Canning: it isn't just for gatherers

many years ago one of my best hunting buddies turned me onto canning venison. he's an old timer, nearly 30 years my senior, and it has been my experience that old timers know lots of cool shit. you'd be wise to pay attention to the old hunters you know.

I've seen people throw deer shanks in the garbage. pity, as this is the best part of a deer to pressure can if you aren't ambitious enough to braise them, which is equally pleasing. I mostly can my shanks and some other really crappy trimmings with lots of silver skin, which is collagen, and what makes canned venison taste so wonderful. aside from the terrible cuts of venison, Eastern Fox squirrels were born for pressure canning. Of course, I can Grey squirrels, too, but the Greys, especially the young of the year, usually go straight to the skillet.

I only do venison one time a year, usually this time of year since there won't be any more additions to my venison supply because the season is over. Squirrels get done once or twice during the season, and one time when the season is over. Today I canned the last of my squirrels and all of my venison.

The venison had been in the freezer since November. While I'm butchering my deer, I segregate the shanks and other trimmings that will be canned, cut them into approximately 1" cubes or less and freeze until it's time to can them. For squirrels, I accumulate until I have enough to fill a canner or two. Two dozen squirrels will fill both my canners. I always like to thaw meat in the refrigerator, which takes days for gallon size freezer bags crammed full of meat, so I plan ahead.

The venison is easy to put in the jars. Just fill the jar with chunks of meat, pack it tightly, leave 1/2' of so of headspace. On the other hand getting bone-in squirrel parts packed tightly in a jar with as few air pockets as possible takes some effort. For years I simply put meat in jars, added salt (1/2tsp for pints, 1tsp for quarts), sealed them up and loaded the canner. Nowadays, I add just enough water to fill up the air pockets while maintaining the proper headspace, and some "Better Than Bouillon" beef base, 1/2tsp for pints, 1tsp for quarts. This really boosts the flavor of both venison and squirrels.

squirrels ready for jarring


90 minutes at 10-12lbs of pressure. running two canners is a big time saver


cooling down


today I did both canners fully loaded, the small one with 6 quarts of squirrel, the big one with 16 pints of squirrel, then I ran them again, the small one pretty much full with 3 1 1/2 pint jars and 4 pint jars, the big one with 8 pints. A grand total of 12 1/2 pints of venison, 32 pints of squirrel, on top of the 35 pints of squirrel I did in two prior batches.


canned squirrel is perfect for making squirrel gravy, and squirrel pot pie. not bad for tacos either. surely, it will work in any recipe that calls for shredded or ground meat.

it'll change your religion. once you go rat, you never go back... aw crap, can somebody rotate that upside down pic? don't know how that happened.

do it, Brock. you'll never look at venison shanks the same way again. and you'll not waste another minute trying to clean them up enough to grind. in fact, I think I trim my venison for grinding and steaks more closely knowing that I'm not wasting meat, but rather I'm adding to the pile going to the canner. cleaner grind meat and steaks makes for better table fare. shanks are a delicious cut of meat if you can make them chewable, like pork shoulder and beef brisket. canning and braising makes them chewable.

silver skin, gristle, connective tissue or whatever you want to call it is collagen, and it turns to liquid(or practically so) when you cook it low and slow or under pressure. this is what makes the shanks so tasty. I can assure you that pressure canned venison shanks don't require too much chewing. the consistency of the meat is that of a tender pot roast. fork tender, some of it just melts in your mouth.

preparing the shanks is a simple as removing those muscles from the lower leg bones, cutting them up into small chunks. make sure there are no bone fragments, cartilage or big tendons(like the Achilles) mixed in, but otherwise, it's all good for canning.

canning meat is a good way to preserve it, but I don't do it primarily for that reason. I can the toughest cuts of venison and the toughest small game out there to make them fit eat and useful to my cooking tendencies. I don't think I'd risk eating anything home or commercially canned after 10 years. Botulism is very serious and can kill you. not worth the risk, imo. I've eaten canned venison that was three years old, but I seldom have anything last more than two years around here. label your jars and rotate your stock to make sure you're eating the oldest stuff in the pantry or freezer first. I know I sound like captain obvious here, but after 20 years of my harping on reading the dates on frozen venison, sausages, and canned food, my wife still routinely grabs whatever is on top or convenient. I dig around in my freezer three or four times a year to make sure nothing gets buried that needs to be eaten. I work too damn hard to get this stuff to let it go to waste because of laziness or lack of diligence.