always eating sale price chicken. That 80# will keep me until the next big sale when I just rinse and repeat.

#7 – Save time

With the meats thoroughly cooked, we’ve eliminated a lot of the time involved with meal prep. It does take time to bottle the meats but that’s a concentrated and efficient amount of time that is planned for another day.

#8 – Save braincells

I’m not much of a thinker-aheader when it comes to daily meal times (I’m working on that). With meat out of the freezer I have to think at least 8-10 hours ahead (who does that?) and
sometimesmost of the time it just doesn’t happen… but I can open a can of canned meats and have a meal on the table in about 20 minutes because all I have to do is assemble and heat it through.

#9 – Save the planet

Okay, we’re not really saving the planet, but canning jars are reusable so at least we’re not contributing to the landfill by using cans. There is a little bit of an investment to get started if you buy them new but they can also be found at yard-sales or thrift stores, or just ask around your neighborhood. You might find an elderly neighbor who is happy to pass along their bottles to someone who will put them to good use. That’s you.

#10 – Less waste

Canning jars come in all sizes. Use the size that your family will eat in one meal. At my house we use both quarts and pints for chicken and beef because sometimes the meal will be for all of us and sometimes the kids are off doing kid stuff and it’s just mom dad and the littles at home.

BONUS #11 – Satisfaction

In a world where we can hire almost everything out, there is something to be said for the satisfaction of doing it ourselves. Self-reliance in skills and knowledge brings a peace that cannot come any other way. Providing for our families is our number one job and doing it well is a wonderful thing.

http://thesurvivalmom.com/canning-your-own-meat/