CANNING STRAWBERRY PRESERVES RECIPES

Steps:

• Combine the sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over very low heat for 10 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved. Add the strawberries and continue to cook over very low heat for 20 minutes, until the strawberries release some of their juices and the mixture boils slowly. Cook until a small amount of the juice gels on a very cold plate. (I keep one in the freezer.) Pour carefully into 2 pint canning jars and either seal or keep refrigerated. Use immediately, or follow proper canning guidelines below.
• Sterilizing Tips:
• Jars should be made from glass and free of any chips or cracks. Preserving or canning jars are topped with a glass, plastic, or metal lid, which has a rubber seal. Two piece lids are best for canning, as they vacuum seal when processed.
• To sterilize jars, before filling with jams, pickles, or preserves, wash jars and lids with hot, soapy water. Rinse well and arrange jars and lids open sides up, without touching, on a tray. Leave in a preheated 175 degree F oven for 25 minutes. Or, boil the jars and lids in a large saucepan, covered with water, for 15 minutes.
• Use tongs when handling the hot sterilized jars, to move them from either boiling water or the oven. Be sure the tongs are sterilized too, by dipping the ends in boiling water for a few minutes.
• As a rule, hot preserves go into hot jars and cold preserves go into cold jars. All items used in the process of making jams, jellies, and preserves must be clean. This includes any towels used, and especially your hands.
• After the jars are sterilized, you can preserve the food. It is important to follow any canning and processing instructions included in the recipe and refer to USDA guidelines about the sterilization of canned products.

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.