Easy Layered Chili Recipe for Canning

Chili just out of pressure canner - yrcg

 

My family loves chili all thru the year. When it is starting to be fall weather or when it is cold outside I like making the big pots of chili. Other times during the year we like our hotdogs with chili and sauerkraut or chili and cheese or just plain chili. When we want chili dogs I don’t want to make a big stock pot full of chili.

Last year I got to searching thru the cooking and canning blogs I come across and always save in my favorites and many times follow, when last year I found “Cyn” and her blog http://CreativeCanning.blogspot.com and she adapted a recipe from the internet for a multi-layered chili back in April 2009. This recipe was great as you can make as many jars of chili as you like or need and you actually use dry beans!

Do you see a pattern with the great recipes I find, you really have to read thru these talented ladies blogs but the searches are great treasure troves of recipes that I just love to try and if my family likes the final product they get added to my ever-expanding cookbook on my counter! The canning recipes are always helpful with my new-found addiction to canning and I like trying to make more and more items for my pantry instead of buying from the store. Have you tried the store-bought canned chili lately? Yuck, nothing like homemade.

Now about this recipe, the Creative Canning blog recipe is for 1 quart size jars, but since I use this chili for hotdogs and also for ” Frito Pie”, you know where you put Fritos in a bowl top with chili, cheese, jalapeno peppers and sour cream, I have adapted this recipe to pint size jars. My family thinks this chili is the best tasting chili ever for hotdogs. The ingredients seem like the chili would be too spicy but it isn’t. It is just perfect.

Layered Chili Recipe for Canning

Recipe adapted from Creative Canning

First thing, get the pressure canner set up on the stove and ready for the jars. Next get a large kettle or pot of non-chlorinated water ( I used bottled water) heat to boiling. You will need the water later. Decide how many jars you want to can up, my canner fits 7 wide mouth pint jars at a time so I always make a full canner. Have the lids and rings ready in a small pot of boiling water.

In each clean pint size jar you layer the ingredients into each jar in the order given. You don’t have to mix anything up before putting in the jar as the actual canning process in the pressure canner will do all the work for you, isn’t that great. 

For each pint jar:

• 1/4 cup dry pinto beans or any dry beans that you prefer ( rinsed well before hand )
• 2/3 cup ground beef – already cooked, crumbled and drained
• 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes – I used canned chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped green chilis – these are in the mexican section of your store
• 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt – I used kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• dash of black pepper
• hot water – non chlorinated

Once the jars are layered with the ingredients fill the jars with the hot water to the 1-inch fill line. Remove air bubbles and top off the jars to be sure liquid is at 1-inch. Place lid and ring on jar and place in the canner. Continue until all jars are in canner.

Side note after making this recipe many times,  I do this in an assembly line system. Placing the dry pinto beans that have been rinsed very well into each jar, then I put the cooked ground beef into each of the jars, then proceed thru the list until all the jars have the ingredients. This way I am sure all of the jars got the same amount of each item and I don’t miss any and when they are done each jar will taste the same. Then fill all the jars with the hot water, place on lids and rings.

Dried beans, ground chuck, onions - yrcg

 

Green chilis, tomatoes and tomato sauce layers - yrcg

 

Spices layered into jars - yrcg

 

Jars being filled with boiling water to fill line - yrcg

Once all of the jars are in the prepared canned, process the jars for 90 minutes at 11 pounds pressure, or for whatever pressure you need for your altitude. You can check in the Blue Ball Book for their canned chili as a guideline for higher altitudes. 

Once the time is complete and your canner cools and pressure goes back to  zero you can remove the jars and set them in a draft free place on your counter for 24 hours. After the 24 hours, check to be sure each of the jars sealed. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used as soon as possible. The sealed jars can then be washed, labeled and placed into your pantry.

If you want to make quart size jars of this chili you just double all the ingredients measurements noted above for each jar. I hope everyone enjoys this chili as much as my family does and when you have a spare moment gone on over to Cyn’s blog at Creative Canning for some great canning recipes. I would show you some of the chili on a hotdog, but the jars all sealed and so they are now cooling on my counter until tomorrow evening. Until next time here’s sending a “yellowrock” from me to you.