How to Can Taco Meat: Easy Pressure Canning Guide for Fast Meals and Long-Term Storage
How to Can Taco Meat: Easy Pressure Canning Guide for Fast Meals and Long-Term Storage
If you’re looking for an easy way to build a pantry full of quick meals, learning how to can taco meat is one of the best places to start.
Having jars of fully cooked, seasoned taco meat on the shelf means faster dinners, less freezer space used, and a ready-to-use protein source whenever you need it.
Whether you’re stocking a long-term pantry, preserving bulk meat purchases, or simply trying to make weeknight dinners easier, pressure canning taco meat can save both time and money.
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Jump to RecipeWhy Canning Taco Meat is Worth It
Convenience
The taco meat will already be cooked and seasoned so it saves time when preparing meals later.
Long-Term Food Storage
Like any pantry staple, canned taco meat can help build a reliable long-term food supply for your family.
Money-Saving
If you find meat on sale or buy it in bulk, pressure canning is a great way to preserve it without having to tie up room in the freezer.
Buying meat in bulk or during sales becomes much easier when you’re not worried about freezer space. Combined with the convenience and storage benefits above, having ready-to-use meat on hand makes feeding your family significantly easier.
Example: We buy part of a cow every year and pressure canning helps reduce how much freezer storage we need.
Important Safety Information for Canning Meat
Meat is a low-acid food, which means:
- Meat must be pressure canned
- Water bath canning is not safe
- Processing times should always come from tested sources
This recipe follows tested pressure canning guidelines for safely preserving meat at home.
Always follow tested pressure canning guidelines and adjust pressure based on your altitude.
Equipment Needed for Canning Meat
- Pressure canner or Electric Pressure Canner
- Canning jars
- Bands and lids
- Jar lifter
- Debubbler/headspace tool
- Towels or cooling rack
- Electric Kettle (optional)
Ingredients for Canning Taco Meat
- Meat
- Taco Seasonings of choice
- Water
Step-by-Step Guide to Can Taco Meat
Cook the Meat
Cook the meat until it is cooked or very nearly cooked through. Drain of excess fat.
Some people don’t care about draining a lot of the fat but I highly recommend discarding the fat to keep it out of the jars.
This creates
- More space in the jar for meat itself
- Less chance of the fat interrupting a proper seal
Add the Seasoning
- Mix seasoning in evenly
- Add water as needed
Avoid taco seasonings containing:
- cornstarch
- flour
- thickening agents
These ingredients are not recommended during pressure canning.
Homemade seasoning blends usually work best.
Boil Water
Boil enough water to add to the taco meat once it’s in the jar. This is dependent on how much taco meat you are canning.
Why I recommend Electric Kettles
- Bring water to a boil quickly
- Easily heat additional water if needed
- Free up valuable stove space
Prepare the Pressure Canner
Prepare your pressure canner according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Always refer to your manual.
When using an electric canner, follow those instructions for the whole canning process.
For example, I use the 23 quart Presto Pressure Canner. It requires 3 quarts of water before use. It has a dial gauge that needs to be put in as well as a gasket.
TIP: Many extension offices will test pressure canner gauges for free.
Prepare and Heat the Jars
Wash jars, bands, and lids thoroughly.
Fill them at least half-way with water. This is simply so they don’t try to float or get wobbly. When you go to use the jar and fill it with the meat, discard the water down the drain or into a catch bucket.
Turn the heat to medium-low to start warming the water and the jars. The jars are getting hot so that way there’s no thermal shock when adding the hot taco meat to the jar.
Have Boiling Water Ready
Use an electric kettle or have your boiling water on the stove ready to go once you begin filling the jars with taco meat.
Fill the Jars
- Using a jar lifter, remove a warm jar and dump out the water (not into the canner).
- Fill jars loosely with taco meat, leaving enough room to maintain 1 inch of headspace after adding boiling water.
- Add boiling water. Leave 1 inch headspace.
- Remove bubbles.
- Re-check headspace.
- Wipe rims clean with a lint-free cloth. I dip my cloth into vinegar but water is fine too. Wipe around all rims to help ensure a tight and safe seal.
- Put the lid and ring on and twist it to fingertip tight.
TIP
When canning taco meat or plain ground beef it can be hard to get all of the fat off. Once you add boiling water to the beef you should see a layer of the fat rise to the top. This is a great time to use a spoon and skim whatever other fat out that you don’t want in your jar. Then re-fill the jar back to the 1″ headspace with more boiling water and continue to can as normal.
Process the Jars
- Place jars into the pressure canner.
- Try to space all jars evenly without touching each other or the side of the canner.
- Repeat for all jars until the canner is full.
If the Canner isn’t Full
Fill a jar with water and put on a ring and band. This helps to make sure the pressure builds properly versus leaving the space empty. And as a bonus, if you fill it with clean/filtered water, you have a shelf-stable jar of water in case of an emergency.
Follow your canner’s instructions on heating the canner, letting it vent, building pressure, and monitoring the pressure.
- Ex for my 23 quart Presto Pressure Canner I bring it to a boil and let it vent for 10 minutes (no weight). Then I add the weight, bring it up to 11 pounds of pressure (for my altitude) via my dial gauge, and pressure can.
TIME:
- Pints: 75 minutes
- Quarts: 90 minutes
Altitude Adjustments for Pressure Canning Taco Meat
Pressure can for 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts at the pressure for your altitude.
If you are at an altitude higher than 1,000 feet above sea level, adjust pressure pounds as indicated.
| Altitude Feet | Weighted Gauge | Dial Gauge |
| 0- 1,000 1,001- 2,000 2,001- 4,000 4,001- 6,000 6,001-8,000 8,001-10,000 | 10 15 15 15 15 15 | 11 11 12 13 14 15 |
Cooling and Storing Canned Taco Meat
Once Time is Complete
- Turn off the heat
- Allow the pressure to return to zero naturally. Do not try to move the canner or force the release of pressure.
- Once the pressure is completely gone, remove the lid.
- Let the canner sit for 5 minutes, undisturbed.
- Remove the jars from the canner
- Place onto a protected countertop or strong cooling racks.
Don’t disturb for at least 12 hours, preferably 24.
After Jars Cool
- Check seals
- Label with contents and when it was made.
- Store in a cool, dark place
For best quality, use within 12–18 months.
There you go! Taco meat ready to be made into stuffed peppers, nachos, tamale pies, casseroles and more.
Pressure Canning Taco Meat
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Brown the ground meat and drain as much fat as possible.
- Add seasonings and enough water to ensure all seasonings are evenly distributed.
- Wash all jars, bands, and lids
- Place water (amount is according to your pressure canner's instruction manual) in the canner along with the canning rack
- Fill the jars at least half-way with water and place into the pressure canner. No lids. This is simply so they don’t try to float.
- Boil water in a pot to eventually add to jars.
- Turn the heat to medium-low to start warming the water and the jars.
- Using a jar lifter, remove a warm jar and discard the water (not into the canner).
- Fill jars loosely with taco meat, leaving enough room to maintain 1 inch of headspace after adding boiling water.
- Add boiling water. Leave 1 inch headspace
- Remove bubbles and discard any additional fat that floats.
- Re-check headspace.
- Wipe rims clean with a lint-free cloth. I dip my cloth into vinegar but water is fine. Wipe around all rims to help ensure a tight and safe seal.
- Put the lid and ring on and twist it to fingertip tight.
- Place jars into the pressure canner spaced as evenly as possible.
- Follow your canner’s instructions on heating the canner, letting it vent, building pressure, what pressure based on altitude, and monitoring the pressure.
- Process pints for 75 minutes and quarts for 90
- Turn off heat and let the canner release its pressure naturally. Do not try to force it.
- Once pressure is fully released, remove the lid and let everything sit for at least 5 minutes.
- Remove jars and let them rest for 12-24 hours. Remove bands to thouroughly wash all bands and jars. If using, add bands back on but loosely.
- Store in place that doesn't have large temperature fluctuations.
Notes
Ways to Use Canned Taco Meat
- Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers
- Nachos
- Tamale Pie
- Chili (chunky chili, tex-mex chili, etc.)
- Casseroles
- Skillet meals
- Frittatas
Yield
How Much Taco Meat Fits in a Pint Jar?
It depends on how much fat your initial beef started with. But roughly,
- About 1/2 to 3/4 pounds per pint
- About 1 to 1 ½ pounds per quart
Always pack less rather than packing in more meat.
Guidance
Storage
Store in a cool dark place.
Store in a spot that isn’t overly hot or cold and isn’t prone to a lot of temperature fluctuations.
Spoilage
Noticeable signs of spoilage are:
- Bulging or popped lids
- Bad smell
- Mold
- Leaking liquid
Common Mistakes
Examples:
- not draining fat
- overpacking jars
- using thickened seasoning packets
- forcing pressure release
FAQ’s
“Can I Use Taco Seasoning Packets?”
This is dependent on the ingredients. Avoid taco seasonings containing:
- cornstarch
- flour
- thickening agents
These ingredients are not recommended during pressure canning. Homemade seasoning blends usually work best.
“What Should Taco Meat Look Like After Pressure Canning?”
- Grease layer is normal
- Color darkening is normal
- Some liquid loss can happen
- Meat texture changes slightly
- Product will look very similar to the original
“Can I Use Turkey / Chicken / Venison?”
Yes. Ground turkey, chicken, venison, pork, and beef can all be pressure canned using tested meat canning guidelines. Drain excess fat for best results.
“Can I raw pack meat?”
This method uses a hot pack process with water, which is recommended for better quality and safer heat penetration because of the water.
“Can I add salt?”
Salt is optional in pressure canning taco meat and is used for flavor only, not preservation.
“Can taco meat be water bath canned?”
Meat needs to be pressure canned.
How long does canned taco meat last?
If properly stored, 12-18 months for best flavor and texture.
Final Thoughts on Canning Taco Meat
Pressure canning is intimidating at first. I used to just peek from around a corner to see what the dial was at because it made me nervous. The overpressure plug on my canner brings me comfort because I know that if something were to happen it would release pressure there first (think of the Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi when you move it to ‘vent’).
It’ll take practice but it’s worth it. Especially after you make the initial investment of the canner and jars, you’ll forget about that part of the expense and start to enjoy watching your food stash grow without the grocery store prices.
Remember to always use a tested pressure canning recipe. You’ll eventually hear comments like: “My grandma always did it this way and we’re fine.” Stick with tested methods. Trust what is safe, especially when you’re first starting out.
A few resources:
