Instant Sunday dinner: just serve this pot roast with its delicious gravy over mash, with a few of your home-canned veg for sides.
The prep work for canning is also really fast: the entire mixture is raw pack.
This recipe comes from the Ball All New book (2016).
You may wish to double or triple this recipe to get a full canner load: if so, just do your calculations on paper first before proceeding so that you aren’t trying to do mental gymnastics in the thick of things.
The recipe
Jar size choices: Half-litre (US pint / 16 oz) OR litre (US quart / 32 oz)
Processing method: Pressure canning only
Yield: 2 x litre (US quart) jars
Headspace: 3 cm (1 inch)
Processing pressure: 10 lbs (69 kPa) weighted gauge, 11 lbs (76 kpa) dial gauge (adjust pressure for your altitude when over 300 metres / 1000 feet.)
Processing time: Half-litres (pints) 75 minutes; litres (quarts) 90 minutes
If you don’t have a pressure canner, you can freeze this in plastic containers or straight-sided jars with no shoulders. (Water-bath canning is not acceptable for safety reasons.)
Pot Roast in a jar
Ingredients
- 250 ml red wine (dry. 1 cup / 8 oz)
- 2 teaspoons salt (OR non-bitter, non-clouding salt sub)
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons thyme dried
- 2 cloves garlic
- 150 g carrot (sliced. 1 cup / 5 oz. Measured after prep. About 1 large or 2 medium carrots)
- 150 g potato (diced. 1 cup / 5 oz. Measured after prep. About 1 medium potato)
- 75 g celery (diced. ½ cup / 2 oz. Measured after prep. About 1 stalk of celery)
- 200 g onion (diced. 1 cup / 7 oz. Measured after prep. About 1 medium onion.)
- 1 kg stewing beef (such as chuck or round) (2 lbs)
- bay leaves
- beef broth (hot)
Instructions
- In a large bowl or pot, mix everything from the wine down to and including the thyme.
- Wash, peel and slice garlic. Add to bowl.
- Wash the carrot, peel it, wash again, then slice and add to bowl.
- Wash the potato, peel it, wash again, then dice and add to bowl.
- Wash the celery, dice it, add to bowl.
- Wash the onion, peel it, dice, and add to bowl.
- Put a kettle or pot of water on to boil for you to make your beef broth from, if you are using bouillon cubes, powder or liquid. If you're using home-made, start heating it in microwave. Mind the surge when you remove it.
- Trim excess fat off beef. Cut into 5 cm (2 inch) chunks. Add to bowl.
- Using your clean hands or a very sturdy spoon, mix the contents of the bowl.
- Jar size choices: half-litre (1 US pint) or 1 litre (US quart)
- Into each warmed jar, put 1 bay leaf, then pack the jar firmly (but not overly tightly) with mixture.
- Leave 3 cm (1 inch) headspace.
- Add some of the wine sauce from the bowl (but leave enough sauce to go around for all the jars.)
- Top up the jars with hot beef broth (or even just plain boiling water is fine.)
- Debubble; adjust headspace.
- Wipe jar rims.
- Put lids on.
- Processing pressure: 10 lbs (69 kPa) weighted gauge, 11 lbs (76 kpa) dial gauge (adjust pressure for your altitude when over 300 metres / 1000 feet.)
- Processing time: half- litre (1 US pint) 75 minutes; 1 litre (US quart) 90 minutes.
Nutrition
See also if applicable: Dial Gauge Pressures.
Reference information
How to pressure can.
When pressure canning, you must adjust the pressure for your altitude.
For salt substitute, Herbamare Sodium-Free was used.
Shelf life for home-canned goods
Recipe notes
- As this is a raw pack, there will be shrinkage during processing. Thus they want you to pack the jar “tightly.” But that doesn’t mean squish it down, either.
- To be clear, you don’t heat or pre-cook the mixture before packing it in jars. This is a raw pack. Ball says, “These easy raw pack recipes are an innovative way to create delicious ready-to-eat meals for your pantry all year long. Raw ingredients and seasonings are combined, packed in the jar, and covered with hot broth; all of the cooking takes place right in the jar! Note: To ensure proper pressure and temperature is achieved for safe processing, you must process at least 2 quart or 4 pint jars in the pressure canner at one time.”
- Instead of 2 cloves garlic, you could use 1 teaspoon of minced from a jar.
- If you think your audience won’t appreciate the wine, you can leave it out and just use more beef broth, or even just water.
- Some have asked us how much beef broth will be needed. We don’t really have a reliable answer to give as it will vary so much.
Usage notes
Ball says, “Transfer contents of quart (litre) jar to saucepan and whisk in 2 tablespoons flour until well combined; 1 tablespoon flour for pint (half-litre) jars. Simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring often.”
Instead of simmering in a pot, you could zap in microwave on high for 1 minute, stir, then zap a final 2 minutes. Instead of flour, you could use cornstarch (aka cornflour in the UK.)
Recipe source
Butcher, Meredith L., Ed. The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving. New York: Oxmoor House. 2016. Page 275
Modifications: none
Nutrition
Serving size: 1 cup (250 ml)
Regular version
Per 1 cup (250 ml): 272 calories, 683 mg sodium
Note: does not include any possible sodium from the broth.
Salt-free version
Per 1 cup (250 ml): 272 calories, 102 mg sodium
* Nutrition info provided by https://caloriecount.about.com
Popeye
I know this is raw packed with uncooked ingredients, but can you brown the beef cubes before adding them to the jars?
Jen
Can anyone help me understand how big the vegetables and potatoes should be cut? The recipe specifies 2″ for the beef, but it doesn’t specify for the other items. My online canning group said that the veggies should be 1/2″ dice — so when I pressure canned this recipe, all that was really left in there was the beef chunks! Everything else had mushed into oblivion. Please advise.
Baba Two Five
You split the meat between 2 qt (ltr) jars or 4 pts.
As for cutting the veggies, I did @1″ cubes on the potatoes and about 1/2″ on the carrots and celery. The carrots survived, but next time I might cut them a bit larger. Since it’s a raw pack, the bigger the cuts, the less you will fit in each jar.
martha vickers
IS THAT 2LB.S BEEF DEVIDED BETWEEN THE 8 JARS?
Baba Two Five
Between 2 qts. or 4 pts.
Ronda Mullins
Do you have to use the bay leaf?
Healthy Canning
No, it’s just there as a suggested seasoning. We can omit it.
Deborah
What can be used in place of the wine??
Healthy Canning
See the last line of the recipe notes.
Tanya j
Thank you for the usages and recipe notes; it makes all the difference!!
Sophie
Can you use White wine instead of red wine? Would this be ‘safe’?
Healthy Canning
Yes, that is fine.
Rysta McNeely
Can the chunks of beef be cut smaller?
And, can I omit certain veggies (celery)?
And, and, (sorry) can I use pints instead of qts?
Healthy Canning
You may omit the celery. You can use US pint size jars, but you have to use the same processing time as for US quart jars. Ask Ball directly how small they will support going with the beef chunks (they are the ones who did the testing for heat circulation in the jars during processing.)
Debbie
When canning 32oz Bell jars how long will the roast beef last on the shelf? Also how long do I can 5, 32 oz jars?
Patty
I know that you cannot use red wine in place of white wine in the French onion soup so are you certain that you can use white wine instead of red wine in this recipe?
Healthy Canning
Yes, you absolutely could swap one type of wine for another, in the same amount.
Cheryl Burnett
My new ball canner is electric , can I do 9 pints at one time as this is what it holds . Thank you with this Pot Roast in a jar recipe .
Healthy Canning
Ball doesn’t make any electric canner that they advertise for pressure canning, which is what this recipe calls for.
Patricia
This was really good! I will be making it again. Thank you!
Kathy
Can this recipe be doubled/tripled? Thank you
Healthy Canning
Yes. See Adjusting batch size in home canning
Gerry
When you say wash, peel, and chop garlic (or onion), do you mean wash the vegetables with the peels on before peeling?
Healthy Canning
Yes, to help reduce bacterial count. Otherwise bacteria on the peel can be pressed by the knife into the interior of the onion / garlic. And if we all saw what our vegetables were rolling around in these days before they reach our kitchen counters…
Lisa
I canned this in the tall, pint and one half jars. After opening, I strained liquid, thickened with a cornstarch slurry and poured over a few boiled potatoes. This is an excellent recipe.
Trent Guthrie
I tried this recipe as my first canning experience. I weighed out the ingredients in gram for each of 5 containers.
I had to struggle a bit to fit all the contents into the jar. To make up the volume, there w was only enough room for maybe 1/4 cup or less if wine. There was no room left for any additional broth/water.
During the canning, the level of liquid dropped to maybe 60% of the jar. While they all sealed in the end, did I simply over-pack the jars?
Healthy Canning
Sounds like you could have used more jars.
Chloe
Is it possible you experienced siphoning and lost liquid from the jar into the canner, rather than to absorption? I’ve definitely had this happen on occasion when I don’t keep my temperature consistent enough getting up to pressure. Just a troubleshooting thought. 😊
gina
Can you replace wine? For some other source?
Healthy Canning
You could use water or broth instead.
Heidi Evans
Hi , I’m making beef stew for canning, is it okay to pressure can my beef stew precooked ?
Healthy Canning
Here are the directions for beef stew. https://www.healthycanning.com/beef-stew/
Connie
Using a round roast, will beef be tender enough in this recipe? Thanks
Healthy Canning
It will come out very tender.
jolene
how long can this store for ?
Healthy Canning
See piece on home-canned goods shelf life.