This canned luncheon meat is a variation of my canned pork. I adapted the seasonings for this luncheon meat from the kabanos sausage recipe. The slightly sweet and savory flavor profile of the kabanos sausage works exceptionally well for luncheon meat. I experimented with many seasonings but none came even close to this one. This one is a huge hit and most of the pork meat that we preserve comes in the form of this canned luncheon meat.
Unlike the canned pork, in this recipe, I grind fattier meat and mix it with chunks of lean meat. This way you get an almost perfect cylinder of meat that you can then slice and use on sandwiches.
Some people add a couple of teaspoons of gelatin per jar to make the juices gelatinize. I normally don't as my family, especially the kids, isn't big on gelatinous texture.
Before canning, I cure the meat for 48 hours. It's not necessary but the curing salt adds the desirable pink color to the meat and enhances its flavor. Cure #1 also serves as a barrier against potential harmful bacteria. I find that cured meat keeps its taste qualities for longer. Canned meat will store well for up to 3 years, but its taste will begin to deteriorate after about 1 year depending on how you store it. Cured meat will keep its freshness longer.
Food safety when canning meat
Canning meat is fairly straightforward but you must follow some basic rules to ensure that your canned meat will be safe to eat. Those include using a pressure canner, keeping the meat cold, using clean utensils, processing at the right pressure/temperature and for sufficient time, among other things.
If you are new to meat canning, please read my guide on how to can meat before attempting this recipe.
Ingredients
- 2.2 lbs pork 1000 g; pork butt, or pork butt and ham mix
- 1/2 tsp cure #1 level; 2.5 g
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt one level, one heaping; 9 g
- 3/4 tsp black pepper 1.5 g; ground;
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg 0.5 g; ground
- 1/2 tsp sugar 2 g
- 1/4 tsp caraway 0.5 g; ground
- 1/4 cup ice water
Instructions
- Cut the meat into 1-inch pieces. Mix the salt with Cure #1. Place the meat in a bowl, sprinkle with the kosher salt and cure #1 mix, and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 24-48 hours.
- Take the meat out of the fridge, sprinkle with the pepper, nutmeg, sugar and caraway, and mix well. (See note 1)
- Separate lean meat pieces from fattier pieces. Grind the fatty pieces through a 3/8" (10 mm) plate, add the lean pieces back, add the ice water, and mix well.
- Before proceeding, review the detailed guide on how to can meat.
- Pack the meat (not very tightly) into 16-oz mason jars, leaving 1/2" headspace.
- Wipe the rims, place the lids on top and screw on the bands finger-tight.
- Process at 250F (15 PSI) in a pressure canner for 70 minutes (see note 2).
- Remove the canner from heat and let it depressurize naturally.
- Using a jar lifter, carefully remove the jars and place them on a towel or a cooling rack to cool down to room temperature for about 12 hours.
- Remove the bands. Wipe the jars with a damp towel or paper towels. Test the seals.
- Store in a cool, dark, and dry place for up to 2-3 years. The most optimal storage temperature is about 35F-59F (2C-15C).
Rafael Groce
Happy to have found your luncheon meat recipe. I learned something totally today and I am up for the challenge of making my own. Wish my good luck.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Good luck. I am sure it will turn out great, this is fairly simple recipe.
Troy Colton
I took out enough pork to do 16 jars of your canned pork but now I see your lunch meat recipe I will make 8 jars of each. I made a couple cases of spam last week but they didn't turn out as good as last year's. I used a couple hind legs I never got around to making ham out of and it's much leaner than the shoulder I used last year. I'm guessing that was the issue.
It will be nice to have a little bit of something different and your lunch meat looks really good.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
I think you will like it. There is something about a mix of whole meat pieces and ground meat, the texture is very good. Kind of like spam but better, of course.
Elena
Hi Victor, enjoy your website and recipes. I lived in Germany for a year in the late 80's and the farm where I worked made something like this. I have kicked myself for 30 years for not having learned their technique. Was too busy chasing cows to spend time in the kitchen. How are you "packing" this in a jar? Normally with a raw pack canned meat you put it in loosely. Do you form a cylinder of sorts and put in jar? I am assuming the cure makes it a safe process? Thanks, Elena
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Elena, I mix the meat chunks with ground meat and just spoon the mix into jars. I lightly press the mix down with the spoon as I go. You don't want the meat to be too loose as you will end up with too many cavities and the meat will sink down after canning, leaving a big headspace.
In this recipe, pressure canning makes the meat safe, not the cure. I only add the cure for the color and the flavor. Sure, there is the benefit of added safety but if you can properly and the seal stays intact you are not required to add curing salt.
Rebecca Woosley
The recipe says chunks of meat, but could you grind it? Recipe says 15# pressure - is that because of your altitude or just for the temp, my altitude is 10#.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Rebecca, I use a mix of ground and chunks in this recipe because I like the contrast of different textures, but you can grind all of the meat. Somewhere in my post, I mentioned that I use 15lbs of pressure because I like the texture better when cooked at 15lbs. It's a personal preference. If at your altitude 10lbs is sufficient, you can go with that.
Annie
Thank you so much Victor for this recipe! My husband is absolutely crazy about this pork luncheon meat! I do a lot of homemade goodies, smoking, curing and preserves but never did canned meat before and it is absolutely delicious! Now, I will have to buy Stanley Marianski book on canned meat and keep it next to my Rytek Kutas cured meat and sausages book! Your site is now saved in my favorite!
Annie
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Annie, thank you for the kind words and I am happy that I could help you discover something new.
My grandpa used to make canned meat all the time but I only started a few years ago and love it. The meat is ridiculously good and you can store it for years. Without refrigeration!!! 🙂 How cool is that? This is a great way to take advantage of bulk pork prices and not worry about freezer space too. We have a farmer nearby selling excellent pork at really good wholesale prices but only if you buy a whole or half a hog. They call it freezer pork. For me it's canned and cured pork;)
And the convenience of it is unmatched. Just cook some rice, buckwheat, quinoa, spaghetti and mix the meat in. My daughter likes to make it more interesting by sauteing some onions, garlic and mushrooms then adding the meat to heat it up, and only then mixing it with the carbs. We also add it to soups when pressed for time, or make sandwiches with it when you need to whip up a meal in minutes.
They say that canned goods start to lose their taste qualities after a year but I am not noticing it with my canned meat. I opened the last jar from an older batch that I had made about 2 years prior and the meat tasted just like it was canned a month before.
Good luck!
jeffytbone
Hello Victor. I just wonder about Note 1. Is that 1 teaspoon per jar or to the whole thing. Thank You.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi jeffytbone, yes, it's per jar. I updated the note. Good luck!
Tracy
I have been canning forever. But I’m new to meats! Thanks for this, as soon as I find pork butt on sale I’ll be making a batch!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Tracy, sorry for the late response. You are very welcome. I will be adding more of my favorite canned meat recipes soon.
Beau
I'm canning meat for a long road trip punctuated by camping trips I'm taking with my kids. How do you serve the luncheon meat? It looks pretty wet.... Is it the kind of thing you want to heat up, or can you just drain it and bust chunks up with a fork on a piece of bread or something? Is it good at room temp?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Beau, depending on how much skin you will have in a jar the liquid may turn into thick jello, my kids like it. Otherwise, yes, it will be wet. We serve it cold by spreading on bread and making sandwiches. Yes, you can drain the liquid. You can also make pasta, boiled potatoes, quinoa, rice, noodles, buckwheat or any other grains you like and mix with the meat. No need to drain the liquids here as that will make the dish juicier. My wife fries some onions, shredded carrots, chopped celery and greens, then adds canned meat (drained), heats it up then mixes with pasta. Delicious. Lot's of ways to get creative here.
ELIAS
SALT CONTENT 9 GR IS TOO LOW CONCONTROL CLOSTRIDIUM, LUNCHEON MEAT
WPS > 4%
SALUDOS
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Wrong! Even if you write in all capital letters.
I will quote Stanley Marianski and I highly recommend reading his book Home Canning Meat, Poultry, Fish and Vegetables.
"Salt does not preserve meat in canning and is added for flavoring. It can even be left out altogether. If used, place salt in the container before putting in the meat."
Marianski, a well-known expert on meats and sausage production, states that you can control Cl.botulinum two ways - by killing spores and by preventing spores from germinating and growing.
Cl.botulinum spores can only be killed at 240° F, 116° C or higher. This is why we can meat in a pressure canner, which allows to reach that temperature.
Salt can be used to prevent or slow down the growth of Cl.botulinum but you need to reach a 10% salt concentration which is equivalent to a water activity of around 0.93. I can imagine very few people would want to eat meat that is that salty.
High acidity (pH < 4.6) is another way to control Cl.botulinum. This acidity level prevents botulinum bacteria from leaving the spores, which in turn prevents them from germinating and growing, therefore no toxin is produced. Hence there reason why high-acid foods such as fruits or juices can be processed at 212F (100C) as this temperature will kill all bacteria in vegetative form and bacterial spores are prevented from germinating by high acidity.
Rebecca Woosley
The recipe says chunks of meat, but could you grind it? Recipe says 15# pressure - is that because of your altitude or just for the temp, my altitude is 10#.
Sharlene Kaiser
Is it possible to use thinned tomato basil soup when canning different meats instead of just tomato juice or water?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
I don't see why not. I like that idea.