CANNING PICKLED BEETS

Pickled Beets

Scrub beets WELL keeping a bit of the stems and root in tact.

 Beets must be cooked slightly before the canning process. 

 This enables you to get the skins off easily before packing them into jars. 

 I cook my beets quickly in the pressure cooker for 5-6 minutes (depends on their size) on 15 lbs of pressure. 

 If you are not using a pressure cooker, place the beets in a large stockpot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and cook until fork tender, approximately 25 to 30 minutes.

 Remove from heat. 

Drain the beets, reserving the juice.

The skins will slip right off the cooked beets. Slice or cut the beets placing them directly into sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace.

 Mix up the brine:

4 cups of sugar

3 cups of water 

1 1/2 cups of vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Add the brine.

Run a thin spatula or non-metallic utensil through each jar to remove air bubbles. Wipe the jar rims with a damp paper towel. Add the caps and bands. Place the filled jars on the rack in a water bath canner. The tops of the jars should be completely immersed... add additional hot water if needed. 

Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

(Start timing as soon as the water begins to boil). Remove the jars from canner. 

Cool, test seals, label and store.

This recipe is for approx. 1-1 1/2 pecks of beets,.

These beets can be eaten cold, with pickled eggs (a Pennsylvania Dutch treat) , or served as Harvard beets by adding cornstarch before cooking.

A Pennsylvania Treat-Pig Belly!

Pig Belly (AKA hog maw) is a Pennsylvania treat. Now I realize most folks who did not grow up eating this stuff would not give this recipe a try. But I thought I'd share it anyway.

Pig Belly

Begin with a clean hog maw purchased in the meat department of the grocery store or ask for one at your local butcher. I usually soak mine in some salt water for a few minutes.

The ingredients for pig belly are simple. I just use an extra large bowl or container to combine these 3 simple ingredients.

Ingredients

1 part ground sausage (at least 2 lbs)

1 part potatoes (cubed)

1 part cabbage (I usually use an entire head)

Lots of salt and pepper to taste

This will look like a lot of stuffing but remember, the belly gets stuffed, and the cabbage will shrink as it cooks.

The stuffing may be baked alone or stuffed in the belly.

Many folks just use the belly to hold the ingredients together like the casing of a sausage. However, I know many who actually gnaw on the belly.

Stuff the belly with stuffing ingredients as full as possible being careful not to tear the belly. I use a needle and thread to sew up the ends of the belly. Place in a roaster on a rack. Add a little water to the bottom of the pan. (Don't let the pan cook dry.) Cover and Bake at 375 or about 3 or 31/2 hrs.

When pig belly is browned, slice and serve. Most Pennsylvanians eat this meal with some apple butter bread. If you're brave enough to give this recipe a try, Email me and let me know what you think!

A Pennsylvania Treat-Chicken Corn Soup

My aunt recently had surgery and was sent home to her hubby's care. And since he's not much of a cook, I thought I would make her some soup. A pot of good home cooked soup fixes everything don't ya know. We live in the heart of Central Pennsylvania-AKA Amish Country. Around here, there's nothing better than a pot of chicken corn soup; it's a Pennsylvania favorite. During the summer months, when the corn crop is fresh, you can find a corn soup stand at every fair. But today, I'll be using corn I froze last summer that is still very sweet and yummy.

I don't use a recipe to make chicken corn soup. I just cook it up with some basic

ingredients. I start by cooking

off chickens in the pressure cooker to get my chicken base. On this particular day, I used 2 chickens. This gave me plenty of broth and extra chicken for in the freezer to use in another chicken dish on another day.

To make my broth

more flavorful,
I add chopped garlic

and a little celery.

Saute some chopped onion, and celery until slightly tender

Add the chicken broth...

And the corn...

And chicken....

Now here is where I make this soup my own. I add herbs...lots of herbs. If I make this soup in the summer, I go around my herb garden and snip off the herbs I want for the soup. But since I don't have any fresh herbs, I used those that I had dried last fall. Many folks add chopped hard boiled eggs and rivels to their soup. My family doesn't particularly care for those additions. So I add the herbs for added color and flavor.

Today, I added some basil, rosemary, sage, and parsley. Then I threw in a few bay leaves for good luck. (salt and pepper too!)

Stir and simmer until all vegetables are cooked

and flavors are married.

There's nothing left to do but....Enjoy!!

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