You don’t need to be an economist to know that the price of beef is way up. From October 2020 to October 2021, we saw a 20.1 % rise in the price of beef. The future of beef is concerning.
The industry is under attack by a number of powerful forces. Not the least of which is a dwindling force of ranchers to raise enough cattle to meet the growing demand.
Beef could be a special treat in the future. Unless of course you know someone, who has cattle, or you have cattle of your own.
Despite the issues with cattle farming there are also larger hands at play when it comes to your burger. The powerful people of the World Economic Forum have some thoughts on the future of beef as well.
Can Beef Now To Freeze The Price
You didn’t need the lesson on the beef industry to understand that the price is going up.
Canning traditional Amish hamburgers is a great way to put beef up for the long term and lock in the price today. These burgers are delicious, and you actually get a two-for-one with them.
Not only will you have these delicious burgers that you can heat up and eat just by popping the can and chowing down. You will also get the liquid that these burgers are canned in.
I recommend beef broth for the canning process. This broth becomes robust and flavorful during the canning process. You can eat the meat and use the broth.
Traditional Amish Burger Recipe
This burger recipe is very straightforward and uses quick oats to stretch the meat even further. Season the burgers well and you will have success with these.
Related: How To Pickle Beef (5 Years Shelf Life)
- 2 lb. ground beef (85 – 90% lean)
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/3 c. quick oats
- 1 tsp. garlic salt (or use 1 tsp. table salt and 1/2 tsp. garlic powder)
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 – 3/4 tsp. black pepper
1. Place the beef, oats, and seasonings into a large bowl.
2. Crack your egg into the mix. As the cost of eggs is also rising, discover an ingenious technique here to preserve eggs for more than two decades.
3. Mix all these ingredients together, thoroughly.
4. Form them into 1-inch patties and lay them out on a baking sheet.
5. Bake the hamburgers for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.
Canning The Burgers
To can these burgers properly you will need to pressure can them. Ground beef is not supposed to be dry canned so be sure you get yourself some beef broth, water, or stock.
Also, make sure your mason jars are clean and sanitized before the canning process.
While the hamburgers still warm stack them into your canning jars. Each jar should hold between 4-5 burgers. Fill the jars with water or beef broth. Leave about an inch and half of head space.
Don’t forget to press on the burgers with a spoon to get out any access air bubbles. Then wipe the rims of your jars before putting the lids on.
Related: 7 Deadly Canning Mistakes Even Smart People Make
Start your canner with about 2 inches of water in the bottom. Place in on a medium high heat. Once the water comes to a boil you can add your burgers and seal up the lid.
Soon you will see the pressure steam rising from your valve. Then you can place your weight on it. Finally, the overpressure plug will pop up and then you will start to see your pressure rising on the gauge.
To can these burgers properly you will need to adjust the stove top to achieve 10lbs of pressure. Can under 10lbs of pressure for 90 minutes. If you are over 1000ft above sea level, then you will need to use 15llbs of pressure.
Let these jars cool on the counter overnight.
Shelf Life
To enjoy your beef at its best quality you are going to look at a shelf life of between 3-5 years. The burgers will be edible beyond that time but they will not be at their peak quality. Meat tends to get grainy, and the texture suffers.
Related: How To Make Amish Dried Beef
That said, imagine what the price of beef will be 3 years from now!
Serving The Burgers
These traditional Amish burgers are ready to eat as soon as they come out of the jar. They can be used for lots of different preparations. I will tell you my top 3.
Grilled
Since these burgers are stored at room temperature you can fire up the grill, get it nice and hot and just mark these burgers for under a minute on each side.
They will get some of that good grilled flavor and heat up in a couple minutes. Then its onto the bun with your favorite fixins.
Hamburger Steak With Onions
Sauté some chopped onions in a pan. Then dump your burgers and broth into the pan once the onions are soft.
Warm your Amish hamburgers up in the onion beef broth and then thicken it when it comes to a simmer. You can use cornstarch or arrowroot for this.
Mini Meatloaf
Warm your burgers up by simmering them in a little of their gravy. Make or purchase some sweet tomato meatloaf topping.
Top each burger with some of the topping and put the pan into a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Serve these mini meatloaves with some roasted potatoes or root vegetables.
Pressure canning is easily a top 10 skill that you need as a prepper. It gives you the ability to put entire meals up on the shelf for years at a time. Pressure canning gives you the ability to can foods that are not acidic and this gives you all kinds of options.
The process is quick and easy. After you follow the steps through one time, there is a good chance you will be canning hamburgers all the time.
Canning traditional Amish hamburgers is a great way to store nutrient dense beef and also put a quick meal option on the shelf for hard times. That could be the end of the world as we know it or a rough Monday.
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I canned a bunch of venison this spring simply by precooking hamburger and canning it.
I have also made individual meatloaf using the same method you describe above but instead of using oatmeal, I used bread crumbs from crusts I saved in the freezer and dried in my dehydrator then pulverized in my food processor.
Is it necessary to add the oats or other filler?
No, it’s not necessary. You can use just meat, but the filler stretches the meat a bit.
You’re going to break off the bottom of your jars if you add them to boiling water unless the contents of your jars is very hot.
Can you pressurize these in an Instapot? I don’t believe you can measure the amount of pressure, but has anyone done it and it work?
I don’t believe most instapots get to the proper pressure. Without that, your meat may very well not get hot enough to kill botulism.
NO!
An Instant Pot is a pressure COOKER. You cannot PRESSURE CAN in a pressure cooker. You must have an actual PRESSURE CANNER to safely can meats and low acid foods.
@John Davies — Fully agree. Too bad the standard disclaimer of “Read and follow your pressure canner’s instruction booklet” is missing from this article. Also, good luck squeezing full sized burger patties into a regular mouth jar. Wide mouth jars would probably work. And use a lid and ring to size your patties before cooking. Lots more good advice in Mama Bear’s original article, on this site) back in ’17.
Do they need to be pressure cooked?
Can they be done in a water bath instead?
No, you must pressure can all meats.
They can be done in a water bath canner. You just need to increase the processing time to 3 hours.
Enjoy botulism
You are correct about the timing of 3 hours to water bath canning. Items that the government states that you must pressure can, has been water bath canned for years. In fact the Amish still water bath their canned goods. They have been doing so for generations.
No meat must always be pressure cooked to keep drone getting bacteria poisoning.
NO!!! You must always pressure can anything with meat!!
@ Theresa Jones — No, not a good idea.
It’s not the price of beef or it’s availability that concerns me but Gates said he was going to start injecting mRNA poison into cattle and eventually trying to get his vack-scene into veggies. His purpose, to counter vack-scene hesitation. And of course depopulate the world; his words, need to get the world population down to half a million; manageable and sustainable population. Buyer beware. My advice: buy meat from a farmer or rancher you know or quit life and start living instead of surviving and find an intentional community and be guaranteed of good health non GMO or chemical contamination of any kind.
This recipe is like making a Scottish version of the popular Danish Frikadellas, where you would use breadcrumbs in place of the oatmeal, finely grated fresh onion and fresh garlic instead of powdered.
You may not be able to use a water bath cannier, but you can freeze dry them. In fact you can freeze dry them raw and store for up to 25 years.
James F Mundy Jr:
Contrary to the belief that you can freeze dry uncooked meats, you CAN’T! You MUST cook meats before freeze drying. This is because the bacteria can remain when raw. ALL freeze dryers say THAT RAW MEATS MUST BE COOKED PRIOR TO FREEZE DRYING!
I know because I have a freeze dryer.
BUT: you could actually freeze dry this AFTER cooking to save space
I buy freeze dried raw for my dogs. Maybe it’s mostly a disclaimer for human consumption?
Hello,
Would you happen to have instructions how to do the hamburger prep recipe using an Instant Pot pressure cooker? It doesn’t have a gauge, so I’m not sure how to know when it’s 10 LB of pressure.
Thanks for any help you can provide!
Deb, it depends on the IP you have. Some can be used for canning, and some can’t. Best to look at you owner’s manual or call the company and ask.
Deb: you CAN’T CAN FOODS IN AN INSTANT POT:
An Instant Pot is a pressure COOKER. You cannot PRESSURE CAN in a pressure cooker. You must have an actual PRESSURE CANNER to safely can meats and low acid foods.
SORRY.
Carol L, it depends upon the IP. When they first came on the market, they were not to be used for canning, but some newer models have canning functions.
I’ve just used stovetop pressure cookers and canners and have not felt I needed to get an electric version, but in talking with many who have, some have used them successfully for canning. They were the ones who told me newer ones have canning capabilities, at least the models they bought, and they were able to can successfully.
I got one utensil new years ago that was labelled as a pressure cooker and canner. I have used it both ways successfully for over 40 years. A few years back, one of the alphabet agencies came out saying 8 qt receptacles were too small to use as pressure canners. This pressure cooker/canner I have is an 8qt model. It has a 3-part weight where I can use 5, 10, or 15 lbs pressure. And, as stated, I used it successfully many years for both cooking and canning. It’s great for small batch canning.
I have a 6L pressure cooker that came with a great cookbook. It also told me I could can in it. Its weight mechanism is set up to spin at 10 lbs. I got a newer book with a second 6L one I picked up, and the newer book doesn’t mention anything about canning with it. I could see why since higher elevations need greater than 10 lbs for pressure canning. I live at sea level, so 10 lbs works for me. But if I’m needing to can a small batch, my trusty 8qt is at the ready.
So, Deb I still stand by my answer. Consult the manual that came with your IP. If you don’t have the manual, contact the manufacturer and ask. If yours hasn’t got a canning setting, I’m guessing you can’t can with it.
I’ve been canning for 50 yrs and it’s absolutely necessary to can all meats in a pressure canner
10lbs of pressure for 90 minutes for quarts/ it’s less for pints. It keeps for years so well.
It would not be safe to use an insta pot. You must have a gage to make sure you have no food spoilage.
What is difference of using Bread Crumbs or Dry Oats?
Could you use turkey burger instead of hamburger?
Yes.
Last year my wife bought an 11-in-1 Instant Pot and it has a pressure-cooking setting, but nothing for canning, and has a pressure release valve, but does not have a pressure gauge. I browsed the instruction manual that came with it, and it says to use only the parts and accessories that came with the IP for cooking, so I would assume that canning jars should not be used in the IP, and the manual warns to not use the IP for deep frying or pressure frying with oil. I did not find anything about canning or pressure canning, neither instructions how, nor a warning not to.
Based upon just this information, I would not gamble the health of those I care about by trying to can with an IP, I would buy a quality canner that is specifically designed for pressure-canning.