If you want a really quick yet hearty meal, this meaty Bolognese Sauce is about as quick as you can get.  All it takes is the time to cook the pasta and heat the sauce in a pan. Toss it in a bowl, add a little parmesan, a bagged salad and a slice of garlic toast and it’s a full scale meal in 15 minutes or less.  If you have the time, you can check out my daughter’s recipe using home canned tomatoes in the recipe section on the website. It slow cooks for 2 or 3 hours to blend all the flavours.  In the canned version, that is already done so open a jar and enjoy!

Do not attempt to adjust this recipe as it has been specifically designed and tested for pressure canning

Meaty Bolognese Sauce

The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving 2016
Yields 6 500mL or 3 1 Litre jars

Ingredients

5 lbs lean ground beef
3 cups diced onions
1 cup diced carrot
1 cup diced celery
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp dried basil
6 thinly sliced garlic cloves
1 ½ cups home canned tomato paste 
1 cup dry red wine
¼ cup balsamic vinegar (6% acidity)
3 quarts home canned tomatoes (diced)

Directions

1. Fill pressure canner with 2 or 3 inches of water.  Heat to a simmer. 

2. Place 7 clean, warm 500 mL mason jars on a rack in pressure canner.  Cover with simmering water. Place SNAP LIDS® in a bowl full of warm water.  Keep both jars and lids warm until ready to use. 

3. Brown the ground beef in a 6 quart heavy saucepan at medium-high heat, stirring until meat crumbles and is no longer pink.  Drain the beef and set it aside.

4. Add diced onion and the next 5 ingredients to a stainless steel or enamel large pot.  Cook over medium heat about until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in tomato paste; continue to cook as the paste reduces and begins to turn brown.  Add wine and vinegar, stirring to loosen browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

5. Add the beef back into the pan and stir in tomatoes.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes to thicken, stirring occasionally.

6. Lock pressure canner lid in place. Vent steam for 10 minutes. Place the counterweight or weighted gauge on vent, bring pressure to 10 pounds (adjusting for altitude) 

7. Process for 60 minutes for pints and 75 minutes in a dial gauge pressure canner at 11 pounds pressure (adjusting for altitude) or in a weighted gauge pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (adjusting for altitude). Turn off heat.  Wait for the pressure to drop to zero on a dial gauge or when no steam escapes when weight on weighted gauge canner is nudged, before removing the cover. Always tilt the cover away from your face when removing the cover from the canner.  Remove jars with a jar lifter, without tilting, to a protected countertop.

8. Cool upright for 24 hours.  After cool, check that the jars are sealed.  Sealed jar lids curve downward. Clean, dry and label with contents and date. Store in a cool, dark place.  

Tip: Never use aluminum, copper, brass, galvanized or iron equipment for canning.  The acids that occur naturally in foods can react to produce undesirable flavours and cloudy off-colour juices.

Tip: Add 1 or 2 tablespoons vinegar to canning water to prevent calcium build up on jars. 

Tip: Blend tomatoes into a purèe before adding if you prefer a smooth tomato base instead of chunky tomato bits in your sauce.

*Altitude adjustment for pressure canner

I love Mexican food.  It’s healthy, fresh and delicious.  I decided to try my hand at canning some of the sauces that are used in a variety of different Mexican dishes.  One of those sauces is Red Enchilada Sauce.  I found this recipe in an American Test Kitchen Magazine (Foolproof Preserving, October 2017) and decided to give it a try.  What I especially like is having the sauce on hand for when I want a good red sauce to pour over beef or chicken that is going in the slow cooker for the day.  I quickly braise the meat, put it in the slow cooker, cover with red sauce and leave it to cook on low for the day.  Once the meat is pull-apart tender, it can be used in a variety of dishes.  Check out my recipe for Beef Enchiladas. 

Red Enchilada Sauce

Yield 8 - 10 500ml jars

Ingredients

10 pounds tomatoes
8 – 10 dried ancho chilis
1 cup water
2 Tbsp chipotle chili powder
2 Tbsp ground coriander
2 Tbsp ground cumin 
1 large onion
10 – 12 cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp salt
¾ cup cider vinegar

Directions

1. Place water in boiling water canner.  Heat to a simmer.  Place 6 clean, warm 250 ml mason jars on a rack in canner.  Cover with simmering water.  Place SNAP LIDS® in a bowl full of warm water.  Keep both jars and lids warm until ready to use. 

2. Add peeled onion and garlic to a food processor.  Pulse until minced.  Set aside.

3. Wash, core and coarsely chop tomatoes.  Set aside.

4. Remove stems from dried ancho chilis.  Break chilis into pieces and place in a large non-reactive pot along with seeds, chili powder, coriander and cumin. Toast about 1 minute until spices release their aroma.  Stir in water, salt and minced onion and garlic.  Cook until ancho chilis and onion are soft, and water has evaporated, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and continue to cook until mixture measures 20 cups.  This will take about 15 – 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

5. Blend in a food processor in batches, being careful not to overfill the processor with each batch.  Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean pot.  Press out as much of the solids as possible to make a thicker sauce.  Discard the left over pulp.  Add cider vinegar and return sauce to a boil.

6. Remove jars one at a time from the canner to a covered counter top.  Fill jars one at a time, leaving ½ inch head space. Remove air bubbles.  Wipe jar rim. Place SNAP LID® and screw band on jar.  Tighten until fingertip tight.  Place in canner on rack.  Repeat until all jars are full.

7. Add enough hot water to the canner to ensure jars are covered by 1 inch of water.  Place lid on canner.  Bring to a full rolling boil.  Boil 40 minutes (adjusting for altitude).  Turn off heat.  Remove lid and wait 5 minutes.  Remove jars with a jar lifter, without tilting, to a protected counter top.

8. Cool upright 24 hours.  After cool, check that the jars are sealed.  Sealed jar lids curve downward.  Clean, dry, remove screw bands and label with contents and date. 

TIP: Never place hot jars directly on the counter top.  Hot glass touching a cool counter top could cause the jar to shatter.  Use a tea towel or pieces of newspaper to cover the counter and to place the jars on.

*Altitude adjustment for boiling water method
Altitude in feet Increase processing time by
1001 to 3000 5 minutes
3001 to 6000 10 minutes
6001 to 8000 15 minutes
8001 to 10000 20 minutes

I’ve tried store-bought salsa in the past, but it just cannot compare to home made salsa.  I always find the store-bought to be too salty and it tends to have a strong vinegary taste.  It takes some time to make this salsa, but the end result is worth it. Once you have tried it, you won’t go back to store bought.  I use salsa in so many dishes, particularly in Spanish pork chops, but also in a multitude of Mexican dishes. Obviously though, the best way to enjoy salsa is by scooping it on to a nacho straight out of the jar.  This salsa is made over 2 days. The tomatoes need to sit in a salt brine for at least 10 hours to draw as much water as possible out of the tomatoes, which makes for a thick, chunky texture. The second day is for chopping vegetables and processing the salsa.  I prefer to chop all the vegetables by hand, thereby controlling the size of the chopped vegetables and ultimately, the texture of the finished salsa. This method ensures nothing is chopped too fine, which could result in a mushy mess. If you want to use a food processor, that’s up to you.  Usually, vegetables like peppers need to be pressure canned, but this salsa can be processed in a boiling water canner because of the added vinegar, which decreases the pH to safe levels.

Salsa

Yield 7 litres or 14 - 500 mL jars

Ingredients

18 lbs tomatoes (roma are best)
10 – 15 assorted large hot peppers (use a variety of sizes, colours, heat level)
4 assorted sweet peppers (red, green, orange, yellow)
3 jalapeno peppers
3 large sweet onions
1/2 pint jar home canned tomato paste
1 pint jar of home canned kernel corn (optional)
1 pint jar of home canned black beans (optional)
½ cup pickling salt
2 ½ cups 5% vinegar
2 Tbsp granulated sugar

Directions

Day 1

1. To remove tomato skins, fill a large bowl with ice water.   Set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop 4 or 5 tomatoes into the boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds, remove tomatoes with a slotted spoon and place them in an ice water bath.  Skins will easily slide off. This is known as blanching. Cut out blossom ends. Cut tomatoes into 1 inch cubes in a large non-reactive plastic pail or bowl. Stir in the salt. Cover and leave to sit overnight or at least 10 hours. Do not stir or agitate once covered.

Day 2

1. Place water in boiling water canner.  Heat to a simmer.  Place 14 clean, warm 500 mL or 7 one litre mason jars on a rack in canner.  Cover with simmering water.  Place SNAP LIDS® in a bowl full of warm water.  Keep both jars and lids warm until ready to use. 

2. Drain off as much clear saltwater liquid from the tomatoes as possible. Pour the tomatoes into a large stock pot, add the vinegar and sugar and turn on the heat.  Simmer uncovered for 1 hour.

3. Chop all the peppers (except the jalapenos) and onions into ¼ inch chunks.  Add to the stock pot and continue to simmer another 25 to 30 minutes.

4. Add in the corn and black beans if using.  Let the salsa simmer until it is reduced to a thick, chunky texture, stirring often to prevent burning. 

5. Chop the jalapenos and add a bit at a time to the stock pot, letting it cook 10 minutes with each addition, then tasting it for heat before adding more.  This is totally a preference thing. If you like your salsa hot, add more jalapenos peppers, if you like it mild, add less. It’s difficult to gauge the heat when the salsa is hot so let a spoonful cool before tasting it for pepper heat.

6. Ladle salsa into hot, clean, jars to within ½ inch of top of jar rim.  Fill jars one at a time, remove air bubbles and re-adjust headspace. Wipe jar rim.  Place SNAP LID® and screw band on jar. Tighten until fingertip tight. Place in canner on rack.  Repeat until all jars are full.

7. Add enough hot water to the canner to ensure jars are covered by 1 inch of water.  Place lid on canner. Bring to a full rolling boil. Boil 15 minutes, 20 minutes for litres (adjusting for altitude).  Turn off heat. Remove lid and wait 5 minutes. Remove jars with a jar lifter, without tilting, to a protected countertop.

8. Cool upright 24 hours.  After cool, check that the jars are sealed.  Sealed jar lids curve downward. Remove screw bands and store separately.  Clean, dry and label with contents and date.

TIP: When chopping hot peppers, always wear gloves and do not touch your face with your hands.

*Altitude adjustment for boiling water method
Altitude in feet Increase processing time by
1001 to 3000 5 minutes
3001 to 6000 10 minutes
6001 to 8000 15 minutes
8001 to 10000 20 minutes