1. Canning Meat, Wild Game, Poultry and Fish Safely
Fall is the time of year that I associated with canning of meat, wild game and poultry. But whether you are canning wild game in the fall, or fish in the fall or spring, there are some points to remember to ensure safety. I would also like to highlight the tips to remember in handling a deer so as to limit exposure to CWD-infective agents.
Roll call.

2. Resources for Today
Canning Meat, Wild Game, Poultry and Fish Safely (B3345)
Wisconsin’s Wild Game: Enjoying the Harvest (B3573)
Many of the points in today’s discussion come from our UWEX publication:
The primary resource that we will use for today’s Wisline is the UWEX bulletin: B3345 Canning Meat, Wild Game, Poultry and Fish Safely. Other useful information can be found in Wisconsin’s Wild Game: Enjoying the Harvest (B3573)
And because the items that we talk about today must be canned in a pressure canner, another good resource is B2593 Using and Caring for a Pressure Canner.
Both of these resources are available online:

3. Safe Processing of Meats
Using a pressure canner
Added pressure (10-15 psig)
High temperatures (240°-250°F)
 Botulinum spores are destroyed
Meat, wild game, poultry and fish are all low-acid foods. Canning of low-acid foods requires special care. We must destroy the spores of Clostridium botulinum when canning meat. Otherwise, botulinum spores can germinate after processing and during storage, producing a deadly toxin.
These spores are very heat resistant and will survive boiling in water for hours. Very old canning guides gave directions for water-bath canning of meats for hours (probably over a wood stove!). Processing for such a long period of time destroyed nutrients and may not have ensured safety.
Today we know to use a pressure canner to process low acid foods, such as meat. A pressure canner will destroy botulinum spores (ensuring safety) while maintaining quality. There are no accepted methods for water bath canning of meats.

4. Botulinum toxin production
Vegetative cells sporulate
Vegetative cells are destroyed by heat; spores remain
Spores germinate under conditions of no oxygen, pH>4.6 and warm temperatures
Toxin is produced on sporulation
Let’s look at

5. Question time??
Let me take a minute to ask is there are any questions that you have at this point.

6. Start with High Quality Ingredients
Choose or harvest appropriate species for canning
Handle meat, wild game, poultry and fish to avoid spoilage
Can fresh meat for highest quality
Start with high quality ingredients. Meat that you purchase should be fresh and properly chilled or frozen. If you butcher animals at home, make sure that you have the proper equipment and can do the job safely. If you don’t have proper facilities at home to butcher and process an animal safely, consider custom slaughter.
Beef, lamb, venison, chicken, turkey, duck, goose, rabbits, fish, and other species can all be safety canned, some more successfully than others. When canning fish, choosing suitable species is especially important. Freshwater fish that are appropriate for canning are catfish, northern pike, salmon, smelt and trout. Small panfish such as crappies, perch, bass and walleye are better preserved by freezing.
Fresh meat, wild game, poultry or fish for canning must be handled properly:
Keep these items refrigerated at 40 degrees F or colder for no more than 2 days (or freeze for longer storage).
Separate raw meat and fish from other foods in the refrigerator or cooler.
Wash hands well before and after handling raw meat, wild game, poultry and fish.
Clean cutting boards and knives with warm soapy water after cutting up meat and fish.
Meat, wild game, poultry and fish will be of highest quality if canned fresh, but sometimes this isn’t possible. Consider freezing these meats if you can’t can them right away.
Prepare meats for freezing prior to canning: trim off visible fat, wrap meat tightly to avoid freezer burn, label and date. Freeze for up to 6 months at 0 degrees F or colder. Before canning, completely thaw meat in the refrigerator.
Fish that will be frozen before canning should be glazed with a coat of ice to keep air out and moisture in: freeze chunks of fish until solid, and then dip quickly in and out of cold water. A thin coat of ice will form. Repeat several times to thicken ice. Wrap glazed fish tightly, label and date, and freeze for 3-6 months. Thaw completely before canning.

7. Venison Precautions
Do not handle or consume the meat or other tissue from any deer or elk exhibiting signs of CWD
Chronic wasting disease is a ‘fact of life’ for the Wisconsin deer and elk population. In some parts of the state, CWD is endemic, in others there is no evidence of the disease. Regardless, deer harvested from Wisconsin, or other states with known CWD infectivity, must be handled carefully.
Do not handle or consume the meat or other tissue from any deer exhibiting signs of CWD: an animal that is behaving abnormally, or is thin and wasted in appearance.

8. Safe Handling of Venison
Wear gloves
Minimize contact with brain and spinal tissue
Separate equipment to avoid cross contamination
Process meat into boneless cuts
Carefully dispose of brain and spinal tissue
Whether you are field dressing a deer, or processing the carcass at home, there are several steps that you can take to minimize risk.
-- Wear rubber or latex gloves.
-- Do not process or eat venison from a deer that shows signs of CWD.
-- Minimize contact with the brain, spinal cord, spleen and lymph nodes, and do not eat this tissue.
-- Use separate knives for field dressing and removing the meat from the carcass. Do not use household knives for field dressing. Clean all knives and equipment, and then disinfect with a 50/50 solution of household bleach and water. Wipe down countertops and let them dry; soak knives for one hour.
-- Remove only the meat, do not cut through any bones, and remove all fat and connective tissue before eating or storing the meat. This saves on freezer space and makes it easier to use. Do not stew deer bones for soup stock.
-- Package and store meat from each deer separately. Be sure to label each package.
-- Do not cut through the spinal column except to remove the head. Use a knife or saw for that purpose only, and dispose of the blade.
-- Dispose of the brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils, bones and head in a landfill or by other means available in your area. Contact the DNR about your local options.

9. Question time??
Let me take a minute to ask is there are any questions that you have at this point.

10. Pressure Canning Checklist:
Check gauges, vent ports, gaskets
Check canning jars
Preheat jars and pre-treat lids
Follow instructions EXACTLY for jar size, pack, and fill
It is very important that you carefully follow instructions for pressure canning.
At least once each season check dial gauges for calibration; at each canning session take a moment to check vest ports and gaskets.
Use standard home canning jars that are free of chips and cracks. Do not use mayonnaise jars or other commercial jars for pressure canning; these jars may be acceptable for water bath canning if they will accept a standard 2-piece lid.
Preheat jars and pre-treat lids. Jars can be filled by the Hot Pack or the Raw Pack method. Regardless, jars need to be preheated to avoid thermal stress on the jars as they are filled with hot liquid.
Follow research-tested recipes exactly for jar size, type of pack (hot or raw), whether jars are to be loosely or tightly filled, etc. Failure to follow directions exactly may result in canning an unsafe product.

11. Preparing Meat and Fish for Canning
Trim meat or game of fat, bruises and heavy gristle
Remove skin from poultry
Remove bones from red meat and larger bones from poultry
Clean, skin and fillet fish
Removing fat not only makes a healthier product, it also helps to ensure a better seal for jar lids. Excess fat can melt out of the meat during processing, coating the sealing surface and preventing a complete seal.
Take care to remove fat and bones from fish too.

12. Packing Jars with Meat or Fish
Frozen meat or fish must be thawed before canning
Hot pack is recommended for most meats
Raw pack is appropriate only for larger pieces of meat or fatty fish
Frozen meat or fish must be thawed before canning.
Many canning books suggest two methods of packing meat into jars:
• The hot pack method is recommended for most meats to ensure they are at high enough temperatures during pressure processing to destroy harmful organisms.
• The raw pack method is an option only for larger pieces of meat, wild game or poultry, or fatty fish.
To pack hot, prepare meat broth and cook meat to 150 degrees F. Pack hot into clean, hot jars and cover with boiling broth leaving appropriate headspace.
To pack raw, place larger pieces of meat loosely into jars leaving proper headspace. No liquid is added since juices will from during processing. Recipes for raw pack that are not included in B3345 can be found in the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning.

13. Processing in a Pressure Canner
Place filled jars on a rack in 2-3 inches of simmering water
Fasten canner lid and vent 10 min.
Adjust pressure for elevation
Start counting time once pressure is reached
When time is up, allow pressure to drop on its own
When you are ready to process meat in a pressure canner, start by placing 2-3 inches of simmering water in the bottom of the canner. Make sure the canner has a rack in the bottom so that jars can rest above the bottom of the canner. Some recipes for processing fish call for more than 2-3 inches of water in the canner, so be sure to follow recipe instructions exactly.
Set filled jars on a rack in the canner so steam can flow freely around each jar.
Fill the canner with the appropriate size jar - pints or quarts. A double layer of jars may be used as long as there is a rack placed between the layers; rest the upper layer of jars on the rims of the bottom layer, not on the lids. You can mix pints and quarts if the processing time is the same. If the time is not the same, then the contents of the jars with the shorter processing time will be over-processed, but safe to consume.
Fasten the canner lid in place and heat over high heat. The canner MUST be vented for 10 minutes to drive air from the canner. Start timing the venting process once a steady stream of steam is seen exiting from the vent port. After steam flows for 10 minutes, close the petcock or place the pressure regulator on the vent pipe and let the pressure rise to the appropriate level.
Start counting the timing process when the correct pressure is reached. For Dial gauge canners, the pressure will be registered on the gauge; for Weighted gauge canners, there will be a rocking or jiggling of the weight which will indicate that pressure is reached. (Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.)
Maintain the pressure at a steady level by regulating the heat under the canner. When the process time is up, turn off the heat and remove the canner from the burner, if possible. Let the pressure drop on its own.

14. After Processing Remove jars from canner and allow to cool
Do NOT tighten screw bands
Check seals of cooled jars
Label, date and store
Remove jars from the canner and place them upright on a towel or rack away from drafts to cool.
Do not retighten the screw band. If some liquid has boiled out during processing, do not open the jar to add more. If only a small amount of liquid boils out (less than half) and the lid seals properly, the food will be safe to eat. However, food that is not covered with liquid may darken during storage. If more than half the liquid has been lost, either reprocess the vegetables with added liquid, or freeze the contents of these jars. Liquid is necessary for adequate heat penetration. Losing too much liquid during processing can lead to under-processing and an unsafe food can result.
After the jars have cooled completely, check the seals. Press the center of flat metal lids. If the lid is down and does not move, the jar is sealed. After 24 hours, you can remove metal bands, wash and store them for re-use.
Wipe sealed jars clean, label and date. For optimum quality, use home-canned food within one year. Properly home-canned food will remain safe for years, but quality will suffer on extended storage. Store jars in a cool, dry place to retain the best eating quality and protect the lids from rusting.

15. More Hints for Canning Meat and Fish
Carefully select meat broth or stock
Do not thicken
Do not adapt jar sizes
Canning mixtures
Adjust for altitude
Broth or stock process for much less time than jars of meat (20 to 25 minutes versus 75 t0 90 minutes). Jars of stock or broth that you process should contain minimal amounts of discrete meat pieces (and then only small chunks). Do not process jars of meat using the recommendations for processing broth or stock, an unsafe product will result.
Do not thicken, or add rice, barley or pasta. These starchy ingredients absorb liquid during processing, and change the heat transfer characteristics of the product. Under-processing could result.
Do not adapt recipes for jar sizes that are not listed in the recipe. An unsafe product may result.
Meat may be canned with vegetables such as corn and potatoes. Because meat is almost always processed for longer than these items, you may safely can mixtures with meat by following the processing instructions for canning meat.
Wisconsin elevations range from 580 to 1,953 feet above sea level. Using the process time for sea level may lead to spoilage if you live at higher elevations. Water boils at lower temperatures as elevation increases. Increasing canner pressure compensates for the lower boiling temperatures. Therefore, when you look up the process time, select the canner pressure for your elevation.
Operate:
• dial gauge canners at 11 pounds pressure (11 psi).
• weighted gauge pressure canners at
— 10 psi at elevations up to 1,000 feet above sea level.
— 15 psi above 1,000 feet elevation.
If you share recipes with friends and relatives, be sure to remember to include adjustments for changes in elevation.

16. Question time??
Let me take a minute to ask is there are any questions that you have at this point.