Q and A: room for goats, canning chicken broth, and canning ground meat without liquid

Room for goats

We live on two acres, this includes the area for the house, buildings, and etc. Would we be able to keep two goats on this small area? It is open with no woods or browsing. Can butter and cheese be made from goats milk? We have never had goats milk before, is the taste a lot different from cows milk?

MA Nelson
Franklin, West Virginia

Yes, you can definitely have two goats on your homestead! Goats can be happily housed in a large pen and shed to protect them from cold and rain. You even have room to build a nice pasture for them which will help cut down feed costs. You can make butter from goat milk but you really need a separator as the cream does not rise to the top as it does with cow milk. But you can make the best cheeses from goat milk, not to mention cottage cheese, yogurt, and even ice milk-like ice cream. While some people say they don’t like goat milk’s flavor, I say they’ve never had good goat milk! You can’t tell our goat milk from our cow milk. Even folks who say “I HATE goat milk. It tastes goaty” have enjoyed a glass of our goat milk. (But, of course I didn’t tell them until they’d finished a glass or two!) I’d suggest picking up a copy of BHM’s handbook on goats for a lot of condensed information on goat ownership — Jackie

Canning chicken broth

I was canning chicken broth with the meat that was left over on the carcass. I noted that your directions stated to process pints for 20 minutes and quarts for 25 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. I was wondering if this was accurate because I know that jars of canned chicken and chicken soup need to be processed 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts?

Wendy Schraml
Luxemburg, Wisconsin

This is accurate. When you can chicken or turkey broth you are using the carcass after most of the meat has already been taken off so what you have left over is tiny bits and pieces of meat — not the meat you’d put in chicken soup but tiny pieces. When these are added, you have mostly broth with a minimal amount of meat. When you are canning chicken soup, with much more diced chicken, you do need to process for 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts. — Jackie

Canning ground meat without liquid

I want to know if it is safe to can precooked ground meat w/o liquid in pint jars? I browned the meat (beef) and put about 1 lb./ hot sterilized pint jar, sealed and put this jar in hot water to keep until I had all meat cooked and in jars to fill my pressure canner. Then I moved them all to the pressure canner and processed 10 lbs. for 75 minutes. I find several of your articles in canning meat and not adding water (bacon, fish etc.) but not specifically ground meat.- I have canned ground precooked beef before WITH liquid but did not like the dog food smell and it being mushy. Love your books, My husband said he is getting me a bracelet WWJD- What Would Jackie Do.

Debbie
Stotts City, Missouri

I can a lot of our ground meat without liquid and it turns out very good. Just use lean ground meat and keep it hot while you’re filling your jars. I’m glad you like my books and hope they’re a help to your homesteading! — Jackie