Pressure cooker/canner...my new favorite thing

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I started last year making jams and preserves and hot water bath canning them (which reminds me I only have two left LOL)

I make a lot of chicken and veggie stock that I usually either use right away or freeze it. I watched a lot of canning videos and I found that the only way to can any stock is to use a pressure canner. So I bought a pressure cooker/canner (Tfal). I am over the top in love.

First I made chicken stock in it. Veggies (the usual) and chicken go in. Because this thing is so huge, it was way more water than I usually use in my stockpot, but that's what it called for by roughly following the recipe book that came with the cooker. So ok...lets do it. 45 short minutes later, I had probably the best chicken stock ever, and A LOT OF IT. I have been making chicken stock/soup since I was a teenager (learned from my grandmother), and this was literally the best.

I strained it out into not one, not two, but three stockpots. 3x more than usual, and 100x more flavorful.

So my friend comes over in the meantime. I pulled all the meat off the chicken that I pressure cooked, added stock to the pot and left over veggies. Pressure cooked for 25 minutes. We had that for lunch. I had a lot of that chicken stew leftover, plus all of the chicken stock, but I also had a ton of veggies left....so I made a batch of veggie stock LOL. This is all one session (4 hours or so).

Now that all of the cooking was done, I froze some of the chicken stew because I want to eat it soon, probably after I finish typing lol. The rest I canned.

From one whole chicken (which I cooked whole), a bag of carrots, maybe 4 onions, 4 parsnips, and a bag of celery...garlic and a bunch of herbs, and a couple of jalapenos....

I got 6 quart jars of chicken stock, 1 jar of chicken stew (plus the stuff we ate and a bag in the freezer), 2 quarts plus 4 pints of veggie stock (I ran out of quart jars). Less than $25. I'm in love with this cooker/canner.

Anybody have other recipes?
 
Can I give you a recommendation on pressure canners? Oh well, I will anyway, I would not use any type of pressure canner for meats other than an All American Pressure Canner. Yep I know they are very expensive but so are our lives, and playing around is just not worth the risk. I canned albacore and other tunas for years and would never consider any other canning system other than All American canners. I am so particular I would not eat other folks canned tunas. Over 20 yrs ago I paid over 400 for mine and it is still going strong. I feel like I have canned all my life as I love canning, and cannot wait to get moved so I can resume my love of canning. But like making lotions I take no chances, canning can be dangerous. I am not trying to scare you but low-acid foods can form botulism and you do not always know it.

But remember this is my opinion and I tend to be paranoid...I just found All Americans stay right on point for pressure which you do not want to vary and have at least 6 lock down points and steel on steel sealing, no rubber seals to wear out. They are marvelous.

ETA: I do not use my All American for pressure cooking I use other pressure cookers if I am pressure cooking something to can which I usually do not do. I like to keep my canners strictly for canning.
 
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I know the All American pressure canner is the pressure canners of all pressure canners, but why disregard any other brand? Just curious, not knocking your opinion, i value it.

I am very new at pressure canning, but it seems to me that if it comes to pressure and the button on the lid pops, it should be as good as any other name brand?
 
The seals are not as reliable and the pressure gauges are not as reliable. It is uber important that pressure is maintained at the proper pressure control. For my albacore, I need to hold my pressure at 13 lbs and I want no variance. I had an older canner that would vary between 11-13 so I tossed it. The seals are also very important and the All American do not have seals they are self-sealing, you just use a dab of vaseline for lubricant if the canner sits unused for a long period of time. As I mentioned I am pretty paranoid but with low-acid foods especially protein-based it can be risky. I also never cooked in my canner although you certainly can but I never wanted to risk anything foreign on the edge. Just me.

I learned how to can when I was 11 years old so I have been canning most of my life, and thoroughly enjoy it. I have not canned much since we sold our boat but plan on getting back to it when I move. I want to set up an entire building/shed dedicated to smoking meats and canning. Along with having a reptile house I have other plans when I move...:):) If the move ever happens!

ETA: I use this one because I could not use the larger one, which I would love to have, on my electric flat cooktop https://tinyurl.com/r3dmjwne
 
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I'm in love with my pressure canner, too! I spent most of my life without a pressure canner or even a pressure cooker for that matter until my wonderful hubby gifted me with an All American pressure canner (model #921- a beast of a thing), oh, maybe about 10 years ago or so now, although to my shame it took me a few years to get the courage to actually use it. lol. Once I did, though, all fear left and has never came back. My favorite things to pressure can and put up are my homemade Italian gravy, aka, tomato sauce, chicken thighs, chicken breasts, and salsa.

Once I got the hang of pressure canning, I then wanted to try my hand at pressure cooking, and after much research and going back and forth trying to decide between getting an electric Instantpot or a stove-top pressure cooker, I bought a Zavor Duo 10 qt stove-top pressure cooker, which I absolutely love. I use it to cook potatoes and other veggies fast, and also to cook my chicken soup, pot roast, and my corned beef in record time. If I wanted to, I could use my All American to pressure cook in, but it's aluminum and I hate cooking in aluminum. My Zavor Duo is stainless steel.


IrishLass :)
 
I never pressure cooked anything before before I got my pressure canner/cooker. I guess what makes it a cooker is that although it is a beast, it is more manageable. I dunno. But the soups and stock I get out of it are literally the best I have ever made. Although, I think I am going to get a smaller cooker so I don't have to bring out the huge canner.

I have been making soup and stock all of my life almost. It really gets the best flavor. Every so often I buy a container of store-bought stock in a pinch and I am always really sorry I did LOL. So now I'm happy that I am canning my stock. It probably won't last, as I use stock a lot lol.

@cmzaha I am going to invest in an All American. Maybe not in the very near future, but I will. You know better than I do. So when I talk about how much I love my canner, I am not disregarding your suggestion and experience, it is just new to me and I am just super thrilled that I finally discovered this "new" way of cooking LOL.
 
I never pressure cooked anything before before I got my pressure canner/cooker. I guess what makes it a cooker is that although it is a beast, it is more manageable. I dunno. But the soups and stock I get out of it are literally the best I have ever made. Although, I think I am going to get a smaller cooker so I don't have to bring out the huge canner.

I have been making soup and stock all of my life almost. It really gets the best flavor. Every so often I buy a container of store-bought stock in a pinch and I am always really sorry I did LOL. So now I'm happy that I am canning my stock. It probably won't last, as I use stock a lot lol.

@cmzaha I am going to invest in an All American. Maybe not in the very near future, but I will. You know better than I do. So when I talk about how much I love my canner, I am not disregarding your suggestion and experience, it is just new to me and I am just super thrilled that I finally discovered this "new" way of cooking LOL.
Do not think I was putting you down, I was not. Keep your pressure canner you have now for pressure cooking and your All American when you do get it for your canning projects. I can pretty much guarantee you will never look back as IL mentioned above. Again I was canning fish so it was very critical that I was very careful, but fish is really uber easy to can. Pack it in raw either add in a tsp or so oil and can. It can be seasoned or not. I usually used a few peppercorns.
 
Awww...I didn't think you were putting me down! I appreciate your advice.

Although the All American might be taking a back burner now that I just bought a car with a payment that resembles a small mortgage lol
 
I canned in my mom's old National pressure canner for years; and yes I canned venison in it too. As long as an old pressure canner has a new pressure gauge, rubber gasket and safety valve, they are worth using. If the handles are bad, they need to be replaced also.
 
Can I give you a recommendation on pressure canners? Oh well, I will anyway, I would not use any type of pressure canner for meats other than an All American Pressure Canner. Yep I know they are very expensive but so are our lives, and playing around is just not worth the risk. I canned albacore and other tunas for years and would never consider any other canning system other than All American canners. I am so particular I would not eat other folks canned tunas. Over 20 yrs ago I paid over 400 for mine and it is still going strong. I feel like I have canned all my life as I love canning, and cannot wait to get moved so I can resume my love of canning. But like making lotions I take no chances, canning can be dangerous. I am not trying to scare you but low-acid foods can form botulism and you do not always know it.

But remember this is my opinion and I tend to be paranoid...I just found All Americans stay right on point for pressure which you do not want to vary and have at least 6 lock down points and steel on steel sealing, no rubber seals to wear out. They are marvelous.

ETA: I do not use my All American for pressure cooking I use other pressure cookers if I am pressure cooking something to can which I usually do not do. I like to keep my canners strictly for canning.
I have an All American Pressure Canner and have been using it for almost 30 years now. I love it! I can everything from soups to sauces and stews with no troubles at all. It was and they are expensive but they are also “one and done.” You will never need to buy another if you own one of these. Get the largest one you can afford.
 
Can I give you a recommendation on pressure canners? Oh well, I will anyway, I would not use any type of pressure canner for meats other than an All American Pressure Canner. Yep I know they are very expensive but so are our lives, and playing around is just not worth the risk. I canned albacore and other tunas for years and would never consider any other canning system other than All American canners. I am so particular I would not eat other folks canned tunas. Over 20 yrs ago I paid over 400 for mine and it is still going strong. I feel like I have canned all my life as I love canning, and cannot wait to get moved so I can resume my love of canning. But like making lotions I take no chances, canning can be dangerous. I am not trying to scare you but low-acid foods can form botulism and you do not always know it.

But remember this is my opinion and I tend to be paranoid...I just found All Americans stay right on point for pressure which you do not want to vary and have at least 6 lock down points and steel on steel sealing, no rubber seals to wear out. They are marvelous.

ETA: I do not use my All American for pressure cooking I use other pressure cookers if I am pressure cooking something to can which I usually do not do. I like to keep my canners strictly for canning.
I absolutely love my All American Pressure Canner! I use it for everything from spaghetti sauce to chicken soup to chili. I concur with your opinion - I would have nothing else. I use my InstaPot for pressure cooking and use my APC exclusively for canning too.
 
I have an All American canner also and love it. I found a tall enamel pot that fits inside it, so that we aren't getting aluminum in our food while pressure cooking.
We recently bought an instant pot and I will make broth in it and the canner when we are processing chickens.
 
If you find one let me know!!

I've never looked for any forums, but there some canners on YouTube that I enjoy watching and consider my pressure canning mentors:

Linda's Pantry: https://www.youtube.com/@LindasPantry/search?query=pressure canning

The Kneady Homesteader: https://www.youtube.com/@TheKneadyHomesteader/search?query=pressure canning

Sutton's Daze: https://www.youtube.com/@SuttonsDaze/search?query=Pressure Canning

BexarPrepper: https://www.youtube.com/@BexarPrepper/search?query=Pressure canning


IrishLass :)
 
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