Catching Up 2012

So it’s been a while since I posted anything here. I realized that I had quite a few posts sitting in draft form and rather than finish them off or delete them, I just posted them as is. So everything that’s dated September 3rd, except this post has been sitting around for a couple of years!

I got off my butt this year and got canning! Actually as I write this I’ve got the pressure canner going with about 9 x 500mL jars of beef stew.

I’ll be keeping track of everything I’ve done this season on here, hopefully! I have a canning diary and it’s been amazing to have it refresh my memory since it’s been a couple of years. But it’s always great to see pictures of the fruits of one’s work!

So a toast to the 2012 fall preserving season!

Love,

Gobble, gobble my new fave way…brining…

3 x 900mL Campbells Vegetable stock
1 x 1L apple juice
1 cup sea salt
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp savory
1 tsp sage
1 tsp thyme
4L ice water
12-18 pound turkey

Boil the first 7 ingredients until the salt has all dissolved. Let cool to room temperature. Now prepare the turkey. Remove innards pouch, wash and pat turkey dry. Add brine mixture to 4L ice water then submerge turkey breast side down ensuring cavity is full. Place in a cool place for min of 8 hours. I usually brine for 12 hours.
Remove turkey from mixture and pat dry. Discard brine mixture.

Now prepare the turkey…

Softened butter
olive oil
Bunch Parsley chopped
2 onions halved skin on
2 lemons

butter, touch salt and pepper, touch olive oil, zest 2 lemons and juice, 3 cloves garlic, handful parsley, mix. Season inside cavity, salt, pepper, 2 onions halved, lemon and bay leaves. Carefully gently loosen skin from bird and ball up butter and place it underneath skin and cover breast with butter. Massage leftover butter all over top (breast, legs, wings.)
Touch of olive oil on top.
Breast side down in roasting pan bake in 400F oven 45 minutes. Turn over, baste with butter and add bacon on top. Roast in 350F, 30 mins per kilo.

Turkey, turkey, turkey!

This works for chicken, duck, goose, pheasant and cornish game hen.

Pour boiling water all over it including inside the bird, the skin will shrink sealing in all the turkey goodness. Run a little cold water overtop to cool it a titch. Pat dry to remove the water. Then stuff it if you wish and brush a little oil on the skin. Add some spices on the skin if you have some poultry seasonings or even just paprika is cool too.

Ideally place it on a rack in a roasting pan. Use some foil to create a tent or use a cover or lid with the roasting pan.

Roast it at 450F for 15 to 18 mins per pound or 32 to 34 mins per kilo. Half an hour before the roasting time is up, remove the foil, baste a couple and turn the heat down to 325F.

That being said, I had a 19.28 pound turkey then calculated 17 mins per pound, I got 5 hours 27 mins when I took out my meat thermometer at the 5 hour mark it was done. The skin was all nicely brown and crisp. So I took it out of the oven and let it rest for an hour.

Cooked Strawberry Jam

Add chopped strawberries to a medium saucepan.

Love,

Beef Stew – draft

Well I had picked up two and a half pounds of stewing beef on the weekend and thought I’d better get on it and make some stew!
So I first browned the beef in a tablespoon in olive oil and placed it in a large pot.

Then added the rest of the ingredients.

Ahhhhhh, the true test of a good seal… When you can pick it up by the seal 24 hours later!

Here’s my recipe (adapted from Bernardin’s Guide to Home Canning 2010 revision)
2 1/2 pounds of Stewing Beef
7 cups peeled, cubed potatoes
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
3 cups peeled, sliced carrots
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

It gave me 8 pint and 2-500mL jars with one 500mL jar not sealing so it was lunch for the next day.

Lots of canning love,

What’s Up

Well I know the term is putting up, I just thought to call this post what’s up…what I’ve put up so far…now this doesn’t include what’s been eaten

Apple Butter -
Apple Pie – 11 pints
Beef Stew -
Carrots – 6 pints, 1 quart
Chicken – 7 pints
Chicken Stock – 3 pints
Corn -
Peaches -
Peach Honey -
Pickled Garlic – 1 x 250 mL
Plum Jam – 3 half pints
Salmon – 12 half pints, 4 pints
Split Pea Soup -
Strawberry Jam – 1 pint, 3 half-pints
Sweet Pickles -
Tomatoes (Crushed) -
Tomatoes (Whole) -
Tomatoes (Sauce) -

Lots of canning love,

Wahoo! More jars!

Well since I’ve gotten the pressure canner, I just want to can whatever I can get my hands on! The only thing setting me back is jars! Sure I can head out to the store and pick up another case or two but someone suggested I check into Freecycle. So I had placed want ad for jars and a couple of hours later I received a reply from a lady 3 minutes away. Two dozen jars mostly 500mL, all had bands and most of them had lids too! She was moving and didn’t have room to take the jars with her. I was sooo thankful and ecstatic. It never hurts to check out resources close to you.

Now they’re just waiting to be filled with yummy goodness!

Lots of love,