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Guerrilla Canning

Submitted by bushidoka on Thu, 2010-05-20 08:02
in

Guerrilla Canning is the term I use for when I want to can something, but cannot find a recipe for it. I've done a lot of reading on canning in the 15 years I've been doing it, and one thing you read over and over again is to only use proven recipes that come from reliable sources. Which works great for a very wide range of foods - just about everything anyone will ever want to do, they will find a recipe for online. But by my nature, I like to push the limits a bit, and like to do things that are out of the ordinary. So I've found a number of different things I really wanted to can up, but could not find a recipe for. In these two videos I am doing up some organic brown rice - I like to have a large stock pile of it for lunches at work. Just open a jar, toss it in the microwave for 3 minutes, and fluff it out onto a plate. It is absolutely fantastic!

I also do meat pie filling this way, so I can just open a jar and put it into a pie shell. Also pea soup in-the-jar, and also an east indian lentils and rice recipe - the latter two of which I put the raw ingredients into the jar and cook it in the canner, much like the rice in this video.

I want to be very clear that most experts in canning would probably consider what I am doing to be unsafe, so it is not at all something I can recommend to others. But I am firmly of the belief that a lot of modern canning books are written half by the experts, and half by the lawyers. And that someone like me needs to push the limits so that one day there will be "known-safe" recipes of these sort out there for people to use. I do not recommend you try this unless you've done a lot of reading on canning, and really understand the ins and outs.

The basic rules of Guerrilla Canning are as follows :

  • read and understand at least 3 major books on canning, like "Putting Food By", the USDA Home Canning Guide, and the Ball Blue book
  • use only a large double-decker canner made from thick aluminum, like the All American models. Huge thermal mass is essential, so smaller canners should not be used. Be sure to have the canner filled or near filled to maximize the thermal mass
  • be extremely anally retentive about all the rules, and be sure to have every last little detail right in every regard
  • check rims extremely well
  • ensure proper fill levels
  • this was not a full list of all the rules, if you do not know the rest of them off by heart you should not even be thinking of this
  • vent 7 minutes
  • apply pet cock
  • raise to 15 psi. I always use 15 psi for Guerrilla Canning
  • cook for 17 minutes
  • turn off heat
  • allow to cool completely. If using a proper canner with large thermal mass, the canner should still be scalding hot to the touch two full hours after turning off the heat.

When the jars come out of the canner some 8 hours after turning off the heat, check them over extremely well. Be sure to discard any that are not right.

17 Minutes?

This is a number that I simply pulled out of my backside, mainly because I usually like to deal with prime numbers. Just a personal quirk of mine. But it is not the 17 minutes that makes the food safe in my opinion - it is the sitting in the canner for hours after it is turned off, and the fact that for at least 2 of those hours in a canner of sufficient size and thermal mass, the contents are still scalding hot. 17 minutes is enough to cook the contents without overcooking them.

Comments

opening guerrilla rice

Submitted by bushidoka on Fri, 2010-05-21 19:27.

Here is me serving some of the guerrilla rice the next day. Just remove the lid and nuke 3 minutes in the microwave

I'm not as much of a fan of

Submitted by Soire on Mon, 2010-07-19 22:37.

I'm not as much of a fan of brown rice. Would it be possible to do it with Basmati? I can't do it now, my canner is too small, but it's exciting!

try some

Submitted by bushidoka on Tue, 2010-07-20 15:59.

Let me give you one of these jars to try first, because after it has been pressure canned, brown rice is VERY different from how it is when just cooking it. It is very difficult to tell that it is brown rice. Kind of freaked me out the first time, in fact. Not sure if you could do it with basmati - worth a try. 135g seems to be the magic number with grains and legumes, for a 500ml / 1 US pint jar.

Guerrilla Pea Soup

Submitted by bushidoka on Fri, 2010-05-21 07:17.

Here is my Pea Soup recipe

In each 500ml mason jar put :

  • 1/4 or 1/3 cup split peas
  • 3 pepper corns or 1 smidgen pepper
  • 2 smidgens salt (1/16th tsp)
  • 2 heaping tablespoons chopped carrots
  • 1/4 medium onion, chopped (will measure next time)
  • 1/4 cup chopped pork
  • small piece bay leaf

The amount of peas depends on how thick you like your soup. The basic procedure is the same as above, and the peas need to be mixed in manually after adding half the water. Then add the other half.

Guerrilla Canning

Submitted by kopykat on Thu, 2010-05-20 22:13.

Man after me own heart. I have been canning for decades and as you do, I have pushed the envelope on some. I do understand the principles and have never gotten burned. I have to go longer than 17 minute though because I am not fortunate enough (yet) to have an All American canner. I lust after one though and I believe you have the 14 quart model which is what I plan to get when finances and my wife (the supreme being on earth) are in alignment.

I do can all kinds of meat, vegetables and starter wort but had never considered rice or barley. Thank you for posting this. I will be developing my own brown rice and barley timings after I review my canning books.

I really enjoy your site.