Canning Ground Beef

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Canning ground beef is safe when you follow the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) recipe for ground or chopped meat: brown the meat, drain the fat, cover it with boiling liquid and pressure can pints for 75 minutes or quarts for 90 minutes, with 1 inch of headspace. At 0 to 1,000 feet, run a weighted-gauge canner at 10 psi. A dial-gauge canner runs at 11 psi up to 2,000 feet.

The NCHFP lists only a hot pack for ground meat. There's no tested way to can raw hamburger, so don't pack it raw. This page follows the NCHFP's ground meat recipe, adapted from the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, plus its tested chili con carne for a ready-made meal.

Don't change the times, pressures, jar sizes or headspace. Ground beef is a low-acid food and has to be pressure canned. A water bath canner can't reach the temperature needed to destroy botulinum spores.

Ground Beef at a Glance (NCHFP)

Processing Times and Pressure by Elevation

These tables come from the NCHFP's ground or chopped meat recipe. The time stays the same at every elevation; only the pressure rises.

Dial-gauge pressure canner (hot pack)

Weighted-gauge pressure canner (hot pack)

The NCHFP gives no pressures above 8,000 feet. If you live higher, ask your county extension office before canning. Our pressure canning altitude chart explains how to find your band.

What You'll Need

• A pressure canner that holds at least 4 quart jars upright (our best pressure canner guide compares them)
• Pint or quart canning jars, new lids and bands
• A large skillet and a slotted spoon or colander to drain the fat
• A jar lifter, funnel and plastic bubble remover
• Boiling beef broth, tomato juice or water to cover the meat
• Canning salt (optional)

Step-by-Step: Canning Hamburger Meat

Prepare the meat

1. Start with fresh, chilled ground beef. The same recipe works for other ground or chopped meats.
2. Shape it or leave it loose. The NCHFP says you can form chopped meat into patties or balls, or sauté ground meat without shaping. For sausage, it says to cut cased links into 3- to 4-inch pieces.
3. Cook the meat until lightly browned.
4. Drain off the excess fat. Don't skip this step.

Fill the jars

5. Pack the hot meat into hot jars.
6. Cover it with boiling meat broth, tomato juice or water, leaving 1 inch of headspace.
7. Add 2 teaspoons of salt per quart if you like. Salt is for flavor only.
8. Remove air bubbles with a plastic spatula, recheck the headspace and add liquid if needed. Wipe the rims with a clean, damp paper towel and put on the lids and bands.

Process

9. Set the jars on the rack in a canner with 2 to 3 inches of hot water, or the amount in your canner's manual.
10. Lock the lid, heat until steam flows freely, and vent for 10 minutes before adding the weight or closing the petcock.
11. Bring the canner to the pressure for your elevation and gauge type. Start timing when you reach pressure: 75 minutes for pints, 90 for quarts. If the pressure drops below the target at any point, bring it back up and restart the timing from zero.
12. Turn off the heat and let the canner depressurize naturally. Remove the weight, wait 10 minutes, then open the lid away from your face.
13. Lift the jars out upright and let them cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours before testing the seals.

If this is your first load, our beginner's guide to using a pressure canner covers venting, reading the gauge and the cool-down in detail.

Sausage and Ground Venison

The NCHFP's ground meat recipe has two notes worth knowing:

• Sausage: use freshly made sausage seasoned with salt and cayenne pepper. The NCHFP warns that sage may give canned sausage a bitter off-flavor.
• Ground venison: before grinding, add one part high-quality pork fat to three or four parts venison.

Times, pressures and headspace don't change.

A Tested Ground Beef Meal: Chili Con Carne

If you'd rather put up a finished dish, the NCHFP has a tested chili con carne made with ground beef. It's one of the few tested meat-and-bean combinations, and it's for pints only. The NCHFP lists no quart time, so don't can it in quarts.

Ingredients (about 9 pints, per the NCHFP)

• 3 cups dried pinto or red kidney beans
• 5½ cups water
• 5 tsp salt, divided
• 3 lb ground beef
• 1½ cups chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped peppers of your choice (optional)
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 3 to 6 tbsp chili powder
• 2 quarts crushed or whole tomatoes

Method

1. Wash the beans and soak them in cold water, 2 to 3 inches over the beans, for 12 to 18 hours. Drain and discard the water.
2. Combine the beans with 5½ cups of fresh water and 2 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Drain and discard the water.
3. Brown the ground beef with the onions and peppers. Drain off the fat.
4. Add 3 tsp of salt, the pepper, chili powder, tomatoes and drained beans. Simmer for 5 minutes. Do not thicken.
5. Fill hot jars, leaving 1 inch of headspace. Adjust lids.
6. Process pints for 75 minutes: 10 psi (weighted gauge) at 0 to 1,000 feet, or 15 psi above 1,000 feet. In a dial-gauge canner, use 11, 12, 13 or 14 psi for the same elevation bands as the ground beef table above.

Don't add more beans, more meat, flour, masa or cornstarch. Changing the ratios changes how heat moves through the jar, and the tested time no longer applies.

Common Mistakes When Canning Ground Beef

• Raw-packing hamburger. The NCHFP ground meat recipe has a hot pack only.
• Leaving the fat in. The recipe says to remove excess fat after browning, and the jar rims must be clean for the lids to seal.
• Dry-packing browned meat. The tested recipe covers the meat with boiling broth, tomato juice or water. Don't skip the liquid.
• Using a water bath, steam canner or Instant Pot. None of them is a tested method for ground beef. Our article on canning in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot explains why electric cookers fall short.
• Turning a plain meat recipe into a casserole. Adding rice, pasta, potatoes or beans to plain ground beef creates an untested mixture. Can the meat plain and combine it when you cook.
• Canning in half-gallon jars. The NCHFP lists pints and quarts only.
• Rushing the cool-down. Forced cooling can pull liquid out of the jars and cause seal failures.

Storing and Using Canned Ground Beef

Remove the bands after 12 to 24 hours and check each seal: the lid shouldn't flex when pressed, and it should curve slightly downward. Reprocess any unsealed jar within 24 hours with a new lid and the full time, or refrigerate it and use it within a few days.

Store sealed jars in a cool, dark, dry place. The USDA says below 95°F (35°C), and 50 to 70°F (10 to 21°C) is best for quality. Use the meat in tacos, sloppy joes, pasta sauce or soup. Thicken and season when you cook, not before canning.

Don't taste anything from a jar with a bulging or unsealed lid, spurting liquid, an off smell or mold. The USDA says to treat suspect low-acid foods as if they contain botulinum toxin and dispose of them carefully. For the full set of meat recipes, including cubed beef, pork and stock, see our guide to canning meat safely.

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