Meat Canning
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the feet
Clean the pigs' feet thoroughly, removing all hair.
Cure the feet in mild pickle.
Cook the feet in a jacketed kettle for 2 hours or until the meat easily separates from the bones.
Remove sinews and avoid using any bruised meat.
Fill the cans
In each 2-pound can, place 1 pound 13 oz. of meat and fill with the cooking liquid.
Alternatively, boil the sinews to make a jelly and fill the cans with this jelly liquid.
Wipe the cans, cap them, and stop the vents.
Process and cool
Process the cans in an open water bath at 212°F (100°C) for 2 hours and 15 minutes.
After processing, remove the cans, open the vents, and quickly stop them again.
Return the cans to the bath and boil for 3 hours.
After boiling, cool the cans in a shower room before sending them to the washing and labeling area.
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
- Pigs' feet
- Provide the gelatinous meat and connective tissue that give the finished canned product its body.
- Mild pickle
- Cures the feet, seasoning the meat and helping it hold its color and texture.
The step that matters
Removing the cans from the first processing and re-sealing the vents quickly. Opening the vents and re-stopping them quickly keeps the air-steam balance controlled and prevents contamination or loss of seal during the second boil, which matters for a safe, properly sealed canned product.
“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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