How to can meat from the freezer or refrigerator

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This posts gives solutions if you are canning cold meat from a refrigerator or freezer. If you are Just looking for step by step instructions on how to can meat (not dealing with freezer meat) check out this article here… Canning Meat.

What do you do when you want to clean out your freezer and get some of the meat in jars. Can you do that? Will it turn out all right? Is it safe.

And then. How do you do it? The meat is very cold, the canner and jars are suppose to be very hot. Will it break the jars? (not if you do it right)

How to Can Meat Cold from the Freezer
Canning Meat and Meals Course to learn how to can meat safely at home.

The first question to answer is actually, Is it ok to can meat from the freezer?

I did a video chat on youtube about just this question….

Basically the answer is yes. You can take meat out of the freezer and can it.

You’ll need to thaw completely.  Then just follow instructions for either a raw or hot pack depending on what you want to do with it.  

In my opinion it is easier to just do a hot pack from the freezer but you can do a raw pack as well. 

Let me clarify those terms.

All of the examples linked above go to articles about canning venison but the same step applies to beef or pork as well.

Raw or hot pack chicken can be found here. Chicken should not be canned ground.

Hot Pack is Easier

Remember I used to can it raw, but now I usually do a hot pack in a situation like this. I’ve decided it is easier and less fussing about temperatures.

If you really want to do a raw pack I’ve got some tips from my experiences below.

What do you do when you want to raw pack meat, but the meat is very cold–cold from just being thawed from the freezer, or taken right from the refrigerator?

How to can meat when it is taken cold from the refrigerator or freezer.

You have very cold meat, hot jars and a hot canner. Do you worry about thermal shock and breaking your jars?

And here is another video chat about canning meat from the freezer where I share some tips for dealing with the chance of thermal shock.

I answer a question that I received in my inbox. Here is Kristen’s question. She says…

“I have a question for you Sharon. I’ve always hot packed meat but processing venison yesterday, I did my first canner full of cold packed meat. I’ve put off cold pack because I can never seem to find the answer to this; If your meat is refrigerator cold (so that’s not just room temperature that’s like out of the fridge), do you still proceed with cold pack canning or do you warm it up a bit?

I’m afraid cold meat is just going to break my jars and most cold packing articles are using freshly processed meat or the meat temperature isn’t specified from what I can tell. Thanks.”

That is really a good question, and it’s something that I deal with all the time. Often when we’re processing an elk or a deer, we’re busy! Sometimes I’ll cube up the meat to be ready for canning, and then I put it in my freezer. I get it out another day when I have more time, and then I defrost it and process it.

How to can meat that’s cold from the fridge or freezer.

Yes, when you thaw out the meat, it’s very, very cold. Or if you’re just taking meat out of the refrigerator, it’s very, very cold.

I’m going to address how to handle cold meat, hot jars and canner in this article. I’ve got a link to full step by step directions below.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation doesn’t really mention meat temperature when it is going into the jar, but there is a difference between raw pack and hot pack.

Remember:

Cold pack (the same as raw pack) doesn’t mean not processing. It just means putting the food in the jar without cooking it first.

Hot pack means you lightly cook the food first and then put it in your jar.

So this is what you have:

  • you have a hot canner
  • you have hot jars because you’re warming them up in your canner
  • you have very cold meat.

What do you do? How do you can meat without breaking the jars?

Warm up the meat a little bit.

You don’t want to cook it, because if you cook it, you need to add liquid. When you’re raw packing, you put the meat in the jars, put your lids on, and process it.

When you hot pack or you cook it first, you do have to add liquid, so there’s a balance there.

I don’t want to put cold meat in my jars, because I’m afraid it may break. But, I do want to raw pack.

Warm up cold meat for canning.

Put the meat in a pan to warm it up just a little bit. Get a stock pot and put the meat and some warm water. Then get the rest of your canning supplies out. Lids, jars, canner and all of that. Start warming them up.

The goal is to just give it time to warm up the meat so it is not so cold.

By the time you’ve got everything out, the meat will have warmed up just a little bit. It’s not cooked, but it has warmed up. Then go ahead and put that in the the hot jars in the hot canner. We’re fine.

You want to shoot for warm.

There’s no specific temperature given, but you want to get close to room temperature. Maybe a little bit colder than that is ok. About room temperature is what you want.

The goal is to reduce that thermal shock between cold meat and hot jars and canner.

For specific directions on how to can meat as a raw pack, check out this page for step-by-step directions.

Related Pages:

See all Canning Meat Recipes and Articles here.

Two jars of home canned meat sitting next to each other.

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Page last updated: 2/25/2022

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Kim Flagen
Kim Flagen
1 year ago

I remember my grandma had canned venison. It was good. I might try this. 🙂

Greg
Greg
1 year ago

Hi Sharon, I am wondering if you have any recommendations for canning ground ostrich meat balls. I have an Ostrich Farm and a lot of ground meat I want to remove from my freezer.

Margi
Margi
1 year ago

Water bath canning pears, ready for canner, but not enough room and then they sealed. They have set for 12 hours, sealed but not processed in water bath. Can I process them now safely?