Pressure canning meat is the only research-tested way to put beef, pork, poultry, or game into shelf-stable jars. Meat is a low-acid food, so a boiling-water bath never gets hot enough to destroy Clostridium botulinum spores. A pressure canner reaches about 240°F at the correct pounds of pressure, which is the temperature those spores cannot survive.
If you clicked through for a practical path from raw roast to sealed pint, start here: trim the fat, pack loosely, leave the right headspace, vent the canner for 10 minutes, then process pints 75 minutes and quarts 90 minutes at the pressure that matches your altitude. The rest of this guide covers pack style, ground meat exceptions, and the mistakes that quietly wreck a seal.
Meat Must Be Pressure Canned, Not Water-Bathed
Low-acid foods have a pH above 4.6. Meat sits well above that line, so acid cannot do the safety work for you. Botulism toxin can form in a sealed jar even when the food looks, smells, and tastes normal. That is why extension services repeat the same rule: no water-bath canner, no steam canner, no oven, and no open kettle for meat.
A pressure canner is not the same tool as a pressure cooker. Cookers are built to cook dinner fast. Canners are built to hold several jars upright, vent steam, and hold a steady pressure for a long timed process. Use a weighted-gauge or dial-gauge stovetop pressure canner large enough for pint or quart jars standing on the rack.
The National Center for Home Food Preservation does not recommend USDA meat processes in electric multi-cookers, including Instant Pot-style appliances with a “canning” button. Those units heat and cool differently than the stovetop canners used to develop the times. Skip the shortcut.
Choose the Right Canner and Prep the Meat
Use meat from healthy animals. Chill it to 40°F or lower as soon as you can. If you cannot can within a couple of days, freeze it at 0°F and thaw it completely in the refrigerator before packing. Do not can meat that smells off, feels slimy, or came from a sick animal.
Trim gristle, bruised spots, and visible fat. Fat climbs the jar wall during processing and can keep a lid from sealing. Leftover fat can also go rancid in storage. Cut red meat into strips, cubes, or chunks about 1 inch wide, and remove large bones. For strong-flavored wild game, soak the pieces one hour in a brine of 1 tablespoon salt per quart of water, then rinse.
Plan on about 1 pound of trimmed meat per pint or 2 pounds per quart. That is a packing estimate, not a safety rule. Pack loosely so heat can move through the jar. Salt is optional and only for flavor. For strips, cubes, or chunks, NCHFP directions allow ½ teaspoon per pint or 1 teaspoon per quart if you want it.
Have clean jars, new lids, rings, a jar lifter, a bubble tool, and a tested dial gauge if that is the canner you own. Have the gauge checked yearly. A gauge that reads low can leave you under-processing without you knowing it.
Skip Instant Pots and pressure cookers
A multi-cooker can make a fine stew. It is not a tested canner for meat. USDA times assume a stovetop pressure canner that holds several quart jars upright, vents steam for 10 minutes, and then holds pressure through a long process plus a slow cool-down. That whole heat curve matters. If the appliance cannot do that job the way the research was done, the times on the NCHFP charts do not apply.
Raw Pack or Hot Pack: Pick the Method That Fits
Both raw pack and hot pack are safe for strips, cubes, and chunks of beef, pork, lamb, veal, bear, or venison. The process time does not change. Quality does.
Raw pack is faster. Pack raw pieces into hot jars, leave 1-inch headspace, and add no liquid. The meat makes its own juices in the canner. Those juices often do not cover the meat, so the top of the pack can look dry and the jar can look half empty after shrinking. Safety is fine if the jar seals. Flavor is milder, closer to simmered meat than browned meat.
Hot pack takes more stove time and usually looks better later. Precook the meat only until rare by roasting, stewing, or browning. Pack the hot pieces loosely, then cover with boiling broth, drippings, water, or tomato juice, still leaving 1-inch headspace. Tomato juice is especially useful with wild game. NCHFP notes that hot pack is preferred for liquid cover and quality during storage, because lean cuts often do not release enough juice on their own.
Ground meat has one safe pack style
Ground or chopped meat is not a raw-pack product in the tested directions. Brown it first, drain the fat hard, then pack hot and cover with boiling broth, tomato juice, or water, leaving 1-inch headspace. Optional salt is 2 teaspoons per quart. Fresh sausage can be canned this way if it is seasoned simply. Sage can turn bitter in the jar.
Do not thicken the liquid with flour, cornstarch, or gravy mix. Starches change how heat moves through the jar. Do not invent a stew with potatoes, beans, rice, or dairy and then “just use the meat time.” Untested mixtures do not have a safe process.
How to Pressure Can Meat From Jar to Cool-Down
Wipe every rim with a clean, damp cloth after you remove air bubbles. Fat on the rim is a classic reason a lid never seals. Apply lids and screw bands fingertip tight, not cranked down.
Put 2 to 3 inches of hot water in the canner, or the amount your manual specifies. Set filled jars on the rack. Lock the lid. Leave the vent open and heat on high until a strong column of steam appears. Vent that steam for a full 10 minutes. Cold air trapped in the canner keeps the temperature from rising the way the charts assume.
After venting, close the petcock or add the weight. Start the process timer only when the dial reads the correct pressure or the weight rocks or jiggles the way the manufacturer describes. Hold that pressure for the entire time. Large swings cause liquid loss.
When time is up, turn off the heat and let the canner drop to zero on its own. Do not run cold water over it or jiggle the weight off early. Forced cooling can siphon liquid, break seals, and warp older lids. After the gauge reads zero, wait about 10 minutes, then open the lid away from your face. Lift jars out and let them sit undisturbed 12 to 24 hours.
Restart the timer if pressure drops
If the pressure falls below the target during processing, bring it back up and start the full time over. Partial time does not count. That rule feels annoying in the moment. It is cheaper than throwing out a load you cannot trust.
Check seals the next day. Remove the rings, wash the jars, label them with the contents and date, and store them in a cool, dark, dry spot. Aim for roughly 50°F to 70°F. Use home-canned meat within a year for quality.
Processing Times and Pressure by Jar and Altitude
Time is set by the food and the jar size. Pressure is set by your elevation and the type of gauge. Find your altitude before you start, not after the steam is roaring.
| Product | Pack style | Pint time | Quart time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strips, cubes, or chunks of red meat or game | Hot or raw | 75 min | 90 min |
| Ground or chopped meat, including sausage | Hot only | 75 min | 90 min |
| Chicken or rabbit, boneless | Hot or raw | 75 min | 90 min |
| Chicken or rabbit, with bones | Hot or raw | 65 min | 75 min |
| Meat stock or broth | Hot | 20 min | 25 min |
At 0 to 2,000 feet, a dial-gauge canner uses 11 pounds of pressure. Then add a pound for each 2,000-foot band: 12 pounds from 2,001 to 4,000 feet, 13 pounds from 4,001 to 6,000 feet, and 14 pounds from 6,001 to 8,000 feet. A weighted-gauge canner uses 10 pounds through 1,000 feet and 15 pounds above that.
Poultry packed with bones uses a shorter time because bone changes heat flow. Do not mix bone-in and boneless pieces in the same jar and then guess which column to follow. Fish and seafood use different times entirely. Stick to the tested charts for the food in front of you.
Mistakes That Ruin Seals or Safety
A few errors show up again and again, and they have boring, expensive consequences.
- Leaving extra fat on the meat, then watching lids fail or fat turn stale in the jar.
- Skipping the 10-minute vent, which leaves cold air in the canner and under-heats the jars.
- Ignoring altitude, then processing at 10 pounds when the weighted gauge needed 15.
- Adding flour, cream soup, or a pile of extra vegetables to “make it a meal” without a tested process.
- Cooling the canner with water or popping the weight early, then finding half the liquid gone and a weak seal.
Overpacking is another quiet problem. A jammed-full jar heats unevenly. Leave the headspace. If a jar does not seal, refrigerate it and use it soon, or reprocess it the same day with a new lid after packing it as a hot pack. Do not leave a failed jar on the counter overnight and hope.
Before you open a jar months later, look at the lid. Discard anything with a bulge, leak, spurting liquid, foam, off smell, or mold. Do not taste a suspect jar to “check.” When a sealed jar looks normal, still bring the meat to a boil for 10 minutes before you taste it, and add 1 minute for each 1,000 feet above 1,000 feet. That extra boil is a backup against toxin, not a substitute for correct processing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you pressure can meat that was frozen?
Yes, if you thaw it completely first. Thaw in the refrigerator, under cold running water, or in the microwave, then trim and pack as usual. Do not pack frozen chunks and hope the center heats on time.
Do you have to add salt when pressure canning meat?
No. Salt is for flavor only. You can leave it out or add the amounts in the tested directions. Use canning or pickling salt if you add any. Table salt can cloud the liquid because of anti-caking additives.
Why did my raw-pack jars look half empty after processing?
Raw meat shrinks and usually does not make enough juice to cover itself. The jar can still be safe if it sealed and you followed the time and pressure. Hot pack gives better coverage if that empty look bothers you.
How long does home-canned meat last on the shelf?
Use it within a year for the nicest texture and flavor. Store sealed jars cool, dark, and dry. A jar that stays sealed can remain safe longer, but quality fades. After opening, refrigerate leftovers and use them within 3 to 4 days.
Can you can leftover pot roast or meat with gravy?
Not with the plain meat directions. Leftovers mixed with thickeners, dairy, or untested sides do not have a process time you can invent at home. Can plain meat or a tested chili, then build the gravy when you open the jar.
Open a Jar When You Actually Need Dinner
Keep the first batch simple: cubed beef or boneless chicken, hot packed in pints if your household is small. Pints empty faster, so you are not staring at leftover meat for days. When you want chili, soup, or sloppy sandwiches, open a sealed jar, boil the meat as directed, then season it the way tonight’s meal needs.
That is the whole point of the work. One afternoon at the canner buys you shelf-stable protein that does not depend on freezer space. Follow the tested times, respect the fat, and let the canner cool without rushing it. The jar that looks a little plain on the pantry shelf is the one you will be glad you made on a busy weeknight.