Homemade stew
What could be tastier than homemade stew? No store can compare with it. And it’s easy to prepare it at home. All you need is time and a large saucepan.
You cannot prepare stew from the meat of a freshly slaughtered animal. Let it sit in the cold for a couple of days, but don't freeze it. Otherwise, the stew will turn out dry and tasteless.
Add only hot water to the pan, preferably boiling water. Otherwise, the temperature change may cause the jars to burst and all your efforts will go down the drain.
The quantities are for 1 jar of 700 ml. My saucepan holds 4 jars, so I use 4 times the listed quantities. Use a little less salt for smaller jars.
Cut the meat into fairly large pieces, about 5 centimeters each. Do not cut off the skin and fat if you want to get a fatty stew. I cut it, so my stew is almost “diet”-grade.
Put a couple of bay leaves and half the peppercorns in the bottom of the jar. Pack in the meat without leaving gaps, but do not compress it. Add half the salt midway through and the rest on top, with a couple of bay leaves around the edges. Fill only to the shoulder of the jar so the juices do not overflow during cooking.
Place a towel folded in several layers on the bottom of a wide pan. Cover the jars (DO NOT ROLL UP!) with lids and place on a towel. Pour cold water into the pan to 2/3 of the height of the jar and put on fire. Cover the pan with a lid, otherwise the water will evaporate quickly.
Once the water boils, reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Set a timer for 6 hours, topping up with hot water as needed.
After 6 hours, carefully remove the jars from the pan and roll up the lids. After cooling, store in a cool place.