Beans and Sausage
1 lb dried beans (I used great northern)2 quarts water
6 to 8 links of sausage (I used the Southwestern Pork Sausage)
6 cups of chicken broth or stock
Preparation: Prepare 5 pint jars, lids, and rings. Sterilize the jars and keep
them in the hot water till its time for processing. Make sure to fill your
pressure canner up to the “fill” line and get the water to a simmer. Select mature, dry beans. Sort out and discard discolored beans.
Cooking: Put the beans in a big pot and cover with water. Bring beans to a quick boil and turn off the heat. Let the beans sit for an hour. Cover the expanded beans with more water and cook them for 30 minutes. Try to keep them at a simmer. Boiling the beans may split them.
Cook the sausage in a frying pan with a little oil just so they don't stick. You will need to cook them through. In a separate pot bring the chicken broth/stock up to a simmer.
Filling the jars: On a dishtowel place your hot jars in a semi circle leaving room
for your pot that has your recipe. Cut your sausage into 1 to 2 inch pieces. Add them to the bottom of the jar. Using your slotted spoon ladle the beans into the jar filling to 3/4 of the way then add the broth/stock liquid into the jars leaving 1” headspace. Note: If you are using pintos or kidneys or a more expanding bean you want to only fill half way. Start
from the top of the semi circle and work your way to the end. Remove air
bubbles and refill to the proper headspace if necessary. Remove your recipe and
taking a clean papertowel and wipe the rims of the jars with white vinegar removing any food
particles that would interfere with a good seal. Using your magic wand extract
the lids from the hot water and place them on the now cleaned rims. Add your
rings to the tops of each of the jars and turn to seal just "finger
tight".
Processing: Make
sure your canning water has come to a simmer and place the jars in the pressure
canner. Lock the lid and turn up the
heat bring the canner to a boil. Vent steam for 10 minutes, then close the vent
by adding the weighted gauge or pressure regulator (for dial gauge
canner). Process pints for 75 minutes at 10 lbs of pressure (11 lbs for dial
gauge canner) and quarts at 90 minutes. When complete turn off the
heat and let pressure return to zero naturally. Wait two minutes longer and
open vent. Remove canner lid. Wait 10 minutes then remove jars and place on dishtowel
in a place that they will sit overnight to cool. Do not touch or move them till
the next morning.Sealing: Some time in the next hour your jars will be making a "pinging" or "popping" noise. That is the glass cooling and the reaction of the lids being sucked into the jar for proper sealing. Some recipes may take overnight to seal. Check your lids and reprocess any jars that did not seal. Remove rings for storage.
