Do you can your sauce?

[thirdeye]

I know there is a rub and sauce trade here and I know a lot of you make your own sauce just for your personal stash, either from scratch or using a store-bought base, and I was curious .....

How do you bottle your sauce? How do you store it (shelf or refrigerator)? Does anyone use a canner and package it in quart or pint Mason jars.

 

[thillin]

Check with jpw23.

 

[qman]

I have canned my sauces in the past. Now since I make mostly small batches, I just freeze the excess for use later. I may make a batch of my South Georgia style sauce and can it for Christmas presents this year.

 

[jpw23]

I know there is a rub and sauce trade here and I know a lot of you make your own sauce just for your personal stash, either from scratch or using a store-bought base, and I was curious .....

How do you bottle your sauce? How do you store it (shelf or refrigerator)? Does anyone use a canner and package it in quart or pint Mason jars.

I use a pressure canner and mason or kerr jars.....has a shelf life of....forever until you open it.

 

[thillin]

I use a pressure canner and mason or kerr jars.....has a shelf life of....forever until you open it.

How long do you think they stay good onced opened and kept in the fridge?

 

[bbqbull]

jpw, could you share your pressure canner method w/us? All I can find it to hotwater bath info. I love pressure canners/cookers.

Mike

 

[parrothead]

For sauce you only need to have a hot water bath.

 

[tumpedover]

I always can my sauce in Qt. jars for catering use,and pint for sale or give aways. I usually make my sauce in 3-6 gal. batches so I "put up" several qt. worth of sauce at a time. I find it very simple.
When doing BBQ sauce and other highly acidic foods you only need a hot water bath for canning. The Ph level in the acidic foods are such as the cooties that can make you sick aren't as likley to get ya! Although using the pressure method definatley won't hurt,I use the hot water bath method Works great.Check out the Mason home canning guide. I know it can be bought at Wal-Mart for ubder $6.00. Great guide.

 

[Plowboy]

How long do you think they stay good onced opened and kept in the fridge?

Depends on the PH level. If it has a good amount of vinegar, it should be fine for six months. I'd be more concerned with cross contamination... like someone dips an unclean spoon in the jar. We opened a forgotten tub of whipped butter once from the back of the fridge. It had a few fuzzies on it. Obviously, not from the butter but from toast crumbs, etc.

 

[Plowboy]

I always can my sauce in Qt. jars for catering use,and pint for sale or give aways. I usually make my sauce in 3-6 gal. batches so I "put up" several qt. worth of sauce at a time. I find it very simple.
When doing BBQ sauce and other highly acidic foods you only need a hot water bath for canning. The Ph level in the acidic foods are such as the cooties that can make you sick aren't as likley to get ya! Although using the pressure method definatley won't hurt,I use the hot water bath method Works great.Check out the Mason home canning guide. I know it can be bought at Wal-Mart for ubder $6.00. Great guide.

Oops, you already mentioned PH. Sorry for the dup.

 

[thirdeye]

I always can my sauce in Qt. jars for catering use,and pint for sale or give aways. I usually make my sauce in 3-6 gal. batches so I "put up" several qt. worth of sauce at a time. I find it very simple.
When doing BBQ sauce and other highly acidic foods you only need a hot water bath for canning. The Ph level in the acidic foods are such as the cooties that can make you sick aren't as likley to get ya! Although using the pressure method definatley won't hurt,I use the hot water bath method Works great.Check out the Mason home canning guide. I know it can be bought at Wal-Mart for ubder $6.00. Great guide.

I've been canning for years but use the Ball Blue Book and there is some information that seems conflicting with certain sauce recipes between hot water and pressure methods. That is what prompted this question. I know you said "Mason" just wanted to double check in case you mis-spoke and actually had the Ball one. I could direct you to page numbers to see what your take is.

 

[jpw23]

A hotwater bath will be more than enough for most sauces...I'm just overly cautious...I set my canner at 15oz...or pounds, whatever it is for 45 minutes, I know this is overkill. As far as opened and in the fridge...months as long as you don't put anything dirty in it like a spoon, finger, brush.....pour out what you want to use and cap it back up.

 

[thirdeye]

Okay I grabbed the Ball book from downstairs and here goes. There are like 7 tomato based sauces, including BBQ, chili (chow-chow), catsup etc that are in the water bath section. They all have the 15 or 20 minute process times in hot water bath.

In the low acid section there is a tomato section with 4 tomato based recipes One is for Creole Sauce which has the same stuff as the BBQ sauce in the low acid section, and they call for 30 minutes at #10. The into says it MUST be processed with pressure.

 

[Kevin]

Just my thought here, but the only way to know for sure would to have a acidity (ph) tester. The lowest price one I've found is $150.

 

[tumpedover]

I've been canning for years but use the Ball Blue Book and there is some information that seems conflicting with certain sauce recipes between hot water and pressure methods. That is what prompted this question. I know you said "Mason" just wanted to double check in case you mis-spoke and actually had the Ball one. I could direct you to page numbers to see what your take is.

I miss spoke I meant to say Mason, oops!
You got it!!

 

[tumpedover]

If you are leery of the cooties then I would go with the Pressure cooker method. I have done my sauce in a hot water bath for years with ZERO problems,but better safe than sorry brotha!!
My sauce has a pretty high PH can't remember exactly what it tested right now but fairly high. It has a good bit of vinegar as well as some acidic juices.
THe best method is always the safest method....especially if'n I'm eati'n it!!!

 

[bbqjoe]

We make our own sauce as well, in rather small batches. 10 qt at a time. We make it just about every day or so.
We also provide a blend. Which is one sauce I can get from my food service supplier, and the other I have to purchase at stores.
The best part is that the one I buy at the store is a perfect bottle for putting our own sauce back into and selling. Our sauces are only sold here, and not commercially distrubuted. (Yet)
I don't worry too much about it going bad, because there are no meat drippings to go rancid in it.
And at only 12 or 14 ozs to a bottle I think it gets used up before it ever has a chance to go bad. But just for safety's sake I put please refrigerate on the label.
I looked into purchasing bottles from one of those plastics places, and unless you buy them by the thousands you're gonna pay anywhere from .80 cents a piece on up. Not worth the cost to pass on to the customer.

 

[tumpedover]

We make our own sauce as well, in rather small batches. 10 qt at a time. We make it just about every day or so.
We also provide a blend. Which is one sauce I can get from my food service supplier, and the other I have to purchase at stores.
The best part is that the one I buy at the store is a perfect bottle for putting our own sauce back into and selling. Our sauces are only sold here, and not commercially distrubuted. (Yet)
I don't worry too much about it going bad, because there are no meat drippings to go rancid in it.
And at only 12 or 14 ozs to a bottle I think it gets used up before it ever has a chance to go bad. But just for safety's sake I put please refrigerate on the label.
I looked into purchasing bottles from one of those plastics places, and unless you buy them by the thousands you're gonna pay anywhere from .80 cents a piece on up. Not worth the cost to pass on to the customer.

Now that's what I'm talkin about ....good old american ingenuity!!:!:
Joe I love that J&R SMoker you've got..One of these day's when I grow up and get my own place......Hmmmmmm

 

[ggriffi]

We make our own sauce as well, in rather small batches. 10 qt at a time. We make it just about every day or so.
We also provide a blend. Which is one sauce I can get from my food service supplier, and the other I have to purchase at stores.
The best part is that the one I buy at the store is a perfect bottle for putting our own sauce back into and selling. Our sauces are only sold here, and not commercially distrubuted. (Yet)
I don't worry too much about it going bad, because there are no meat drippings to go rancid in it.
And at only 12 or 14 ozs to a bottle I think it gets used up before it ever has a chance to go bad. But just for safety's sake I put please refrigerate on the label.
I looked into purchasing bottles from one of those plastics places, and unless you buy them by the thousands you're gonna pay anywhere from .80 cents a piece on up. Not worth the cost to pass on to the customer.

I just canned a batch of sauce that has some finely ground bacon in it, how long do you think it might be ok before I might have a problem?


g

 

[CarbonToe]

How long do you think they stay good onced opened and kept in the fridge?

Until they start sprouting green beards!!! :twisted: