Learning how to can bacon will provide quick, easy, and delicious meals within a few minutes. Bacon lovers rejoice: here is your complete guide with step by step instructions.

What to do Before Canning Bacon

The first thing you need to do is get your bacon. This will work with store-bought bacon or bacon that you processed through your local meat locker.

Wash canning jars, lids, and rings in hot soapy water. A wide mouth quart jar is best for this canning project. Regular mouth jars do not work as you can’t stuff the slices of bacon in there very easily.

Pro tip: Always start with a clean kitchen before starting any canning project. It is a great way to relieve any extra stress that can come with home food preservation projects.

Supplies Needed

• Pressure Canner – the All American canner is what I use
• Canning Jars – wide mouth quarts
• Lids & Rings
• Jar Lifter
• Parchment Paper
• Ball Canning Book – optional but has official canning recommendations if you are interested

How To Can Bacon

Prepare the pressure canner by placing on the stove, adding in a canning rack, and adding about 2 inches of water.

Rip off a large piece of parchment paper, about 12-18 inches long. Place raw bacon slices onto parchment paper.

Add another layer of paper on top of bacon.

Fold in half.

Roll the parchment lined bacon up tightly.

Fill the Jars

Add the roll of uncooked bacon into clean canning jars.

I can usually fit about a pound of bacon per wide-mouth quart jar. If there is any excess paper, cut it off. 1-inch headspace is what this needs.

Wipe rims with a clean, damp cloth or paper towels. Place lids on top and screw bands on finger tight. Place filled jars into pressure canner.

Canning Bacon

Add the lid to the pressure canner. Follow your specific instruction manual if you are unsure exactly how to run your pressure canner. Turn the heat up to medium-high heat.

Eventually a steady stream of steam will start coming out of the vent pipe. When that happens, set a timer for 10 minutes.

After the 10 minutes, place your weight on top of vent pipe. Depending on your specific elevation will determine how many pounds pressure will be used in the canning process. High altitudes require higher pressure.

How Many Pounds of Pressure To Can Bacon?

For Weighted Gauge Pressure Canners (All American, etc):

• For 0 to 1,000 feet in elevation, use 10 pounds of pressure
• Above 1,000 feet in elevation, use 15 pounds of pressure

For Dial Gauge Pressure Canners (Presto, etc):

• For 0 to 2,000 feet in elevation, use 11 pounds of pressure
• For 2,001 to 4,000 feet in elevation, use 12 pounds of pressure
• For 4,001 to 6,000 feet in elevation, use 13 pounds of pressure
• For 6,001 to 8,000 feet in elevation, use 14 pounds of pressure
• Above 8,000 feet in elevation, use 15 pounds of pressure

After placing the weight on, the pressure will start building up inside the pressure canner. The weight will start jiggling when it is pressurized. You are looking for about 4 jiggles per minute. When the pressure is right, you can start the processing time.

How Long To Can Bacon?

Meats have longer processing times than other things that you might pressure can.

Process Pints – 1 hour 15 minutes

Process Quarts – 1 hour 30 minutes

After processing time is done, turn the heat off and leave the pressure canner alone. Let the pressure come down naturally. After a few hours, you will be able to remove the weight. After removing the weight, wait a few more minutes to let any extra pressure release.

Remove lid by opening away from face. Using a jar lifter, remove jars from pressure canner and place on a towel on the counter. Do not place jars directly on counter as that can cause temperature shock and break the jars. Leave jars undisturbed for 12 hours.

After 12 hours, remove rings and check seals on all jars. If there are any jars that didn’t seal, place in the refrigerator and use within a few days. Wash all the jars and label each individual jar with contents and date. Place the jar of bacon on your pantry shelf to use for later! Enjoy looking at your “beautiful” cans of bacon. There is probably a reason that canned meat from the store is not in clear jars…..

FAQs

How long does home canned bacon last?

The official answer is that home canned bacon lasts one year. However, that is based off of the nutritional value. After a year, it will still be useable as long as the seal is still intact. Just keep jars in a dark, cool place and the shelf life of home canned bacon will be a long time!

Can you can bacon in a pressure cooker?

No. Never can bacon in a pressure cooker. A pressure cooker is a different thing than a pressure canner. If you are looking for a great pressure canner, the All American canner is one that has lasted me many years and has no end in sight.

How do you use home canned bacon?

Once bacon is canned, you can just open it and warm it up and use as a breakfast side or cut it up and throw in an omelet. Chop up into bacon bits and add to green beans. Any way that you would normally use bacon, you can use canned bacon.

Do you have to cook bacon before canning it?

No, you don not have to cook bacon before canning it. If desired, you can par-ccok the bacon prior to canning.

Why would you can bacon?

Canning bacon can free up freezer space. It also is a great way to preserve bacon because it is shelf-stable and lasts for years. When it’s time to store food, freezer space is always limited. However, you can always find spots to store canning jars. If you have empty jars laying around, increase your food storage by making some home-canned bacon.

Why is there a bunch of bacon grease in the bottom of the jar?

This is totally normal and as a matter of fact, those bacon drippings will come in handy later as a wonderful way to add bacon flavor to your meal. When you warm up the bacon in a frying pan, it will provide rich flavor that you don’t want to waste!

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