Canning Beef Stew

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This canning beef stew is a hearty pressure canned meal made with beef, potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and beef broth. Adapted from Ball and adjusted for real kitchen results, it yields 5 full quart jars with a rich, well-balanced broth and no wasted ingredients.

Prep Time45

Cook Time5

Canning Time1 30

Total Time2 20

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Beef Canning Recipe

Servings: servings, makes 5 quarts or 10 pints

Equipment

Pressure Canner

Ingredients

2 1/2 lb stewing beef such as beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
2 Tbsp olive oil or other neutral oil
6 cups potatoes cubed and peeled
4 cups carrots peeled and sliced
1 1/2 cups celery chopped
1 1/2 cups onion peeled and diced
3-4 cloves garlic minced
4 1/2 tsp Salt Important, see notes
5 whole bay leaves one per quart jar
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp pepper
8 cups beef stock see notes

Instructions

Prepare your pressure canner, jars, lids, and bands according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Wash the jars well and keep them hot until needed.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes. Slice the carrots, chop the celery, dice the onion, and mince the garlic. If the beef is not already cut, trim it as needed and cut it into about 1 1/2-inch cubes.
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the beef and brown it on all sides, working in batches if needed so the meat browns properly instead of steaming.
Once all the beef is browned, return it all to the pot if you worked in batches. Add the potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic, and stir everything together.
Add the salt, thyme, pepper, and beef stock. Save the bay leaves for adding individually to each jar. Stir well, then bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer the stew for about 5 minutes until heated through.
Ladle the hot stew into hot quart jars, making sure each jar gets a balanced mix of meat, vegetables, and broth. Slip one bay leaf in each jar. Leave 1 inch headspace.
Use a bubble remover or nonmetallic utensil to remove air bubbles from each jar. Add more broth if needed to maintain the proper 1 inch headspace.
Wipe the jar rims with a clean damp cloth, then apply the lids and bands, tightening the bands to fingertip tight.
Place the filled jars into the prepared pressure canner. Lock the lid, vent the canner for 10 minutes, then bring it up to pressure.
Process quart jars for 90 minutes at 11 pounds pressure in a dial gauge canner or 10 pounds pressure in a weighted gauge canner, adjusting pressure as needed for altitude.
When the processing time is complete, turn off the heat and allow the canner to return to zero pressure naturally. Do not force cool the canner.
Once the canner is fully depressurized, wait a few minutes, then carefully remove the lid. Let the jars rest in the canner for about 5 minutes before removing them.
Transfer the jars to a towel-lined counter and let them cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Check the seals, remove the bands for storage, label the jars, and store them in a cool, dark place.

Notes

Salt: Salt brings the flavors together and keeps the stew from tasting flat, and it also keeps the meat from drying out and the vegetables firm. If you're using salted broth, the broth itself usually contributes quite a bit of salt. Full-salt brands often contain the equivalent of about 2 to 3 teaspoons of salt in 8 cups, while lower-sodium versions are usually closer to 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons. For this recipe, you’ll generally want about 4 1/2 teaspoons total with unsalted homemade broth, or about 1 1/2 to 3 teaspoons added salt when using store-bought salted broth, depending on how salty the broth is.

Broth: Two quarts of broth will give you a yield of 5 hearty quart jars. If you'd like a brothier stew, you can add an extra quart of broth and distribute the soup between 6 quart jars.

Potatoes: 6 cups cubed potatoes is about 6 medium potatoes or 850 grams prepared, though it will vary depending on cube size.

Carrots: 4 cups sliced carrots is about 8 small carrots or 4 large carrots, or about 500 grams prepared.

Celery: 1 1/2 cups sliced celery is about 3 stalks, or about 150 grams prepared.

Onion: 1 1/2 cups diced onion is about 2 small onions or 1 medium onion, or about 170 grams prepared.

Be sure to cut the beef into fairly even pieces so it cooks evenly and packs consistently in the jars. Keep the vegetable pieces chunky rather than finely diced so they hold their shape better during pressure canning.

This stew should be canned as a broth-based recipe only. Do not add flour, cornstarch, milk, cream, pasta, rice, or other thickeners before canning.

After opening, taste and adjust the seasoning before serving, since some people prefer a little extra salt or pepper at the table. If you prefer a thicker stew, you can thicken it after opening the jar when you reheat it for serving.

Store sealed jars in a cool, dark pantry. Jars will remain safe to eat so long as they're properly canned and sealed but quality begins to degrade after about a year. Use within 12 to 18 months for best quality. Refrigerate after opening.

Nutrition