Canning with Chef Jo: Stews!

 I went shopping this week and was perusing what Mel calls "the dead meat" section. This is the marked down for quick sale items. I found 3 packages of two lamb shoulder steaks. A quick look at the calendar on my phone said today was the sell by date. Did you know that meat is good for an additional 5 days? Oh yummy, right? They were roughly half price. Can we say, snatch them up like lightning? I wished there was a leg in the dead meat section, but no such luck. 

Next there were some chuck steaks and a roast green tinged from the florescent lights. A quick grab and they were in my cart also. Did you know that the green meat isn't bad meat? It's just not pleasing to sell so vendors mark it down. There was roughly six lbs of meat of each. Remember Sunday when I said my food storage building was bare of meat products? I was about to remedy that.

I took my wheelie cart over to the fresh vegetables. I grabbed two sleeves of celery. This one was crisp with lots of green leaves. Next, I turned and hefted a 9 lb bag of organic carrots into my cart followed by a 10 lb bag of russet potatoes on sale for about $4. I grabbed two 3-lb bags of onions and noticed the mushrooms were marked down. I dumped all 10-8oz packages of mushrooms into my cart. as I wheeled on of the section. 

In the freezer section, I grabbed 10 lbs each of green peas and mixed vegetables. They were also on sale for 5 for $5. My mind was going through the recipes as I caught my breath. I returned to the meat section to grabbed two 30 count boxes of sausage patties and 4 ends and pieces packages of bacon, they were BOGO!

As a last resort, I picked up 2 jars of vegetable Better Than Bouillon. I really could make my own after I cleaned and peeled all these vegetables, but I wanted to do this quick. I would be making vegetable broth later. I was just starting to can my soups for the winter after all.

With bargains galore in my cart, I wheeled towards the cash register. When you have everything you need already purchased for the month, This kind of 'heyday spending' is often frowned upon. As is my habit, I let the cashier ring everything up. The total was well over $200. Mel almost had a heart attack, but I wasn't worried. "Watch," I told her with a wink. I whipped out my store card and coupons and watched the total fall. I love this part...by the time the register took everything off, my total was less than $95. Mel began to breathe again. With totals like that, I'll never make it on the TV show "Extreme Couponers," but I like my savings. But, the real savings is yet to come. By making stew, soups, and canning them myself, the real cost savings and health benefits add up. I can buy $12 a lb lamb for $5 a lb and not blink. It's a way to get the best for my household within our budget. Oh and the splurge buy of Better Than Bouillon, I had a two coupons making them a little over half price. I go into more details in my "Are You a Survivalist or a Prepper?" book.

Now not everything I got will go into the stews I'm canning, but at the price they were I can dehydrate or can them by themselves for my food storage building. After all, frozen vegetables are picked and flash frozen at the peak of freshness. By canning frozen vegetables, there's no prep work too. Talk about a time saver. On to the recipes.

I put the meat in the freezer for and hour. Partially frozen meat is easier to trim the fat off of and cube while I prepped my vegetables. For my stews I rarely chop my vegetables bigger than 1/2" to 3/4" cubes. I can get more meat and vegetables into the jars too. Not really, it's an optical illusion. For every 2" cubed piece of meat and vegetable, you actually get 7 or 8 pieces my way. You only think you are getting more. I'm making these in pint jars because we always serve stews with grits, polenta, over cornbread or biscuits, or rice. We get two hefty, tummy filling servings out of a jar.

Lamb Stew

12 pint jars

What you'll need

5 lbs lamb, trimmed of excess fat and bone cut into 1/2" pieces

5 cups onions, diced 1/2"

5 cups celery, leaves and stalk diced 1/2"

5 cups carrots, diced 1/2"

5 cups frozen green peas, rinsed

5 TBS coarse ground rosemary, either fresh or dried

5 TBS garlic minced

5 TBS salt, noniodinized

5 TBS black pepper

a handful of bay leaves

6 qts vegetable stock

3 TBS butter or olive oil

1 cup all purpose flour

Putting it all together 

• Place flour in plastic bag.
• Season it with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper.
• Shake to coat all meat pieces with flour shaking off any excess.
• In large skillet heat the butter/oil. Add meat pieces and cook until brown. The meat will not be fully cooked. Work in small batches until all the meat is brown. Drain and set aside.
• Form an assembly line with your vegetables and jars. Only put 4-8 jars to work on at a time.
• In the following order fill each jar: 
• 1/8 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 bay leaf
• 6-8 pieces of meat
• 1/4 cup onions
• 1/4 cup celery
• 1/4 cup carrots
• 1/4 cup potatoes
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup green peas
• Pour vegetable broth leaving 1" head space.
• Wipe rims, lid, ring finger tip tight, and place in a pressure canner.
• Process 75 minutes.

I also made beef stew using the same vegetables, beef, and the same method. I also added 1-12 oz can of tomato paste diluted with 1 can of water. I placed 1 TBS in each jar when I added the spices. 

Feel free to experiment and substitute vegetables in your stews. Don't like potatoes? Try rutabaga or daikon radishes. Don't like carrots? Try parsnips, or beets. Use any combination of vegetables, meats or legumes. Make your stew your own! Enjoy!

Now about all those carrots...you'll just have to tune in again to see. "What's Up, Doc?"

Y'all have a blessed day!

Chef Jo