How to Pressure Can Ground Pork Sausage

Marie Overton
Jan 7, 2021
2 min read

Updated: Dec 26, 2025

Canned meat has many reasons to recommend it. It allows you to take advantage of discounts on meat and buy in bulk, it frees up freezer space, the meat is incredibly tender and it is so convenient. It is so nice to be able to pull it out of the pantry fully cooked and use it in favorite recipes. It has been a real time saver for our family. The pork sausage makes fabulous sausage gravy.

Canning meat requires a little bit of preparation. You will need a pressure canner. Also necessary are lids, lid rings, clean quart jars, a canning funnel, a long plastic utensil, bouillon, and a teaspoon. You will also need a skillet for browning the meat in.

Person in a beige apron prepares to can ground meat, placing a funnel on jars. Kitchen setting with countertop and stove.

Canned sausage needs to be lightly browned and drained before being canned. Fill the jar with a jar funnel leaving 1 inch of head space.

Person in apron adding ingredients with a spoon into jars on a kitchen counter. Background shows a sink and countertop items.

Add 1 teaspoon or 1 cube of bouillon.

Copper kettle pouring water into glass jars with brown clumps on a granite countertop. Apron with partial text "ari" visible. Kitchen sink blurred behind.

Pour boiling water over the bouillon filling the spaces between the meat. Use your plastic utensil to release any trapped air bubbles.

Place the lid on and secure it with a lid ring to fingertip tight. Place your jars in the pressure canner and follow your manufacturer directions for canning.

Pressure can: Add hot water to the pressure canner according to the manufacturer’s guidelines. (Usually 3 quarts) Position the jars inside the canner. Seal the lid of the canner, and heat it on high until steam escapes from the vent. Allow it to vent for 10 minutes

Chalkboard displays pressure canner guidelines by altitude. Three jars sit nearby. Background shows part of a word: "ATMOSPHERIC."

Process at 10 pounds of pressure for 90 minutes if you are at sea level. If you need to know how altitude affects the amount of time you process your jars check out my canning basics video/post.

Turn off the heat, and let the canner cool naturally before you remove the lid.

Safety note: You need at least, 2 quarts or 4 pints for each load in the pressure canner.

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Cooling and Storing the Jars: After processing, allow to cool in the pressure canner with the heat off and the lid removed for 10 minutes. At the end of the cooling time, carefully remove the jars and place them on a heat resistant surface about 1-2 inches apart. Allow the jars to cool completely for 24 hours. You might hear a popping sound as the lids seal. If it is sealed well the center of the lid will be depressed down. Label each jar with the date and contents, and store them in a cool, dry, dark place. Properly sealed jars can last up to 3 years.

After that point, they start to lose nutritional value.

Three jars of preserved food, three colorful eggs, and three muffins with sprinkles on a wooden board. A large metal cooker is nearby.

How to make adjustments to pressure canning pork sausage based on altitude:

Barometric pressure is reduced at high altitudes, affecting the temperature at which water boils. This means boiling-water and pressure canning methods must be adjusted to ensure safe processing. When using the pressure canning method of canning, additional pounds of pressure is required. The following altitude chart gives the requirements.