Basic Meatballs for Pressure Canning

These meatballs are so versatile and make a great meal starter! Can some up to have at the ready when you are. These can be used for IKEA style meatballs, in tomato sauce, for soup, stew, subs or simply over mashed potatoes or egg noodles. Any way you like to eat them, they are delicious!

Ingredients and Variations

Ingredients: Ground beef, dried onion, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, dried parsley, beef bouillon, paprika, beef broth, bay leaves, kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

Variations: Beef is used here but ground chicken, pork, sausage or turkey can be used instead. The herbs and spices can be changed to anything your family enjoys. Dried or freeze dried onion works much better than fresh, your meatballs can fall apart if you decide to use fresh. Choose your favorite broth.

Use Italian herbs instead, Italian sausage and choose a tomato broth or sauce. Ground chicken with basil and oregano in tomato or chicken broth. Add an Asian spin on ground turkey meatballs in a broth with soy sauce and ginger. So many choices with meatballs!

Canning

Before you begin, be sure to do the safety checks on your canner per manufacturer instructions. Always inspect your jars for chips and cracks and wash all equipment needed for the canning project, in hot soapy water.

Be sure to check the recipe for recommended headspace and be accurate. This is important for shelf stability and safety. Consult the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving for more information. https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html

Process quarts and pints for exact time specified in recipe. Remember, if you choose to can in half pints, those will always process for the same time as pints.

Basic Meatballs for Pressure Canning

Recipe by Jeni Gough
3.5 from 33 votes
Course: MainCuisine: Italian, AmericanDifficulty: Medium
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

20

minutes
Processing time

90

minutes for quarts
Processing time

75

minutes for pints
Yields

7

quarts or
yields

14

pints

The most versatile meal starter!

Ingredients

  • Meatballs
  • 10 lbs ground beef

  • 1/2 cup dried onion flakes

  • 4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

  • 3 tbsp beef bouillon powder

  • 2 tbsp garlic powder

  • 4 tbsp onion powder

  • 2 tsp paprika

  • 2 tsp kosher salt

  • 2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

  • 4 tbsp dried parsley

  • Broth
  • 08 – 20 cups beef broth or stock

  • 1/2 tsp paprika

  • 2 tsp garlic powder

  • 1 1/2 tbsp onion powder

  • 1 tsp kosher salt

  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire

  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions

  • Inspect jars for cracks and chips. Wash jars, lids and rings in hot, soapy water. Prepare pressure canner per canner instructions, filling with water. Bring canner to a low simmer.
  • Heat oven to 375°.
  • Mix all ingredients to make meatballs. Roll 1 1/2- inch balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake meatballs for 20 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, make the broth: Add all broth ingredients to a large pot, bring to a boil, cover, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until ready to use. Taste for salt , as you may need to add more.
  • Divide meatballs among 7 quarts or 14 pints.
  • Cover meatballs with broth up to 1-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and add more broth to bring up to 1-inch headspace if needed. Wipe rims, add lids and bands to fingertip tight. Place directly into simmering pressure canner.
  • Process quarts for 90 minutes, pints and half pints for 75 minutes.

Recipe Video

Notes

  • Add potatoes, carrots, mushrooms or any extra vegetable you may like, into the the jar with your meatballs, before canning.

2 Comments

  1. I plan on making this canning recipe soon. We love meatball sub sandwiches, so to have meatballs on the shelf…AWESOME! Thank you