Pressure Canning Chili?

Question

I just got a pressure canner and want to try my hand at canning chili. I have a great recipe that I cook in the slow cooker but then I got to wondering, if I cook it for five hours and then pressure can it for 90 minutes will it turn to mush? What would be the best way to go about canning it, just cook it in a regular pot until it is ready to serve and then canning it will make the beef tender? Help! (Thanks!)

Answer 1

If your pressure canner is also a pressure cooker, instead of cooking it for 5 hours in the slow cooker you might try browning the beef in a skillet and then mixing it with your other ingredients (except for the beans) directly in the pressure cooker and pressurizing them at 10 pounds per square inch (psi) for 10-20 minutes. That would cut your cooking time down and preserve some of the vitamins and color in the food. When you are ready to can, add the cooked beans to the chili, then can the chili. When you pressurize the chili, it is not actually cooking for 90 minutes. You just heat the canner until it reaches the proper psi for your ingredients and then remove it from the heat. The 90 minutes (or however long it takes) is the time it takes for the canner to slowly cool in order to properly seal your jars. It should not make your food mushy if you don't overcook it prior to canning it. The only problem that you may have is discoloration because unlike foods you buy from the supermarket, home canned foods do not have the artificial preservatives added to preserve the color. But I have only had this problem when preserving apples, bananas, and other foods that brown easily. But back on the topic. The way your food tastes when you made it, is how it should taste when you open the can, provided that you properly followed the canning directions.