pressure canning meats today

I had lots of plans for today but my son pays part of his rent with meat and today was the day he did so.  I use the meat to fill my pint canning jars.  My husband told me to do my best filling the jars this year and what we don't fill, we'll fill with venison we take this Fall/winter time.  With my son's help we've got a good selection in with pepperoni's, chicken, ham chunks, bacon and hamburger so far.  This is my first time canning bacon.  I know how to do it, just never have had a reason to do so.  You cut the bacon in half and then lay the slices down on parchment paper and roll it up and shove into the canning jar.  Anyway, today I am just rambling and I promise to cover canning meats in detail soon! 

I am trying to lay in lots and lots of pint jars and half pint jars.  Meats and cheese can  be a big treat if things get really bad.  1 pint jar is a full pound of meat, plenty for a family to share. I do ham chunks in half pint jars to add to soups and beans. A cup of ham chunks added to a pot of beans can be a heavenly treat in hard times! We only need 2 ounces of protein per day and most adults don't really need protein at all.  Protein is critical for growing children and pregnant women.  Not a lot of protein but a fairly steady supply. We are trying to make sure we have enough meats canned so we can have meat at least twice a week for a year.  I make my own cheese to can up or to wax and store away.  Getting the meats is a little trickery as with our very busy schedule we choose not to raise very many animals.  We do have a few hens and 2 ducks but I find it a struggle to just let them loose each day and then get them locked back up at night and no one is willing to go collect eggs so I do that once or twice a week.  With the severe heat wave we had this summer we had a lot of eggs go bad really fast.  Now that the temps have gone down into the 80's I should be able to stay on top of the eggs again.  I had planned on making egg noodles to dry and dry pack can today and then turn the egg whites into angel food cakes for the freezer.  I will wash and oil the eggs and leave them in the fridge and maybe next weekend I can make noodles. 

Well first batch of meat is out of the pressure canner and the next batch is ready to start.   I'll wait until after dinner to do the third and last batch.  Hope you each have a blessed day today!

Cherlynn