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canned taco meat

Pressure Canning Taco Meat

Pressure-Canned Taco Meat ready to use for Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers, Tamale Pies, Loaded Potatoes and More!
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 9 pint jars
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 7 lbs ground beef
  • 1/3 cup chili powder
  • 1/4 cup cumin
  • 1 TBSP salt
  • 1 TBSP paprika
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Equipment

  • 1 pressure canner
  • 9 pint canning jars with lids and bands
  • 1 jar lifter
  • 1 headspace tool

Method
 

Prepping Meat
  1. Brown the ground meat and drain as much fat as possible.
  2. Add seasonings and enough water to ensure all seasonings are evenly distributed.
Prepping Equipment
  1. Wash all jars, bands, and lids
  2. Place water (amount is according to your pressure canner's instruction manual) in the canner along with the canning rack
  3. 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.
  4. Boil water in a pot to eventually add to jars.
  5. Turn the heat to medium-low to start warming the water and the jars.
Canning Taco Meat
  1. Using a jar lifter, remove a warm jar and discard the water (not into the canner).
  2. Fill jars loosely with taco meat, leaving enough room to maintain 1 inch of headspace after adding boiling water.
  3. Add boiling water. Leave 1 inch headspace
  4. Remove bubbles and discard any additional fat that floats.
  5. Re-check headspace.
  6. 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.
  7. Put the lid and ring on and twist it to fingertip tight.
  8. Place jars into the pressure canner spaced as evenly as possible.
  9. Follow your canner’s instructions on heating the canner, letting it vent, building pressure, what pressure based on altitude, and monitoring the pressure.
  10. Process pints for 75 minutes and quarts for 90
  11. Turn off heat and let the canner release its pressure naturally. Do not try to force it.
  12. Once pressure is fully released, remove the lid and let everything sit for at least 5 minutes.
  13. 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.
  14. Store in place that doesn't have large temperature fluctuations.

Notes

If you end up with less and the canner isn't full of jars:
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.