Canned Chili with Meat and Beans

Ingredients

Instructions

1. 1Understand before you begin that chili con carne containing meat and beans is a low-acid food overall, even with tomatoes included, and must be processed in a pressure canner; a boiling-water bath is not safe for this mixture.
2. 2Wash 7 quart jars in hot soapy water or a dishwasher and keep them hot; wash new lids and prepare them exactly as the manufacturer instructs.
3. 3Brown the ground beef in a large pot over medium-high heat, breaking it into crumbles, until fully cooked, then drain off excess fat.
4. 4Add the pre-cooked (not raw) beans, onion, bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, garlic, and crushed tomatoes to the pot, stir well, and simmer uncovered for about 20 to 30 minutes to blend the flavors, adding water or broth as needed to keep the mixture from being too thick.
5. 5Do not add flour, cornstarch, masa harina, or any other thickener to the chili before canning, since these dense ingredients block even heat penetration to the center of the jar during processing and could allow harmful bacteria or spores to survive; if you want a thicker chili, thicken it after opening the jar and reheating.
6. 6Ladle the hot chili loosely into the hot jars, without packing it down, leaving room for the liquid to move throughout the jar.
7. 7Leave 1 inch of headspace at the top of each jar.
8. 8If needed, add boiling water or broth so the solids are covered by liquid, keeping 1 inch of headspace, and add salt only for flavor.
9. 9Run a bubble tool through the chili to release trapped air pockets, particularly around the beans and meat crumbles, then recheck and adjust headspace to 1 inch if it has changed.
10. 10Wipe the jar rims completely clean of any chili residue or grease, center a lid on each jar, and screw the band down fingertip tight.
11. 11Load the jars into the pressure canner, add water per the manufacturer's directions, lock the lid, and vent steam steadily for 10 minutes before pressurizing.
12. 12Process pint jars for 75 minutes and quart jars for 90 minutes at 10 pounds pressure in a weighted-gauge canner up to 1,000 feet (15 pounds above 1,000 feet), or 11 pounds in a dial-gauge canner up to 2,000 feet (12 pounds from 2,001 to 4,000 feet, 13 pounds from 4,001 to 6,000 feet, 14 pounds from 6,001 to 8,000 feet).
13. 13Turn off the heat once processing finishes and let the canner depressurize naturally on its own; never quick-release a canner of chili.
14. 14Wait until the gauge reads zero, then wait 2 more minutes, slowly vent any remaining pressure, wait 10 more minutes, then unlock and open the canner.
15. 15Move the jars to a towel-lined surface and let them cool completely undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours.
16. 16Check that each lid has sealed, wipe the jars clean, label with contents and date, and store in a cool, dark place for up to about 1 year.
17. 17Before eating, boil the chili hard for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, to destroy any possible botulinum toxin, and discard without tasting any jar with an off odor, spurting liquid, or a lid that never sealed or is bulging.