Tag: canning

Chopping Block Chicken or Turkey Stock

WFMH

Listening to: The Bees Made Honey in The Lion’s Skull- Earth

No two batches of turkey stock will look the same.

Whole turkey or chicken make for a few great meals and then gives the gift of bones for stock. Get in the habit of saving bones from your bird meals, including rotisserie chickens, but maybe not fried. It’s okay if there’s some meat or connective parts on the bone, it makes for a more flavorful stock.  

Make a whole bunch to pressure can for shelf stable goodness or freeze if you don’t have access to a pressure canner. 

Turkey or Chicken Stock- Yields 7 qts

  • 3-5 ziplock bags of bones you’ve saved up in the freezer
  • 1-2 ziplock bags of vegetable scraps you’ve saved in the freezer (onion peels, carrot peels and butts, celery butts, non-cruciferous odds and ends). If you didn’t save scraps, use a few whole veggies like onions, carrots, and celery.
  • Aromatic herbs of your choice: a small handfull of peppercorns, bay leaves, a bouquet of thyme or sage. Whatever you have on hand will be okay.

Special Equipment: Large stock pot, pressure canner (or lots of tupperware for freezing), chinois or other kind of strainer.

0. Have the foresight to save bones from turkey or chicken. Any meat or fatty bits on there add more flavor. Like in the Vegetable Stock recipe, save some veggies too. If you don’t have freezer space to hold your would-be compost, you can scale this down significantly. 

1. Roast the bones in the oven at 400F for an hour or two. Break the smaller bones for bonus points. This is an optional step, but deepens the flavor of your stock. 

2. Place the bones and veggies in the stock pot, cover with water. Set it on medium-high or high setting to get it simmering. It shouldn’t boil, get that sucker on low and slow to keep the temp just right. Simmer that stock for at least 6 hours, some people go for as long as 48 hours. I usually find a happy medium at 12-16 hours for my stock. 

3. Strain the stock into heat-resistant containers. Discard the veggies and herbs into your compost pile, and bones in trash. Skim some of the fat off the top of the stock. Save that shit, that’s shmaltz! Use instead of butter or lard in other recipes. If you wanted to get all of it off, refrigerate the stock for a few hours or overnight. The fat comes right off. The broth should be gelatinous and wiggly when it’s chilled, that means you did it right. All of that collagen is what the hipsters pay up the ass for in their expensive little bottles of “bone broth”. 
At this stage you can freeze the broth into pint containers or in ice cube trays for a tablespoon at a time. It keeps in the fridge for about a week, any longer and it gets fizzy in my experience. Continue on if you want to learn to can your magical fluids.

4. Prepare the pressure canner according to manufacturer instructions. Bring the fat-skimmed stock to a boil. Ladle the stock into the clean jars , leaving 1 in of headspace. Give them a lil rim job with a towel and place the two piece lid. One full canner load is usually 7 quarts or 10 pints, use whichever jars will work better for your needs. Pressure can for 20 minutes for pints, or 25 minutes if using quarts. The clock starts when you hit the psi needed for your elevation, 0-1000 ft is 11 psi. Let the canner depressurize on its own and remove the jars. Listen to those beautiful lids ping, it makes your bits tingly. 

Adapted from a test and USDA approved recipe. Normally when you can vegetables, peels are removed to prevent bacteria from growing, but since these peels are strained out, they are safe to use.

Well it’s been a long goddamn time since I’ve posted anything, my b. It’s a snowy day here in WA, so enjoy and make Turkey Soup or something with this recipe.

Cherries to Demolish Your Adversaries

WFMH

Listening to: Fate of Norns – Amon Amarth

Bing and Rainier cherries to be enjoyed in the colder months of the year. 

Cherries have lots of vitamins and minerals in them, so let’s beef them up with a bunch of sugar to preserve them. Open a can up before you plan on bludgeoning your foes so you have extra strength. You could also make a pie if you’re not into battling. 

Cherry season is short, usually in the early summer, so stock up for the rest of the year. You’ll be happy you did. I only can sweet cherries, but sour cherries are good to can, too. 

Cherries in Light Syrup- Yields 9 pints

  • 12 lbs sweet cherries, pitted- I have access to Bing and Rainier cherries here in WA. 
  • 2 cups sugar 

Special equipment: water bath canner/large stock pot with lid and rack for the bottom, cherry pitter OR paring knife and pastry tip

0. Prepare the water bath canner, fill with enough water to cover the jars by at least 1″, bring to a boil.

1. Take the stems off and pit the cherries. It’s not *crucial* to do so, but it’s nicer when you open the jar. This is a pain in the ass to do without a cherry/olive pitter, but I found that using a paring knife held in the forefinger and thumb to cut and a round pastry tip wedged on the middle or ring finger to scoop the pit out works too. Use gloves either way, or be prepared to have sticky hands. It’s not that bad if you’re going for an intimidating blood-stained look!
Keep the cherries in water once they’re cut so they don’t start to oxidize. Once the cherries are purchased, try not to move them around too much or they will become bruised. This doesn’t affect their safety as far as canning goes, but if they’re lighter colored Rainier cherries, they might not look as pretty.

2. Prepare syrup: I prefer to can fruit in light syrup. You could use organic fancy juice, water, or heavier syrups, but I feel those affect the flavor of the fruit too much. Just using water sucks any sweetness out of the fruit, which totally blows. Bring 6 cups of water to a boil with the sugar until it is dissolved.  

3. Add the cherries to the boiling syrup. Boil for 5 minutes. Listen to The Pursuit of Vikings during the step, you won’t regret it. 

4. Ladle the cherries into the  clean jars with the syrup, fill to 1/2 in from the top. use a thin spatula or knife to de-bubble the jars. Adjust the headspace if needed. Apply the two-piece lid and ring on gently. 
You’ll probably have extra syrup that’s now flavored with cherries, don’t throw that away! 

5. Process in the water bath for 15 minutes for half-pints or pints, or 20 minutes for quarts. You COULD use a pressure canner for this, but it would probably be best to raw pack them because of the higher temps. Cherries are acidic enough to be processed in the water bath safely. 
Remove from the hot water with tongs with rubber bands or a jar lifter if you’re fancy. Listen for the pings, they’re as beautiful as that melodic death metal you’ve been jamming out to. 

Adapted from a USDA tested and approved source.

Bask in the glory of your hard work. 

These will brighten up your canning closet. You need to hide these from anyone living with you (including yourself), because these are so good you’ll want to just snack on them right away. Save some for the winter to have an out-of-season cherry pie, or on top of ice cream. For the cherry pie, use some of the liquid in the jar with the thickener of your choice (corn starch, Clear Jel, flour, etc.). I believe in you. It’s only about a billion times better than store-bought canned cherries in the off-season, like this one I made for my metalhead buddy Jesse for his 21st birthday four years ago:

Make your friends a birthday pie, with a pie dough you cut-outs of your stenciled hand. This was a hit, even though I used store-bought canned cherries in April. It’s the thought that counts. 

Like I mentioned earlier, you could use any kind of sugar/sweetener solution, but I prefer light syrup. It helps the fruit retain their color and flavor without it being liquid diabetes. I might look into steam juicing cherries in the future and canning them in their own liquid, but only if I found a good deal on cherries or found a tree to pick.  Here is a guide I follow for ratios. 

This summer my canning habit really took off with cherries. In Washington we get good quality Bing, Rainier, and sour cherries in particular, they’re a really good deal at ethnic markets and at the stands scattered around, usually run by Native women. I realized how I don’t really care for them too much during the short season they’re available, but I always want them in the winter and spring. They’ll laugh at you for buying and processing a goofy amount of cherries, but will be silent as you pull out your little jars of sunshine when it’s cold out. 

Future pie material for pals made with superior, canned-with-love cherries. 

Cowboy Candy From Hell

WFMH

Listening to: Cowboys From Hell- Pantera

Cowboy candy is pickled candied jalapenos, but you could use any chilies that float your boat, like serranos, habaneros, or bird’s eye chilies. They’re a great snack and the syrup makes a great meat marinade. Any time you feel like overwhelming your sense of smell and water your eyes, give this a try.

Cowboy Candy- Yields 8 half-pint containers

  • 3 lbs firm fresh chilies
  • 2 cups apple cider vinegar (5% acidity)
  • 6 cups sugar
  • 1/2 t turmeric
  • 1/2 t celery seed
  • 1 T minced garlic
  • 1 t cayenne pepper (optional)

0. Get your water bath ready: In a large stock pot or canner, boil enough water to cover your jars by at least 1 inch.  
1. Slap on some gloves for this activity unless you’re feeling particularly brutal and don’t mind burning your bits. Remove and discard the stems from all the chilies.  Slice them into 1/8-1/4 in rounds as uniformly as possible and set them aside. Knock the seeds out if you want, but I like them. 
2. In a large pot, bring the rest of the ingredients to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Add the peppers and simmer for 4 minutes. At this point in the album it’s probably going to be Heresy, listen to most of that track for this step, if it doesn’t make you want to jump out of a window. 
4. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them into the the clean jars, fill leaving 1/4 in headspace. 
5. Bring the syrup to a hard boil for 6 minutes. Do some air guitar while you wait and make your best Phil face. 
6. Ladle the boiling liquid into the jars. Knock air bubbles out of the chilies and adjust the headspace if needed. Give those guys a lil’ rim job and fix the two piece lids to finger tightness. Process in the rolling boiling water for 10 minutes for half-pints, or 15 minutes if you’re using pints. Lift them out of the water and listen to those sweet pings of glory. 

You can eat them right away or wait a few weeks for the flavor to settle, they become milder over time. Adapted from a mommy blog, but apparently has the best recipe out there. 

I’m on a few canning groups and forums and everyone is always posting this recipe. I was skeptical of the hype, but it’s pretty good. They’re great as snacks or as a condiment in whatever dish you feel like. 

Cowboys From Hell was my first Pantera album, if I could relive listening to that album for the first time again, I’d probably cry. It was one of the most magical moments of my adolescence. It was a time of many first listens to classic heavy metal albums and this one in particular energized me and made me want to tear through the house breaking things, which I definitely did not act on. 

I don’t support Phil Anselmo and his shitty views, I always make sure it’s a non-affiliated Youtube link when I do partake. Metal has historically had some unsavory folks make a bad name for us, but we don’t let those people take over the genre. Let’s not be dicks to each other and keep metal inclusive for everyone. That shouldn’t be a controversial stance. RIP the Abbott brothers.

Grape Jelly

WFMH

Listening to: Surgical Steel – Carcass

Find a vineyard to pillage to make some condiments for your morning toast.


Grape Jelly- Yields eight 1/2 pint jars

  • 5 lbs grapes, green or red, make sure they’re good
    OR 5 cups of grape juice (fuck Welch’s, get the flavorful organic bullshit). I’m gonna assume you’re using fresh grapes, learn a little bit ya dig?
  • 7 cups of sugar (less if you use the no-sugar pectin)
  • 1 package of Sure Jell pectin, regular or reduced sugar. Keep a second package on hand in case your jelly doesn’t set in the allotted time.
    Special equipment: sieve or jelly bag, heavy bottom stock pot, stock pot or water bath canner

0. Get the water bath ready: Fill the stock pot or canner with enough water to cover the tops of the half pint jars with at least 1 in of water.
1. Prepare the grape juice: a) Pick the grapes from the stem. If there are little pieces left, that’s okay because they’ll be strained out later. b) Mash the grapes in the heavy bottomed stock pot with the blunt end of your favorite battle axe. Add a little water to cover the grapes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer for about 20 minutes. This softens the skins to release more juice. c) Strain with a sieve or jelly bag. Get something to catch the juice, even better if it holds the strainer by itself. Mush most of the juice out, but don’t go crazy. Discard the leftover solids, throw them at an ex or neighbor you don’t like. Wash out that stock pot you just used, you’re about to use it again.
2. You should have about 5 cups of fruit blood, any more and you’ll have to scale up the amount of pectin and sugar you use. Not my problem bud, figure that out yourself. Bring the juice to a boil and add the pectin, mix that for a few minutes. 
3. Add all of the sugar to the pot and bring it to a hard boil. It should look like the most barbarous mosh pit of your life. Cook for about 5 minutes, carefully use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and sides to prevent any scorching. It should start jelling at this point,keep a metal \m/ spoon in the freezer in little dish of water to see if it sticks to the spoon. If not, add more pectin, or accept that you’ll have grape pancake syrup. Skim the foam off. It won’t hurt anyone to keep it on, but if you’re doing all this work, might as well do it right. It’s not A E S T H E T I C to open a jelly jar with foam. 
4. Ladle the hot jelly into the clean jars, leaving 1/4 in headroom. Give them a quick rim job before placing the two part lids on, securing them finger tight. Process in the boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Listen to the song of the lids popping, it’s your new anthem. Store with the rings off in a temperate, dark spot. 

Adapted from a tested and USDA approved source

I have never had grape juice or grape jelly that I enjoyed until I finished this recipe. I’m thinking more and more of either jury rigging or buying a steam juicer for next year, so I can make all sorts of juice and expand my scope of projects.

My jelly didn’t set until the next day when th jar were all the way cool, but I should have kept more pectin on hand for times like these. I was willing to accept grape waffle spread, and not the perfect jelly texture. I live a charmed life, I picked my grapes for free from my day job so I wasn’t too worried overall about wasting money on this project. I was also ever-so-slightly blazed and kept focusing on Jeff Walker’s tasty jams, not on the jelly.

Pictures don’t do the color of this grape juice justice. This was one of the best homemade items I’ve made to date.

Seriously though, try this out. Find some nice grape juice or go the whole nine yards with making the juice and make yourself some jelly. Gotta have something to eat before your photo shoot in the woods with your favorite black metal buddies, right?

Don’t Wince at Quince, Pt. 2

WFMH

Listening to: Terminal- Bongripper

Last time we had a look at quinces, and made some jelly. Maybe you don’t have all the equipment, time, space, balls, or patience to deal with that. I get it. My feelings aren’t hurt. You can still enjoy this gnarly fruit ovary even if you’re a lazy butt. This is easy as shit to make: chop fruit, make syrup, boil. Read the recipe, though. 

Quince Pieces in Light Syrup- Yields 9 pint jars

  • 11 lbs quince, washed and de-fuzzed.
  • 2 cups sugar
    Special Equipment: Large pot, large stock pot or water bath canner.

0. Prepare the water bath canner or large stock pot with a rock on the bottom to prevent the jars from having direct contact with the heat source. Add enough water to cover the jars plus one inch. 
1. Prepare the light syrup in the large pot: add the sugar and 6 cups (1.5 qts for your math challenged ass) and bring to a boil. You could make medium or heavy syrup or even nice fancy organic fruit juice to pack the fruit in, but Dio’s unholy spirit (RIP) told me directly that quince is better in light syrup. 
2. Peel the quince. This is a bitch and a half because the fruit is so damn dry and stupid shaped, but hang in there. Slice those suckers in half and scoop out the core with a metal \m/ spoon. Cut that into slices however thick you want, I prefer them about 1/4 in. Keep these in a bowl of water with a bit of lemon juice to prevent them from browning while you finish your task.
3. Hot pack the quince: Drain the quince slices, and add them to the boiling light syrup, cook them for about 4-5 minutes. It’s handy to use a jar funnel to shove the slices in the jars when they’re done cooking, pack them tight. If you think you have too much for the nine jars, you’re probably not packing them tight enough. 
4. Ladle the hot syrup into each jar, leaving 1/2 in headroom. Use a small rubber spatula or butter knife down the sides of the jar to get air bubbles out. At this point you’ll find you can probably cram more fruit into the jars and add more syrup, minding the headroom.
5. Place the two piece lid on, and set those jars in the water bath. Boil for 20 minutes.  Alternatively you could pressure can these at 6 psi for 10 minutes. 
6. Remove from the canner and listen for the beautiful sound of the lids popping. The color might have changed during processing, I generally get pink hues. That’s perfectly fine and normal.

Adapted from a tested and USDA approved source .

You saw this last time, now you know what both are.

I hope you like sliced quinces in light syrup because you now have a metric dick ton of them. “BuT wHaT dO I dO wItH ThEm??”, you might ask yourself. You could arrange the pieces in a tart or pie, have some with roasted pork, top some ice cream, sacrifice some to your favorite fallen metal hero, or maybe you could fucking Google it.

Like I mentioned, I prefer light syrup to juice or heavier syrups, because I have more flexibility when I’ll eventually open up the jars. Some people pack their fruit in water, which is technically okay, but it steals the sweetness of the fruit and generally sucks to eat. If you’re concerned about calories, use the pickyourown.org link above to find out how to convert Stevia or other kinds of sweeteners for the syrup.

No more talking, Bongripper is on. Feel the devastation run through you and report back with how you did.

Don’t Wince at Quince

WFMH

Listening to: Ashes Against the Grain- Agalloch

Quinces are apples’ and pears’ hideous cousin. They’re the strange “old world” fruit that’s so awful raw you’ll spit it out no matter how metal you are. Cook them for even a few minutes and you’ll unlock their delicate flavor for use in savory or sweet dishes.

Quince Jelly- Yields eight 1/2 pint jelly jars

  • 7 lbs quince, stem and flower side discarded, chopped into small cubes. Do not peel or core, or Satan will not bless you with the glorious pectin locked within.
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice, store-bought to maintain known pH levels. Heresy, I know.
  • 6 cups sugar
    Special Equipment: Heavy bottomed stock pot, sieve or food mill, large stock pot with rack for water bath. Optional: Candy thermometer
  1.  Prepare water bath: Fill large stock pot with a rack placed on the bottom, fill with water until it covers the top of the jelly jars by at least 1 inch. The rack is to prevent the jars from having direct contact from the heat source to avoid cracking. Get that sucker to a rolling boil.
  2. Prepare quince juice: Fill the heavy bottomed stock pot  with quince, add 14 cups of water (that’s 3.5 qts for your math challenged ass). Bring to a boil and let that shit simmer for 25 minutes. Smash that through a fine mesh sieve or a food mill if you have one. Don’t have either one? Shit outta luck, you filthy casual. You should have about 7.5 cups of this liquid gold. Any more and you’ve got to sacrifice it to your favorite fallen metal hero. Clean out that stock pot, you’re about to use it again.
  3. Add 7.5 cups of the quince juice, lemon juice, and sugar and bring it to a boil. This needs to come up to 220ºF for it to set all the way. If you don’t have a candy thermometer keep a plate in the freezer before starting this recipe and once it’s boiling drop some of the jelly on the plate, if it wrinkles when you push your finger through it’s ready to go. You did read the recipe all the way through before starting, right?
  4. Remove jelly from heat. Skim foam into a side container for snacks. Pour into sterile jars while the jelly is piping hot, leaving 1/4 in headspace from th top of the jar. Wipe the top of the jars clean and place the two piece lid on, finger tight. Don’t force it. 
  5. Place in boiling water bath with rubber-ended tongs or a jar lifter if you’re bougie like that. Process with the lid on for 5 minutes, clear a space for them to come out  with a towel. Take the jars out, hear the beautiful noise of the popping lids one by one. This sound is as beautiful as Kirk Hammett’s sexual solos on Ride the Lightning, savor it. 

Adapted from a tested and USDA approved source. Canning is an exact science, unlike regular cooking and must be followed exactly. You could add dry spices in there if you wanted to, but the jelly really doesn’t need it. Don’t fuck with the ratios of anything else. Know the rules (and science) behind canning before you break them. 

Fuck, quince jelly is so fucking good. Kinda makes you wanna ride a nimbus cloud into the gates of Valhalla. Coming soon is a Pt. 2 to this post to make the slices in light syrup, pictured left above.

When I think of quinces, I think of my friend Mallory from the restaurant who would poach slices in champagne to serve with a bread pudding. I had only tasted quinces in membrillo form. These fugly fruits light up my life and are a pleasure to process in the early fall. These grew in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle from a friend’s tree. Though many rotted before I had a chance to use them, I was able to process about 50lbs of quince this year. 

Today is the 2 year anniversary of my lung surgery and the official launch of this blog. Two years ago, I couldn’t imagine the life I have now, my future looked bleak. It was a traumatic time in my life I didn’t think I could pull myself out of. I could barely put away the laundry without losing my breath, let alone lifting full stock pots, moving quickly about the kitchen and leading a moderately active lifestyle. I’m grateful for everyone who had helped me along the way: understanding bosses who held my job for 2.5 months while I was gone, my parents who helped take care of me and my cats, my husband whose patience knows no end, and friends who kept my spirits up in a dark time of my life. These days I don’t worry so much about my breathing, but more about when my oven is going to arrive on time and what I want to can next. 

I hope you enjoyed this post and have a chance to try these grotesquely shaped, fuzzy friends soon. Let me know how your batch turned out! 

Welcome to Well Fed Metalhead

WFMH

Listening to: Nordland I- Bathory 

Greetings, viewer. This is the Well Fed Metalhead. I am a Washingtonian who enjoys cooking, canning, and most importantly, heavy metal of all flavors and styles.

My style of cooking is generally pretty simple with as many homemade elements as possible. My influences are Jacques Pépin, Julia Child, Anthony Bourdain, Ted Allen,  my grandmas Renée and Shirley, my dad Charlie, and all of my crew at Purple Café and Wine Bar, where I used to work. I have learned so much form each and every individual I worked with, for better or or worse. 

This is mainly a spot for me to find the recipes I’ve made. Almost all of my canning projects are done by the USDA guidelines and will have links to the recipes, I just want to type them out in a fun way so I can refer back to them. 

I’m making a promise to myself to keep the blah blah blah short so no one needs to scroll through thousands of words about my mundane existence to get to the recipes, talking directly to you boring-ass mommy bloggers.