Canning Mariner's Black Bean Soup - Revised

This post is "Canning Black Bean Soup v2.0, and revises and supplants the original post on the subject. I have changed the process to accommodate additional experience with the recipé.  The previous version was my first attempt to achieve consistency in the distribution of soup components between jars of the same batch of soup. It worked, in terms of improving consistency, but it resulted in a tremendous increase in the complexity and amount of effort.  In this version, I have abandoned that approach, opting instead for a little more care in charging the jars with product. As before, the recipé for this soup isn't radically different from the original crock pot version; it has only been slightly modified to accommodate processing with a pressure canner.

Why can the soup?  Well, mainly for convenience.  The original recipé doesn't divide well, and 2 quarts of soup is a lot for two people to consume in any reasonably short time, so there are always leftovers to deal with. We have found that, for two people, a pint of soup is an ideal light supper, and  a quart will provide a hearty dinner, especially when accompanied by Mariner's Corn Bread . If you have more than two people to feed, just add a side salad, or open more jars!  Putting up the completed soup in canning jars allows us to keep some available for heat-and-serve occasions, and doesn't create a lot of leftovers from individual meals.

To do this, you'll need the following items.

Ingredients:

black beans, dry	16	oz
whole kernel corn, canned	1	ea, 14 oz can
diced tomatoes, canned	1	ea, 14 oz can
okra, cut, canned1	1	ea, 14 oz can, drained
pepper stir fry, frozen2	1	cup
smoked pork, lean-ish,  diced	8	oz
chives, dried3	2	Tbs
garlic granules, dry3	2	tsp
cayenne powder3	½	tsp
cilantro powder	½	tsp
hot sauce4	2	tsp
Water (or pork stock)	4	cup
Salt (reserve)	4	tsp

1. If you don't have canned okra, or if you just prefer to use fresher produce, you can substitute 1½ to 2 cups fresh or frozen cut okra pods.
2. I often use Birds-Eye® brand, which I have found to have about 65% varicolored peppers and about 35% chopped onion. If you can't find a mix you like, you can substitute your own mix.  I recommend a mix of about ⅔ cup chopped sweet peppers and ⅓ cup chopped onion.
3. I use Tone's® brand for these items.  I use them quite often in my cooking, and I can buy them in bulk from warehouse stores.
4. Use your favorite hot sauce.  Mine is Texas Pete®.

Materials:

Canning jars, with lids and rings to match - either 8 pints or 4 quarts.  Use only NEW lids! I prefer Mason or Ball jars with standard lids.

Equipment:

Pressure canner - of sufficient size to process as many of the jars you selected as you wish to handle in one processing cycle.

Stock pot - of sufficient size to contain the entire batch of boiling soup, with sufficient freeboard to insure safety.  I usually use an inexpensive 8 qt stainless steel stock pot. You can also use this pot for rehydrating the dry beans, if necessary.

Jar lifter, headspace guage, lid lifter, canning funnel, and any other canning tools you like to use.

Various bowls, spoons, and other normal kitchen implements as needed.

Directions:

Canning reconstituted dry beans or soups containing them will require the use of a pressure canner. Coincidentally, the smallest such canner I have will process four (4) quarts at a time, which is convenient, since this recipé produces about four quarts of soup.

Reconstituted beans and soups must be canned using the approved “hot pack” method (see this page and this one). This means that the soup, or all of its ingredients must be heated to above the boiling point of water before, and remain hot until, being placed into the receiving jar, just prior to processing.

1. Dry beans must be soaked before canning. Place the beans in a bowl or pan large enough to contain the beans (and the soak water), and add enough water to cover them to two or three times the depth of the beans by themselves. The beans will expand to more than double their dry weight and volume. Let soak for a minimum of 12 hours. There are techniques for performing a so-called “quick soak”, but I don't trust any of them.


2. An hour or two before the beans finish soaking, follow the jar manufacturer's directions to prepare the appropriate number of clean jars for canning, and lay out your canning tools. 


3. About 30 minutes to an hour before the beans are finished soaking, begin preparing the other ingredients. This involves simply opening the cans of additional vegetables, and dicing any large pieces to achieve a better distribution of the soup components throughout the volume of the soup. In particular, the meat for the soup should be diced into pieces no larger than the individual beans.


4. After soaking is complete, assemble the soup:
   
   
   1. Drain off the soak water and thoroughly wash the beans and place them, along with 4 cups of fresh water, into a pot or saucepan large enough to hold at least 5 quarts;
   
   
   2. Do not drain the corn or the tomatoes! Add the entire contents of the cans corn and tomatoes to the beans; 
   
   
   3. Drain the okra and discard the canning water, then add the okra to the soup (canning water for okra often contains additives which may adversely affect the flavor of the soup);
   
   
   4. Add all the remaining ingredients, except the salt, and bring the soup to a moderate boil, stirring frequently.
      
   
   
   Continue cooking the soup for 30 minutes - no more: the purpose of this cooking is not to tenderize the beans, but to bring their internal temperature up to the boiling point of water (212° Fahrenheit – 100° Celsius). The beans will complete cooking during the processing of the canned soup.
   


5. When all is ready, begin packing. Using a slotted spoon with constant stirring, apportion the soup solids among the appropriate number of jars (4 quart jars or 8 pints). The jars should be filled to half-full (or a little better) with solids. Don't try to fill the jars with solids! Remember, much of the seasoning and spice is in the broth. Too many solids in the jars will rob your soup of broth and seasonings, and make your soup look, feel, and taste more like plain canned beans - with a few extra vegetables thrown in.


6. Add 1 teaspoon of the reserved salt to each quart jar (or ½ tsp per pint jar), then add enough of the soup broth to fill each jar, leaving 1 inch of head-space. If there is insufficient broth, you can add fresh boiling water or pork stock to make up the difference.


7. Apply lids and rings per the jar manufacturer's directions, and process the jars according to the canner manufacturer's directions. I use Ball® brand jars and an All-American® canner; and I process quart jars for 90 minutes (75 minutes for pints) at 15 psi. The altitude here is right at 1000 ft MSL, plus or minus a few feet, so perhaps I could get away with processing at 10 psi, but I'm more comfortable with the greater margin of safety.

To use the soup, handle it as you would any home-canned soup.  We like to bring it to a boil and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.  Serve in soup bowls, and if you like, garnish with a slice of pepperjack sandwich cheese.  We used these procedures over the weekend, and tasted our first jar of the resulting soup tonight.  Eaten with Mariner's Corn Bread on the side, it was  fabulous. 😎