How Long Would a 20-Pound Propane Tank Last During Emergency Pressure Canning?

 

pressure canning meat for off grid 

One thing many people never think about during a long-term blackout is what happens to all the meat sitting inside the deep freezer.

During a short outage, most families simply cook what they can. But in a true grid-down emergency, freezers eventually begin to thaw — and that expensive food supply suddenly becomes a race against time.

This was actually a situation I covered in my novel, Miles Apart, where the family is facing an EMP grid-down disaster. During the first few days, they tried cooking what they could from the freezer. But as the days passed and the deep freezers began thawing, the women started pressure canning meat outdoors on a propane grill in an effort to save as much food as possible before it spoiled.

And honestly, in a real-life emergency, this could become the exact same situation for many families.

preserving meat for emergency food storage

Can You Pressure Can Meat Outside on Propane?

Yes — many homesteaders already use propane burners or propane grills for outdoor canning during the summer months. In an emergency blackout, propane may become one of the most valuable backup tools a family owns.

To safely can meat, you need:

• A true pressure canner
• Quart or pint jars with lids
• A safe outdoor cooking area
• Enough propane to maintain steady pressure

Low-acid foods like beef, chicken, pork, or venison MUST be pressure canned for safety. A regular water bath canner is not safe for meat preservation.

Popular canners include heavy-duty models from Presto and All American pressure canners. (Amazon link) 

Backyard set-up for off-grid food preservation

How Long Does Meat Take to Pressure Can?

Most raw-packed meat is processed for:

• 90 minutes for quart jars
• 75 minutes for pint jars

The meat can be cold packed directly into the jars, meaning the sterilization happens during the pressure canning process itself.

A standard canner usually holds:

• 7 quart jars
• Roughly 14 to 21 pounds of meat per batch

How Long Would a 20-Pound Propane Tank Last?

A standard 20-pound propane tank contains about 430,000 BTUs of fuel.

Most propane burners used for pressure canning burn approximately:

• 10,000 to 15,000 BTUs per hour once steady pressure is reached

That means one propane tank could realistically provide:

• Around 25 to 40 hours of canning time

Depending on conditions, a single tank could potentially help preserve:

• 60 to well over 100 pounds of meat

That is a massive amount of food that could otherwise be lost during an extended power outage.

1 lb propane could potentially last 1.5 to 2 hrs while pressure canning

Why This Matters More Than Ever

Many families rely almost entirely on freezers for long-term food storage. But during hurricanes, ice storms, cyber attacks, EMP events, or extended blackouts, frozen food becomes vulnerable fast.

Having a backup preservation plan is critical.

Pressure canning allows families to turn thawing meat into shelf-stable food that can last for years without electricity.

Preparedness is not about panicking -- it's no different than planning ahead with insurance.

It's all about protecting the food your family already worked hard to buy, raise, or harvest before it goes to waste.

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Beef Prices Have Nearly Doubled — Here’s Why I’m Preserving More at Home

 I recently went through my old Sam’s Club purchase history from May 2022 and compared it to today’s beef prices. Honestly, the difference shocked me.

Four years ago:

• Ground beef was $3.98 a pound
• Prime New York Strip Steak was $10.86 a pound

Grocery history of Ground Beef and Streaks - from May 2022

Today:

• Ground beef is around $6.18 a pound

Ground beef costs from May 2026

• Prime New York Strip Steak is now about $16.98 a pound

Steaks costs for May 2026

Let's do the math

Ground Beef

• 2022 Price: $3.98 per pound
• 2026 Price: $6.18 per pound
• Increase: $2.20 more per pound

That equals about a 55% increase in just four years.

Prime New York Strip Steak

• 2022 Price: $10.86 per pound
• 2026 Price: $16.98 per pound
• Increase: $6.12 more per pound

That equals about a 56% increase in four years.

                           That is a huge jump in a short amount of time.

So why is beef getting so expensive?

The simple answer is that ranchers are dealing with rising feed costs, drought conditions, fuel prices, transportation costs, and higher operating expenses. Many cattle herds were reduced over the last few years because they became too expensive to maintain. Unlike chickens, cattle take years to rebuild, so supply cannot recover overnight.

Meanwhile, demand for beef remains high.

One thing I learned years ago while excavating in Jordan was just how much we take beef for granted in America. I went an entire month without eating it and remember looking forward to finally getting home and having a hamburger. I was surprised when I stopped at the McDonald’s in the Jordanian airport and realized they were not even serving beef there at the time. My only option was a chicken sandwich.

That experience stayed with me.

It reminded me that foods we consider “normal” can become expensive, limited, or unavailable much faster than people expect.

Home Canned Ground Beef from 2022 still good today in 2026

Because of that, I’ve started preserving more beef at home whenever I find decent prices. Some people freeze it, pressure can it, dehydrate it, or freeze dry it for long-term storage.

I’m not encouraging panic buying. But I do think this is one of those times where it makes sense to prepare a little ahead instead of waiting until prices climb even higher.

Even putting away a few extra pounds of ground beef at a time can help later on.

Preparedness doesn’t always mean preparing for disaster. Sometimes it simply means paying attention to what’s happening around us and making practical decisions while we still can.

What am I doing now? -------> How We’re Stretching Ground Beef as Meat Prices Rise

Sprouting Seeds: The Fastest Garden You Can Grow Anywhere

 If there’s one thing I’ve learned through gardening in Texas, it’s this — there are good years and bad years when it comes to growing food.

Some years it’s drought.
Some years it’s pests.
Some years it’s hailstorms, heatwaves, or sudden freezes.

That’s one reason I started paying more attention to sprouting seeds.

Sprouting is one of the easiest and fastest ways to grow fresh food almost anywhere. You don’t need a backyard. You don’t need raised beds. You don’t even need sunshine.

You can sprout seeds in:

• an apartment
• an RV
• a hotel room
• a dorm room
• a tiny kitchen
• or practically anywhere you can keep a mason jar

(I read a book many years ago about a guy traveling the world on his bike. He was sprouting seeds even on the road!) 

Even if someone is struggling financially or temporarily displaced, sprouting seeds is still one of the few ways to grow fresh nutrition quickly and cheaply.

And the best part?

You can see results in just a few days.

Why Sprouting Matters for Preparedness

When people think of prepping, they usually think of canned food, rice, beans, and food storage.

Those are important.

But sprouts provide something many stored foods don’t — fresh living nutrition.

Sprouts are rich in:

• vitamins
• minerals
• enzymes
• fiber
• antioxidants

Some sprouts can contain significantly higher nutrient levels than the mature vegetable itself.

And unlike traditional gardening, you don’t have to wait months for a harvest.

Many sprouts are ready in:

• 3 to 7 days

That makes sprouting one of the fastest “gardens” you can grow.

The Easiest Way to Sprout Seeds Safely

You do not need fancy equipment.

You can simply use:

• a clean mason jar
• sprouting seeds
• water
• a mesh lid or cheesecloth

Basic Sprouting Method

1. Add seeds to a clean jar
2. Cover with water and soak overnight
3. Drain and rinse
4. Rinse 2 times daily
5. Keep jar tilted upside down for drainage and airflow
6. Harvest once sprouts reach desired size

That’s it.

The biggest key to safe sprouting is:

• rinsing regularly
• good airflow
• draining well
• starting with clean jars and quality seeds
• 
  

Best Seeds for Beginners

Some of the easiest sprouts for beginners include:

• broccoli sprouts
• lentils
• mung beans
• alfalfa
• radish sprouts
• clover sprouts

Even ordinary dry lentils from the grocery store will often sprout.

Cheap, Fast, and Encouraging

One thing I love about sprouting is how encouraging it feels for new gardeners.

You don’t have to fight weeds.
You don’t need perfect soil.
You don’t need expensive equipment.

Within days, you can literally watch food growing on your kitchen counter.

For people wanting more self-reliance, sprouting is one of the simplest places to begin.

In uncertain times, knowing how to grow even a small amount of fresh food can bring a surprising amount of peace of mind.

And sometimes the smallest skills are the ones that matter most.

I bought this sprouting tray system from Amazon a few years ago, and surprisingly the price really hasn’t gone up much. It’s been one of the easiest ways I’ve found to grow fresh sprouts indoors year round, especially during hot Texas summers when outdoor gardening can be unpredictable. If you’re interested in sprouting, I would honestly focus on purchasing seeds now while they’re still affordable and easy to find.

The nice thing is — you really don’t need fancy equipment to start sprouting. A simple mason jar and a breathable lid work just fine for beginners. But if you enjoy gardening, preparedness, homesteading, or want a practical gift idea for someone learning self-reliance skills, these sprouting trays make a fun and useful addition to the kitchen.

You can also use inexpensive mason jar sprouting lids if you want a simple setup without buying a full tray system. 

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