Chili (Pressure Canner)
Pre-made shelf-stable chili in mason jars makes the perfect workweek lunch or easy dinner.
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Canner
- 9 Pint Mason Jars OR 18 Half-Pint Mason Jars
Ingredients
- 500 grams Dried kidney beans Beans need to be soaked in water overnight. I used 454g / 1lb since that's the size of the bag I bought.
- 1.5 kilogram Extra-lean ground beef
- 200 grams Onion, chopped
- 150 grams Peppers, seeded and chopped I used two jalapeños and part of a bell pepper.
- 2 litres Crushed tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp Chili powder
- 1 Tbsp Garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp Ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp Ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp Ground oregano
- 2 Tbsp Salt
- 2 Tbsp Unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 Tbsp Lime juice This can be bottled or freshly-squeezed, as it's here for flavour, not food safety purposes.
Instructions
- The night before: Wash beans. Place beans in a large pot or bowl and cover with several inches of water. Let stand overnight.
- Drain beans and put in a large pot (I needed a very large pot; a lot gets added to it later on) and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then lower the temperature and simmer for 30 minutes.
- While the beans are simmering, put the ground beef, onions, and peppers into a very large pan and brown the beef, breaking it up as it cooks. Drain the fat from the pan once it’s browned.
- Drain the beans and then return them to the pot.
- Add the beef mixture to the bean pot. Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir and heat until it boils, then lower the temperature and simmer for five minutes.
- Pack the chili into canning jars, leaving a 1-inch headspace. Either pint (1/2 litre) or half-pint (1/4 litre) jars can be used. The half-pint jars are great for grab-and-go lunches.
- Debubble and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe jar rims. Put the lids on and tighten to fingertip tightness.
- Place in pressure canner and follow canner instructions. Process for 75 minutes. If using a weighted gauge, process at 10 lbs pressure; if using a dial gauge, process at 11 lbs pressure. If you are over 1000 feet / 300 meters, adjust the pressure accordingly.
- When fully processed and canner has cooled as per canner instructions, remove jars from canner and let sit on a thick towel, undisturbed, for 24 hours. Check after 24 hours. If the lids have sealed, the jars can be stored. If any lids failed to seal, refrigerate and consume within a few days.
Notes
Unsweetened cocoa powder can seem like a very strange thing to add to chili, but do try it! Chocolate is a part of traditional Central American cuisine, including in savoury/spicy dishes like chili.