BALL CANNING TOMATOES INSTRUCTIONS RECIPES

Steps:

• Shape sausage into patties roughly. Take a pint size wide mouth jar and shape the patty on a cutting board. Remove excess sausage meat and continue to shape all the patties. Try to keep your patties on the thinner side. Mine were all about 1/4" to 1/2" thick. If you are using store bought sausage meat you will have some decrease in size due to high amounts of fat content while you are frying them. That will be fine but don't be surprised when it happens.
• Fry the meat and cook them on both side till they are golden brown. If they don't cook all the way through that is also fine since the pressure canner will cook them the rest of the way.
• Drain the patties and remove as much of the fat as you can by laying them on a paper towel.
• Stack patties in hot pint jars. I got 4-5 patties in the jars so you may gauge how many jars you will need based on the total patties. Do not fill the patties up beyond the 1" headspace.
• Fill jars with hot water to 1" headspace. Using a rubber or plastic spatula remove air bubbles and refill to 1" if necessary. Using a paper towel that has vinegar on it, wipe the rims of the jars to remove any grease or debris so that you will get a tight seal when you add your lids.
• Add hot lid (sitting in previously boiled water) and ring and tighten "finger tight". Place in pressure canner.
• Process pints in pressure canner at 10lbs of pressure for a weighted gauge canner and 11lbs for a dial gauge for 75 minutes, quarts for 90 minutes.
• When you remove them from thecanner the broth will still be boiling inside of the jars. Once they cool theywill have a ring of fat at the top from the fat/grease. As long as the fat isn'tthick on top and usually will only be around the ring on the outside the jarsare fine.
• Labeling: Make sure to label yourjars after they have cooled with the name of the recipe and the date canned. 

Steps:

• Boil a pot of water and prepare the ice bath. Bring a large 6-quart or larger Dutch oven or stockpot of water to a boil over high heat. Fill a large bowl with ice and water and set this next to the stove.
• Prepare the tomatoes for blanching. Core out the stems from the tomatoes and slice a shallow "X" in the bottom of each fruit.
• Blanch the tomatoes to peel them. Working in batches, drop several tomatoes into the boiling water. Cook until you see the skin starting to wrinkle and split, 45 to 60 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, lift the tomatoes out and place them in the ice water. Continue with the rest of the tomatoes, transferring the cooled tomatoes from the ice water to another large bowl as they cool. Pour the blanching water from the pot (no need to dry).
• Peel the tomatoes. When finished blanching, use your hands or a paring knife to strip the skins from the tomatoes. Discard the water used to boil the tomatoes.
• Coarsely chop the tomatoes. Working in batches, place the tomatoes in the food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse a few times for chunkier sauce, or process until smooth for a puréed sauce. Alternatively, chop the tomatoes by hand. For a smoother sauce, process through a food mill. For a very chunky sauce, skip this step entirely and let the tomatoes break down into large pieces as they cook. Transfer each batch into the reserved Dutch oven or stockpot.
• Simmer the tomatoes. Bring the tomato sauce to a simmer over medium heat. Continue simmering, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reaches the taste and consistency you like, 30 to 90 minutes.
• Stir in the lemon juice and salt. Stir in at least 1/4 cup of the lemon juice or vinegar and salt. A 1/4 cup is necessary to ensure a safe level of acidity for canning. Taste and add more lemon juice or vinegar as needed.
• Preserving Option 1: FreezingLet the sauce cool, then transfer it into freezer containers or freezer bags. Sauce can be kept frozen for at least 3 months before starting to develop freezer burn or off-flavors.
• Preserving Option 2: CanningTransfer the hot sauce into sterilized canning jars. Top with new, sterilized lids, and screw on the rings until finger tight. Process in a pot of boiling water for 30 minutes. Let cool completely on the counter — if any lids do not seal completely (the lids will invert and form a vacuum seal), refrigerate that sauce and use it within a week or freeze it for up to 3 months. Canned tomato sauce can be stored in the pantry for at least 1 year.