Originally Posted by MyAlberta
Daughter and I are avid waterfowlers, and faithfully practice ‘eat what you shoot’. But as many of you know, that can be a chore, chewing through goose breast for a year. We typically meet up with our group at the cabin in Saskatchewan, have a couple of weeks of sheer joy, spotting and shooting, often with substantial number of birds hitting the freezer. Then it’s a mad dash to get home with coolers of meat(with wing attached). Some of us travelling afar. We decided to investigate an alternate strategy, which I want to share, for your consideration.
In general, the plan was to can the meat every other day as the birds came in. Once canned, the meat no longer requires refrigeration. To serve legal transportation requirements, the cans are identified and a corresponding ledger documents the contents. It played out a bit differently for us, but the objective was met, and we are thrilled.
Months ago, the stores were filled with ‘mason jars’. As we hadn’t purchased a pressure cooker, I decided to wait until we had to determine jar size. We finally purchased an 8 quart pressure cooker on way to the cabin for $50. Upon measuring we determined a 500ml jar would work. To our dismay, we discovered a national shortage of mason jars. As the freezer was filling, our search expanded, but so was the shortage. After two weeks of hunting, the freezer filling, and no jars, we identified a source in Red Deer, and had a relative make an emergency purchase and delivery. Then for two days of continuous processing, we were able to can the lot.
Being our first time using this method, we wanted to keep it simple. No spicing or flavouring, until we could evaluate the results. We breasted all birds and used legs and thighs. As we had to freeze till we resolved the jar issue, we started off by filling the bath tub with bagged meat to thaw. We rinsed, pat dry, and seared each piece in hot oil (4 fry pans running together). We then deboned the larger legs, thighs( some big honks out there). After rinsing 12 doz jars, we added a sprinkle of steak spice to each and packed. Surprising how much meat fits. Bones take up a lot of room and are better removed. Initially we half filled with water, but discovered that was a mistake, and ended up filling with just 1/4 with water (after packing). Into the cooker for 1 hour. 1/2 hour cool down, then reload next batch, 6 jars at a time. We ran in shifts to get it all done. We tried hastening the cool down but that resulted in jars not sealing.
The resulting product is surprising, especially for those, like us, who find it a bit of a chore to eat waterfowl. The meat texture is that of pulled pork. It is the typical goose dry, but shreds easily. I won’t say it tastes like beef, but with a bit of flavouring, it can be pushed toward beef, or pork, or most any meat. At any sitting, I can get through a half breast of traditional roast goose. With this, I can enjoy two full breast easily. A truly unexpected benefit. If it wasn’t for a time commitment, we would stay and continue enjoying our shoot, based on this discovery.
We now plan on trying different meats, maybe some broth, spices, etc to perfect. We’ll also shop for a larger cooker to utilize 1 Ltr jars for efficiency. I’ll add to the post as we continue exploring this method.
|