Waste not,want not.!

This week we decided to make up another batch or two of raw packed turkey and vegetable soup , the same as I had made in an earlier post. This is really handy for me on the days that I am here alone, I know I can just grab a jar of soup, tip it out and microwave it in 2 minutes for a piping hot portion controlled ,nutritious,delicious meal.
We  bought another 12 kg box of turkey wings, and we normally use the meaty end for the soup.We trim the meat off the bone, de-skin and chop into bite sized pieces. The mid section of the wing we normally keep for treats for our blue cattle dog Tilly.
This time we had purchased a second  12kg of turkey necks just for her so we decided we would use the  mid wing bits to can for the first time in my Fowlers Vacola Jars. We were able to pack 3 wing bits into each jar(I had to chop off  about an inch off the top of all of them.

So after doing all this, I gathered up all the bits,bones(that I cracked in half with the big meat chopper),skin,little end bits and all the vegie peelings from the turkey soup. I put them in all a big stock pot  with variuos other bits and pieces, garlic, mixed herbs,sauces,salt and pepper, and simmereed the heck out of it for a few hours until it seemed to be ready.

I then took a jug and  poured the contents of the big stock pot  through a colander into a smaller pot.

This was not a fine enough strainer, but was good to remove the bulk. Next I poured the remaining liquid back through another finer strainer to remove the  less coarse  particles.

Then for a third time I strained again, but this time through a couple of thicknesses of muslin.

Next i poured this beautiful honey colored liquid into two big plastic containers and placed them into the fridge overnight so that any fat would settle on top and set so that I could skim it off in the morning.

When I checked this morning, this is what I found, something totally unexpected It had all gone very gelatinous .There was a very small layer of solidified fat which I removed.

I realized that I would have to empty the contents back into a pot and reheat to liquify before canning them.

I then started filling my + No 27 Fowlers Vacola  jars, only to realize that It wouldn"t  fit into the 6 jars that  I had allocated to it, so I swapped over to my No 20 Fowlers jars and was able to fill  15 of those.

The tops of my jars were then wiped clean with paper towel soaked with white vinegar, and the pre soaked rubber rings were placed on checking that they were not twisted anywhere.

Next the lids were placed on firmly and clipped down with two metal spring clips.

Although  I have been recently told that Fowlers information states that only one clip is needed, I like my mother before me have always used two, as do many other preservers I know and have never had any non sealing issues because of that.
 I then processed these jars in the pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure for 25 minutes.(These jars are a little larger than pints so I processed them according to the instructions for quarts).
While they were processing I also did a water bath load of crushed tomatoes in mixed size bottles.

So, here is the final result. I am very pleased with my work, worth every bit. This was the first time I had made turkey stock,I had made chicken and lamb stocks before, but this is by far the best and will not hesitate to make it again in the future. It will be well used in many future meals in this house.
My next preserving project will probably be pea and ham soup and I will post the  story of that down the track a bit.
Thankyou for stopping by, hope you have enjoyed reading a little of what we do,
so until we meet again,
Cheers,
Jane.

Canned turkey and vegetable soup.

We love soup, in  every shape and form. I grew up in a fairly large household as did my husband, where there was always a big pot of soup on the stove to feed the hungry hordes. At our house it was mainly  mutton, as that is what there was plenty of  and occasionally it was chicken if we had a feral rooster or two to get rid of. Mum always grew a big vegetable garden and the soup was always thick  wholesome and yummy....always brings back good memories of home.
When  I learned that you could pressure can meats,I started to pressure can  my soups, also mainly chicken and lamb. We only recently made a batch up the farm and canned it. I have included this into this post just to show how i usually made it.

We were lucky to find a bargain at our local chicken factory sales shop, they were selling massive turkey wings for $2.00 per kilogram.It was for sale in 12 kilogram boxes. We chopped these into three sections each, the meaty end we used for the soup pots ,the mid pieces we put into the smoker and the tips were doggie treats.
I placed the turkey into the pots with pre- prepared chicken stock and cooked until the meat started to fall off the bones,I then removed the bones and added  pre-canned tomatoes and corn,chopped carrots, celery, onions, potatoes, herbs, and salt,pepper, garlic and any sauces I could find.
This then simmered on the stove for an hour or so until all flavours merged and vegetables cooked.

after this I removed them  off the stove and cooled a little, I then  filled all my hot jars, debubbled, wiped rims with paper towel and white vinegar, placed pre-simmered lids on and screwed on the bands finger tight. These were then processed at 75 min 10lbs for pints and 90 min 10lbs for quarts.

After the first batch of 14 quarts was complete, I removed them and then processed a second batch of pints to give to my elderly  mum  for handy quick meals for her. She finds them invaluable.
So , when we came back home  to the coast we thought that the turkey was such a good buy that we would purchase some more. his time after having seen so many raw packed  soups on the canning sites, we decided to give it a go as well.

This time,  Brian sat and trimmed the meat off the bones(which we froze for the dogs) while I prepared  the carrots, onions, celery and potatoes ready to layer in the jars as follows.

We had purchased 12 kilograms of turkey wings, the meaty end pieces that we used with bone in weighed about 6 kgs, it produced enough trimmed turkey to do two full canner loads of pints (38 altogether)

After layering the meat and vegetables, I added garlic, mixed herbs, chilli,pepper,( BBQ sauce to the first batch and Home made tomato sauce to the second batch), and filled the jars to about 1 inch from the top with chicken stock(I used stock powder dissolved with water this time),de-bubbled and adjusted liquid, wiped rims clean with paper towel and white vinegar, topped with simmered lids and screwed on the bands finger tight.We then once again used our new brilliant outdoor  propane set up to process the soups.

We processed the pints for 75 minutes at 10lbs pressure for our altitude, and then turned off the gas, cooled the canner down  and removed the lid. The two of us then  carried the canner inside to unload the jars onto a bath towel covered bench top to cool overnight.
Next morning, I removed bands, checked seals, washed jars and bands, stored the bands away with the rest of the multiplying hordes  labelled the jars and stored in the pantry.

This is a brilliant way to make soup, quick and easy, also a heck of a lot cheaper than my old way(unless you do the first cook on the wood stove), and the final product  was amazing. This will be many,many quick meals for me when Brian is away working or we just want a lazy hot  meal, and as we are trying to watch our weight this also helps with portion control.
Will I do this again, Yes  I most certainly will.
I am learning so much every day from all the amazing people from all over the world that I meet  on the canning and  homesteading sites that I have contact with, and I am sure making many life time  acquaintances.
We live in an amazing time in history and I for one  am loving it.
So my friends,
until we have the pleasure of meeting again,
Cheers for now,
Jane.

Apple Pie Moonshine.

I belong to a few canning sites and see often that  many people put up wonderful photos of Apple Pie Moonshine.
They always look so lovely and have often been tempted to ask for the recipe but it wasn't until the other day  when a girlfriend had passed me on some beautiful preserving jars that she no longer needed(she only used them to store dry goods in her pantry) I started to think about what  i could do with them. I always say yes to free jars and then think about it later.

These were the jars, the four on the right are beautiful Italian ,one piece lid jars each holding  just shy of 2 litres and the smaller ones on the left were cheaper style  Coles supermarket  once piece lid  preserving jars. They all have lovely raised patterns on them  and are really pretty.
Soon afterwards I happened to see another canner who I am friends  with Bev Dobson, put a recipe that had been slightly adapted from the original American  to a more Australian way using readily available products that we can access easily.
Firstly It called for 8 litres of Apple juice,

I just used the regular home brand supermarket juice, next time I may try a different brand.
Next I added 2 cups of light brown sugar.

I then added 5 apples, peeled, cored and diced.

Next the recipe called for 5 cinnamon sticks broken in half and 1 grated nutmeg to be placed into a spice ball and added  to the mix. I decided to add straight to the mix instead as these are both flavours I love  .

I also added 2 teaspoons of  vanilla extract.

this was then placed on the heat and slowly brought up to a simmer  making sure that all the  sugar is dissolved. I divided it into two smaller pots as my large pot was up at the farm. I had to use a small portable stove we have as my glass top was out of action  awaiting a visit from an electrician.
After removing from the heat and allowing to totally cool, I then added  700mls of vodka.  used the cheapest I could find at my local bottle shop, I have heard since that you can use vanilla vodka and similar flavours to add even more depth to the mix.

I then bottled up into my  jars, adding some of the diced apples and a half cinnamon stick into each jar, and then capped with my lids. It then just needs to sit at least two weeks(if you can wait that long) in a cool dark place.Bev said that you can  also choose to omit the apples and use them with cream or ice cream as a dessert.
This does not  require processing as the alcohol acts  as the preserver. This will store 12 months on the shelf.

I haven't tried mine yet, and I can hardly wait, I am not normally a big spirits  drinker, but this smelled like heaven as it was being prepared, so I hope the taste matches that.
So maybe the next time we meet I may have indulged....time will tell.
Cheers to all,
and thanks again Bev.
Jane.