I saw this idea for canning meatloaf on YouTube (user BexarPrepper), and wanted to try it out. Her recipe looked really good, but I realize most everyone has a meatloaf recipe so I would not bore you with mine (especially since it has not measurements and changes based upon my feelings and the ingredients in my spice drawer and refrigerator door.
I will say that most meatloaf recipes contain bread crumbs or crackers as a binder and you cannot safely pressure can with them (per the FDA and Dept. of Ag), so leave them out or do so at your own risk.
Once you have your meatloaf recipe made, and your jars and lids sterilized just pack the raw meatloaf into wide mouth jars. If you do not use wide mouth jars you will be making ground beef, as you will never get it out of the can whole.
I used wide moth jars, but they still had a shoulder, and I have to cut around the shoulder to get my batch out – next time I am using smaller jars with straight sides.
This is a raw pack method
Do not cook before canning, or ad liquid. You also want extra headspace for the grease. Use 1” of headspace.
- Process Pints with a Pressure Canner for 75 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure
- Process Quarts with a Pressure Canner for 90 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure
After processing, remove from boiling water and place the jars on a towel, separated
by 1” to cool naturally as quickly as possible.
I know the cooled jar will look unappetizing, especially as the grease congeals on the outside, but even my picky bride said she liked it once it was reheated and removed from the jar.
Besides on days we both work late, it’s simple to reheat the can and mix up some mashed potato pearls to make a decent “homemade” meal.