pickler_gardener - as mentioned above, trying to create your own recipe and canning it is very risky - first rule of home canning is you can't safely can you own recipes. ;) So as long as you used approved recipes, can the meat separately, and follow the guidelines discussed in detail and linked above for safely canning the mixed vegetables and only combine them prior to serving, you should be fine. Any tweak suggestions? I plan to cook the bacon first and brown the meat in the bacon grease. So sorry no "tweaking" allowed. Note in the recipe above that the beef is NOT cooked in the bacon grease. All the bacon is cooked separately and all grease is drained and removed as it isn't allowed in home canning. If you cook the meat in it the bacon grease is absorbed and ends up in the canned meat - that's a no-no - oils insulate bacteria and prevents the heat from killing them so oils/grease aren't allowed. Stick with the recipe. The burgundy wine - any good quality will do. Carlo Rossi is fine but you will have better luck at a liquor store and find it in small quantities too. carrots, celery, onions, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, brussel sprouts and potatoes Keep in mind that there are some restrictions on canning certain vegetables. ;) So NCHFP supplies the rules for each vegetable too. EX: potatoes, any kind are fine, will give you very different finished textures when pressure canned and many don't care for the result - but they are approved if properly cubed. Here is the basic approved mixed vegetables instructions from NCHFP. Note that canning turnips, rutabagas, brussel sprouts, and parsnips is not recommended because of the discoloration, flavor changes, and poor texture that results. Most don't care for the end result and no tested canning times exist for them. NCHFP recommends drying them and reconstituting when needed or freezing and adding prior to serving. No problem with the chicken stock or tomatoes (no tomato paste - whole or chopped are approved) if you stick with the recommendations for both. Watch your jar density adding enough of the liquid as required - overly thick/dense voids canning times. No flour, pastas or thickeners allowed of course, and pressure canned of course. All this is discussed above but it never hurts to review it. Hope all this helps. Good luck. Dave

Ann T, I remembered that you put a whole baby goat in the freezer more than once, and I was hoping you'd chime in. As for goat, I agree with ci_lantro, it's much like venison, and I'd use it accordingly. I do have a nice recipe for venison potstickers from Chef Eric Villegas, a local Michigan boy who used to have a show on PBS called "Fork in the Road". Now he owns "Michigan Venison" and sells on-line. Venison Potstickers A delicious Asian flare for our whitetail venison. Potsticker Filling: 1lb. ground venison 4 c. water 1-1/2 c. shredded or finely sliced cabbage ½ c. finely chopped green onion 1-1/2 Tbs. freshly grated ginger 2 Tbs. oyster sauce 2 Tbs. salt (for softening cabbage) 1 tsp. soy sauce 1 tsp. fish sauce (aka patis) Other Ingredients: 50 wonton wrappers bowl of ½ c. water (used as glue for sealing potstickers) ½ c. canola oil Instructions Combine cabbage, 4 c. water, and salt in medium bowl and let sit for 15-20 minutes, tossing every 5 minutes to make sure all cabbage is softened. In larger bowl, combine all other filling ingredients. Drain and rinse cabbage, and add to meat mixture. Mix in thoroughly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to hold raw dumplings. Assembling Potstickers: Place about 2 teaspoons of filling in center of wonton wrapper. Dip finger into water bowl, then line two adjacent sides of wrapper with water from finger. Fold the two dry sides of wrapper on top of the two water-lined sides and pinch closed (NOTE: make sure potsticker edge is completely sealed, otherwise the juices may run during cooking and your potstickers may dry out). At this point, your potsticker should look like a pudgy triangle. Fold each corner of the triangle in toward the center of the potsticker, using a little dab of water to ‘glue’ the corners down. Place assembled potsticker on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Cooking Potstickers: Pour about ¼ c. canola oil into the bottom of large sauce pan and bring to medium high heat. When pan is nice and hot and evenly coated, line the bottom of the pan with one layer of potstickers. We were able to fit about ½ of the batch into our pan at a time. Fry potstickers over high heat until the bottoms look golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Once bottoms of dumplings look nice and crispy, add enough water to submerge the bottom half of the potstickers. Cover pan with lid tilted so that steam can escape. Continue to cook until all water evaporated from pan and you hear the dumplings start to sizzle again, which can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and serve with either tongs or a spatula. If you are going to cook the whole batch in one go, place potstickers on foil-lined try (photo below), wipe out the bottom of pan with paper towel to get the crusty bits out, then add remaining ¼ c. of canola oil and start process again. Saving Potstickers: If you’re not going to eat all of the potstickers in one sitting, put the tray of raw dumplings in the freezer overnight. Make sure potstickers are not touching, otherwise they will freeze together. Once they are completely frozen, place them in a large zip-lock bag (or portion into smaller bags) and keep in freezer for up to a month. Dipping Sauce for Venison Potstickers ¼ cup light soy sauce ¾ tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar 1 teaspoon sugar 1 minced garlic clove, or more ½ teaspoon sesame oil ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional) 1 teaspoon green onion ( thinly sliced) Instructions Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Use as dipping sauce. Maybe ground goat is cheaper than osso bucco or chops? Annie

I agree with those that don't use crockpots much. Mine gets a dusting off once or twice a year for caramelized onions, or when i'm multi-tasking too many things and have garden harvest to process and stove-top and ovens are occupied... In defense of the op, liz_h, that might want something a bit better than the dump-n-run crock stew with soups mixes... some more modernist approaches are out there that up the flavors a bit. Food is expensive. Make it fine/ok/meh, but so easy to make it much better with not much more time, just time management. Lots of reasons folks have crock-pots beyond the 'quick cooking' craze and phase years ago. We buy crock-pots because we see them and think we need one. Not complicated, on-off, high-med-low. A good method since we are cutting up the beef into cubes anyway, and all the veggies...place the cold seasoned beef on a parchment lined sheet pan and pop it into the fridge uncovered. (even an hour or 6hours). It benefits from a bit of drying. Turn the crock-pot on high and your oven on 400-425. Prep your veg. Basic stew is onion, garlic, celery/carrot, maybe potato or any other roots like parsnip...While chopping, chop some of each a bit finer and add to the heating crock-pot. Larger cut veg add to a prep bowl. -a good stew has a nice small diced veg base that makes a good broth and larger veg that remains in good recognizable form to the serving platter or bowl. Your diced seasoned meat goes into the hot oven to sear instead of the laborious task of stove-top batches and mess. 20-30min and larger veg can benefit from an oven roasting as well. Either with the meat or just under on a separate sheet pan if a larger stew. If a recipe you like has liquid like stock or 1/2 a guiness or some wine, add that to your crock, then your cubed roasted beef and veg. Keep your crock on high heat for at least an hour, then down to med or low. The trouble with crock-pots is the guessing at temp. Look for a high heat simmer. Then move to a lower setting. -Why they are not considered a very good cooking method anymore. (older models are simple, newer ones have complicated digitals i still do not trust much). I personally prefer the classic enameled dutch oven that goes into the oven. Same process but more control with heat. Same prep, same easy clean-up with oven roasting the beef...and the oven is hot for the dutch oven to finish the roasting of the stew.

Ours was delicious. The meat was fork tender. DH made a few substitutions. Not wanting to open a new bottle of wine, he used the tag ends of an open bottle and finished it out with sherry. He also added sherry to the umami bomb 🤷‍♀️ I’ve learned not to question. This recipe will definitely be in rotation for the one or four days out of the year that we put on long pants and socks. For those of you looking for more stew recipes, this is a good one. No meat and very rich. Mushroom BourguignonMELISSA CLARK YIELD4 to 6 servings TIME1 hour David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.Meaty mushrooms simmered with pearl onions, wine and carrots make for a rich, wintry Bourguignon-style stew. The quality of the stock here makes a big difference, so if you’re not using homemade, buy a good brand. If you’re a meat eater, beef broth adds a familiar brawny character to this dish, but mushroom or vegetable broth work just well, especially because the whole dish is rounded out with a tamari for depth. For the best flavor, use as many kinds of mushrooms as you can get, and let them really brown when searing; that caramelization adds a lot of depth to the sauce. Maitake mushrooms give this a brisketlike texture, in a very good way INGREDIENTS 6 tablespoons butter or extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed 2 pounds mixed mushrooms, such as portobello, cremini, white button, shiitake or oyster, cut into 1-inch chunks (about 10 cups) 8 ounces peeled pearl onions (2 cups), larger ones cut in half Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 large leek or 2 small leeks, white and light green parts, diced (1 1/2 cups) 2 carrots, thinly sliced 3 garlic cloves (2 minced, 1 grated to a paste) 1 tablespoon tomato paste 2 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 ½ cups dry red wine 1 ½ cups beef, mushroom or vegetable broth 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce, plus more to taste 3 large fresh thyme branches or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1 bay leaf 3 to 4 ounces chanterelle or oyster mushrooms, thinly sliced (about 1 cup) Smoked paprika, for serving Polenta, egg noodles or mashed potatoes, for serving Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for serving Step 1Add 2 tablespoons butter or oil to a large Dutch oven or pot and set it over medium heat. When the fat is hot, stir in half the mushrooms and half the pearl onions. (If it doesn’t all fit in the pot in one layer, you might have to do this in three batches, rather than two.) Without moving them around too much, cook the mushrooms until they are brown on one side, about 3 minutes. Stir and let them brown on the other side, 2 to 3 minutes more. Use a slotted spoon to transfer mushrooms and onions to a large bowl or plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat with another 2 tablespoons butter and the remaining mushrooms and pearl onions, seasoning them as you go. Step 2Reduce heat to medium-low. Add another 1 tablespoon butter or oil to pan. Add leeks and carrot and sauté until the leeks turn lightly golden and start to soften, 5 minutes. Add the 2 minced garlic cloves and sauté for 1 minute longer. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Stir in flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute, then add wine, broth, 1 tablespoon tamari, thyme and bay leaf, scraping up the brown bits at bottom of pot. Step 3Add reserved cooked mushrooms and pearl onions back to the pot and bring to a simmer. Partly cover the pot and simmer on low heat until carrots and onions are tender and sauce is thick, 30 to 40 minutes. Taste and add more salt and tamari if needed. Stir in the grated garlic clove. Step 4Just before serving, heat a small skillet over high heat and add ½ tablespoon butter or oil. Add half of the sliced chanterelles or oyster mushrooms and let cook without moving until they are crisp and brown on one side, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side. Transfer to a plate and sprinkle with salt and smoked paprika. Repeat with remaining butter and mushrooms. Serve mushroom Bourguignon over polenta, noodles or mashed potatoes, topped with fried mushrooms and parsley. Featured in: The Meat Lover’s Guide To Eating Less Meat.