This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
Canning sausage is a great way to store flavorful meat on your pantry shelf, ready to heat and serve at a moment’s notice. Sausage links, patties or loose pack ground crumbles all work for pressure canning, so take your pick!
Do you love sausages? Who doesn’t, right? Sausage works for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, and yes, even dessert if you’re feeling adventurous.
Here’s some great news: you can enjoy sausages anytime you want, thanks to canning.
Canned sausage gives you a steady supply of ready-to-heat meat. It also makes meal prep a breeze and saves you money in the long run.
Ingredients for Canning Sausage
This is a tested canning recipe from So Easy to Preserve by the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension.
The ingredients for canning sausage are quite simple. Plan on about 1 pound of sausage per pint, or 2 pounds per quart, so a 6 pint canner load takes about 6 pounds. You’ll need the following:
- Pork Sausage (Links, Patties or Loose Pack Ground)
- Broth
- Salt
- Pepper
- Other herbs as desired (optional)
In terms of quantities, this recipe is quite flexible. The only real ingredients are pork, broth, salt and pepper, so you can scale it to however many jars you want to fill.
Links shrink a bit as they brown, so how many fit in a jar depends on their size. Feel free to add any herbs or other seasonings you’d like, such as dried red pepper flakes or cumin. Some other great spices and herbs include basil, onion powder, garlic powder, and parsley.
For Italian sausage, choose spices like basil, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, and thyme. Or, for a spicier sausage, choose garlic powder, anise, fennel, dried red pepper flakes, and paprika.
You can use pre-made store-bought sausage, provided it doesn’t include any thickeners (flour, corn starch, etc) as additives. That’s not all that common, but it does happen in some of the less natural options. It does need to be a fresh sausage, with just ground meat, seasonings, sugar, or salt. It cannot be cured meat (so no pepperoni, salami, bologna, or hot dogs).
As I’ve said, in a natural casing is fine, as are patties or loose pack.
Canning Sausage
Begin by grinding your fresh pork with an electric or manual food grinder. Measure out the ground pork into the quantities you want to use for canning. Shape the pork into patties or into three- to four-inch links, depending on your preferences. (Or, start with pre-ground pork or sausage)
Next, cook the patties in a frying pan, lightly browning them until they are just about done but not fully cooked through. Drain the grease. In a separate pan, bring the broth to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, being sure to keep it hot. Any broth works, and I often make pork broth from the leftover bones of pork shoulders and ribs. Chicken broth is a good second choice.
If using link sausage, brown the links.
If using loose pack sausage crumbles, brown the meat thoroughly (you cannot can it raw, as it will clump into a loaf in the jars).
Pack the sausages into hot jars, leaving about one inch of headspace. Ladle the hot broth over the sausages, again, paying attention to that one inch of headspace. Remove any air bubbles, then clean the rims of the jars. Center the lids on the jars and adjust the bands until they are fingertip tight.
Place the jars on the rack in the pressure canner. This canner should contain about two inches of simmering water (to 180 degrees Fahrenheit), depending on the manufacturer’s recommendations. Repeat this process until all the jars are filled and loaded into the canner. If you’re new to this, start with my pressure canning for beginners guide.
Next, place the lid on the canner. Turn it to the locked position, then adjust the heat to medium-high. Vent steam for ten minutes.
Put the weighted gauge on the vent, then bring the pressure to 10 lbs (11 lbs in a dial gauge canner). Process pints for 75 minutes or quarts for 90 minutes, adjusting the pressure for your altitude (see the chart below).
If the pressure drops below 10 lbs, bring it back up and start the timing over from the beginning.
When the canning time has finished, turn off the heat and let the canner return to zero pressure on its own. Remove the weight or open the petcock, wait 10 minutes, then take off the lid, tilting it away from you, and lift the jars out. Avoid retightening the bands if they are loose.
Let the jars cool undisturbed at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours, then check the seals. Label and store the jars.
Sausage Canning Altitude Adjustments
With pressure canning, the time is always 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts, at any altitude. Only the pressure changes as you go up. Here are the altitude adjustments for pressure canning:
For dial gauge pressure canners:
- 0 to 2,000 feet: 11 lbs pressure
- 2,001 to 4,000 feet: 12 lbs pressure
- 4,001 to 6,000 feet: 13 lbs pressure
- 6,001 to 8,000 feet: 14 lbs pressure
For weighted gauge pressure canners:
- 0 to 1,000 feet: 10 lbs pressure
- Above 1,000 feet: 15 lbs pressure
Serving Sausage
Once you’ve canned your sausages, label and date your jars, and store them in a cool, dark place. Use sealed jars within 12 to 18 months.
Canned sausages don’t require any extra ingredients at serving time. Once you’ve canned and stored them properly, they’re ready to be reheated and served right away.
Think of canned sausages like canned soup; you just need to heat them up on the stove or microwave, and voila, you have a tasty and satisfying meal in minutes. You can serve canned sausages in many ways, too.
You can eat them as a snack, pair them with eggs or beans for breakfast, add them to pasta or rice dishes for lunch or dinner, or chop them up into cubes for soups and stews. You can also can sausage right into a soup, like my copycat sausage potato and kale soup.
Canning Sausage
Equipment
- Canning Jars, Lids and Bands
Ingredients
- 6 lbs fresh pork sausage, links, patties or bulk, see notes
- 6 cups broth, see notes
- salt, optional, 1 tsp per pint or 2 tsp per quart
- black pepper, optional, to taste
- herbs and spices, optional, see notes
Instructions
- If you're making your own sausage, grind fresh pork and season it, then shape it into patties or cut it into 3 to 4 inch links. Store-bought fresh sausage works too, as long as it isn't cured and has no flour or other thickeners.
- Lightly brown the patties, links or crumbles in a skillet until they're just about done but not cooked through. Brown crumbles well, or they'll clump into a loaf in the jars. Drain off the fat.
- Meanwhile, bring the broth to a boil, then lower the heat and keep it hot.
- Pack the hot sausage into hot jars, leaving 1 inch headspace. Add the salt and pepper, if using, with the per-jar amounts in the ingredient list.
- Ladle the hot broth over the sausage, keeping the 1 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, check the headspace again, and wipe the rims. Apply the lids and bands fingertip tight.
- Place the jars on the rack in the pressure canner, with the canner water at about 180 degrees F.
- Lock the lid, turn the heat to medium-high, and vent steam for 10 minutes.
- Put the weight on the vent and bring the canner to 10 lbs pressure in a weighted gauge canner (11 lbs in a dial gauge canner). Process quarts for 90 minutes or pints for 75 minutes, adjusting for altitude (see notes).
- Turn off the heat and let the canner return to zero pressure on its own. Remove the weight or open the petcock, wait 10 minutes, then take off the lid, tilting it away from you, and lift the jars out.
- Let the jars cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours, then check the seals. Don't retighten loose bands.
Notes
- 0 to 2,000 feet: 11 lbs
- 2,001 to 4,000 feet: 12 lbs
- 4,001 to 6,000 feet: 13 lbs
- 6,001 to 8,000 feet: 14 lbs
- 0 to 1,000 feet: 10 lbs
- Above 1,000 feet: 15 lbs
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Meat Canning Recipes
Sausage isn’t the only meat you can preserve in a jar! For more pork, start with canning pork, then work through the pork canning recipes for soups, chili and meals in a jar. Keep your pantry stocked with these meat canning recipes:
Must say that you’re maybe my favourite preserving blog .
You make It easy BUT I live in europe and we have some diferent things 😬😅
That Is …for ex here , don’t have homemade sausages 🥹 Can only buu them in the supermarket, and for sure they must have some preservatives 😬
Hoe could I preserve them 😭 😬😁Thanks 😊
Thank you so much! Check the label. If it lists nitrites or nitrates (E249 to E252 on European labels), the sausage is cured, and cured meats can’t be canned, so freeze those instead. Fresh sausage that’s just meat, salt and spices can be canned with this recipe.
Amount of ground pork or sausage or number of links for # of quarts or pints would be helpful!
Plan on about 1 pound of sausage per pint, or 2 pounds per quart, so a 6 pint canner load takes about 6 pounds. Links shrink a bit when they’re browned, so how many fit in a jar depends on their size. Happy canning!
I’m wanting to pressure can the Penrose copycat recipe but I haven’t seen anyone doing that ? Only a refrigerator version what would you think .. follow the 75 min pint .. 90 min qt rule ? The sausage is cooked in a vinegar brine with spices ?
I wouldn’t pressure can this one. The canning times in this post are for fresh, uncured sausage covered in broth, water or tomato juice. There’s no tested process for pickled sausage in a vinegar brine, and most of those copycat recipes use precooked smoked sausages, which are cured and can’t be used in this recipe either. Pickled sausage needs to stay a refrigerator recipe. If you’d like a shortcut, you could can fresh sausage following this recipe, then pickle it in the fridge after you open the jar.
Sausage preserves surprisingly well in a jar and crisps right up in a pan months later.
What broth are you talking about for canning sausage
You can use any broth you choose. I actually often make batches of pork broth with the leftover bones from pork shoulders and ribs. But really, any broth will work, including chicken, beef or vegetable. Lacking pork broth, chicken is a good second choice. Beef and veggie really change the flavor, which can be fine, depending on how you’re using it.