Homemade Beef Stew Recipe & Canning Instructions

I finally got around to making a large batch of Homemade Beef Stew and canned it up for the cantry. I absolutely love having this stew on hand for cozy, chaotic fall & winter nights. Nights when you need to get dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes. Honestly less than that, I like to serve it with rice so we have to account for that cooking time!
Last winter I was pregnant and then postpartum, so having this nourishing and delicious stew ready in a jiffy was a real blessing. I was a little nervous about pressure canning this recipe since it had the longest cook time I’ve used. There were a lot of prayers said before, during and after. However, once it was finished it felt like a real success and made me much more comfortable with pressure canning.

I am especially excited about this batch of stew, since I grew the celery, onions, garlic & tomatoes in the garden! Click here to learn how I made my own tomato juice for this recipe! If I had had beef bones on hand I would have made some homemade bone broth as well. Instead, organic store bought will suffice this time! At this time we obviously do not have enough room to raise our own beef. So the beef I used was organic, grass fed stew meat from a ranch here in Oregon. To say I’m proud of the ingredients in here would be an understatement! 

  

Homemade Beef Stew Recipe

Ingredients

3 lbs Stew Beef (cut into 1/2 inch cubes)

10 cups Tomato Juice

4 cups Beef Bone Broth

2 cups sliced Celery

2 cups sliced Carrots

1 1/2 cups chopped Onion

5 cloves of Garlic

2 Tbsp High Heat Oil – Avocado or Tallow

Salt, Pepper and other seasonings to taste

Recipe

1. The night prior to cooking thoroughly salt your cubed beef and leave in the fridge overnight.
2. Brown the meat in a pan on the stove over medium heat. I had to work in 2 batches using a 10 inch cast iron skillet.
3. Once the meat is done cooking place a large stock pot on the stovetop. Add your oil and sauté your onions to your liking. I like them just turning brown.
4. Once the onions are cooked to your liking mix in the garlic and cooked beef. Cook until your kitchen smells delicious.
5. Mix in the sliced celery and carrots and cook until they are sweating. (Remember, the ingredients are going to be thoroughly cooked in the pressure cooker so not everything needs to be cooked through right now.)
6. Add your salt, pepper and any other seasonings you prefer.  
   1. If you are not going to be canning your stew add the tomato juice and beef broth and bring to a boil. 
   2. Simmer for 30 minutes until the veggies are tender & serve with cooked rice! 
7. Add your ingredients to sterilized Quart Jars, fill the jars halfway with the beef & veggie mix.
8. Once your pot is empty add in the tomato juice and beef broth, bring to a boil.
9. As soon as the broth & tomato juice mixture comes to a boil fill the jars with the mixture to one inch head space. I used regular mouth jars and filled just below the “shoulder” of the jar. 
10. Process the jars in your pressure canner at 11lbs of pressure for 75 minutes.
11. Once your timer goes off wait until the pressure drops to zero before opening the canner to remove your jars. You can also wait until it has completely cooled down, but I know the excitement can get the better of you, it always does me! 
12. Wait 12-24 hours before removing the rings and checking the seals, then store for winter!  

Once you’re ready to eat your canned stew pour into a medium size saucepan to heat up. To serve, I like to add a little more broth or water, as well as a couple cups of cooked rice to really stretch the meal. I tell people that this tastes like a great can of Progresso soup, but that also sounds like it’s down playing how delicious it is. It’s better, I promise! What an absolute delight it has been to learn how to can ready made meals with ingredients I feel wonderful about!