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Meat Canning

A method for canning lamb tongues using pickle, saltpeter, and retort or calcium bath processing.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Meat Canning

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare and cure

  1. Wash the lamb tongues thoroughly.

  2. Pack the tongues in tierces with the pickle.

  3. Add 8 oz. of dissolved saltpeter to each tierce.

  4. Place the tierces in a cool room for 18 days to cure.

  5. Blanch the tongues for 30 minutes.

  6. Stuff the blanched tongues into 1 lb cans.

Process in a retort

  1. If using a retort, place the cans with open vents.

  2. Screw down the cover of the retort.

  3. Close the exhaust pipe of the retort.

  4. Process the cans for 1.5 hours at 30 psi.

  5. Slowly release steam and open the retort.

  6. Stop the vents of the cans quickly.

  7. Return the cans to the retort.

  8. Boil off the cans for another 1.5 hours at 40 psi.

  9. Release pressure after boiling off.

  10. Remove the cans.

Finish the cans

  1. Shower the cans.

  2. Clean the cans.

  3. Lacquer the cans.

  4. Label the cans.

Process in a calcium bath

  1. If using a calcium bath, lower the crates of cans into the bath with vents open.

  2. Heat the calcium bath until steam rises from the vents.

  3. Process the cans for 40 minutes at 230°F.

  4. Stop the vents while the cans are still in the bath.

  5. Remove the cans from the bath.

  6. Boil off the cans in a retort for 1.5 hours at 40 psi.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Lamb tongues
Main meat that becomes tender and firm as it is cured and processed.
Saltpeter
Curing agent that helps preserve the meat and gives it a pink cured color.
Pickle
Brine that salts the tongues and carries the cure through the meat.

The step that matters

Stop the vents while the cans are still hot. Venting lets steam drive out trapped air before sealing. Closing the vents at the right moment keeps air from remaining in the can, which matters for safe shelf storage.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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