Time for another use for tomatoes.  First was pizza sauce, then spaghetti sauce, then diced tomatoes, and now time to make some chili.  There are several recipes out there for how to make chili for canning.  Some take a layered approach and put in each ingredient in one by one per jar.  Which seems like it takes more time then just putting it all together in a pot and then packing it into jars.  All the basics are the same though in every recipe.  Meat, beans, peppers, and tomatoes are the base for them all.  I am going to try a couple different ones this year.  This one is a basic recipe where I am going to substitute pork for the beef.  It is the same cooking time for either in a pressure cooker.  And I have a picnic pork that I can grind up to use.

Ingredients: (from USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning)

• 3 cups dried beans (I am using a combo of black beans and red beans)
• 5 1/2 cups water
• 5 t. salt (2 t. for salting beans when they cook & 3 t. for the chili)
• 3 lbs. ground pork
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped Serrano peppers (It calls for bell peppers but I really don’t like the taste of bell peppers)
• 1 t. black pepper
• 3 to 6 T. Chili powder depending on how spicy you want it
• 2 quarts crushed or whole tomatoes (8 cups)

When done this recipe makes 9 pints.  You can scale it up for more fairly easily. Wash beans thoroughly and put them in a saucepan or a bowl.  Add cold water to a level of 2 to 3 inches above the beans and soak for 12 to 18 hours. Drain and discard water after soaking. Combine the beans with 5 1/2 cups fresh water and 2 t. non-iodized salt. Bring to a boil, reduce and cook for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, brown ground pork, onions, and peppers, in a skillet. Drain off fat by spooning into a colander in the sink. Shake out the excess fat. Pour into large pot and add 3t. salt, pepper, chili powder, tomatoes. Drain beans after 30 minutes and add to meat. Simmer chili for 5 minutes.

Using sterilized jars fill leaving 1″ headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with dampened clean paper towel that has white vinegar on it. It will help remove any fat that may have been dripped. Adjust lids and process in pressure canner.  Process pints at 11lbs of pressure for 75 minutes for a dial gauge and 10lbs of pressure for a weighted gauge. You can also make this in quarts and pressure can for 90 minutes.