Home Canning Ham Gravy with Recipe
Once a week I make a batch of homemade gravy for my family to enjoy. We like gravy over mashed potatoes, homemade waffles, drizzled across the meat of our main dish, etc. We enjoy beef, chicken, turkey and ham gravies. We don’t purchase it in a pouch or can…trust me, it tastes 100% better when it’s completely homemade and made with drippings!
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This ham gravy recipe is one that I got from my mother-in-law 25 years ago. I make it about 6 times a year and I preserve it by canning it. I like to can it in jelly-sized glass mason jars which serves 2 people. It’s just my husband and I now. In the past I used to double-up the recipe and can in glass pint size jars. The best time to make this gravy is when you’re baking a ham because it utlizes the drippings.
I don’t know the official way of canning gravy…this is the way my family has been making it and processing it for years with absolutely no problems. You’ll need a water bath canner along with basic home canning supplies. Recipe will make approximately 5 jelly-size jars.
Ham Gravy Recipe
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 cups ham drippings
1/4 cup half & half
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4-1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
Prepare all of glass mason jars ahead of time. Make sure they’re clean. Get out all of your home canning supplies and have them ready to go. Some people use a pressure steaming canner but for this particular recipe I use my water bath canner and process using European times (American times haven’t been updated in years).
Fill up the water bath canner with hot water and get it simmering. I toss my seals and rings into a different saucepan and have those simmering while my glass mason jars sit in a 170 degrees oven.
In a large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk-in the all-purpose flour. Keep stirring and simmering over the medium heat until the gravy thickens. Pour in the ham drippings, whisking again…then stir in the half & half, salt and ground black pepper until everything is combined. Simmer over medium heat for 1 minute. Turn the heat down to low.
Ladle the ham gravy into your prepared mason jars leaving a 1″ headspace. Wipe the rims with a clean cloth. Add the hot seal and ring. Place the jar on the rack in your water bath canner. Continue until all jars are filled. Lower the rack down into the canner. Cover. Turn the heat up to medium-high. The water needs to be boiling but not a hard boil. Process for 2 hours in the water bath canner.
NOTE: Fill up a medium sized saucepan with water. Put it on a back burner simmering over medium heat but at a very gentle boil. Every 15-20 minutes check your water bath canner to see if you need to add water. If so, pour the water from that pan into the canner. You need to keep the water temperature up so that you don’t crack any of your jars.
Once 2 hours have passed turn off the heat. Let jars sit for 5 minutes on the rack inside the canner. Lift jars up to the pan’s rim and let them sit for another 10 minutes on the rim. Lay a clean dry cotton towel on your countertop. Carefully remove the jars one-by-one from the canner to place on the towel. Let them cool down to room temperature. Don’t touch them or move them for at least 12 hours to allow for proper sealing. After 12 hours check the seals. Any that didn’t seal you’ll want to refrigerate and use up right away. Those that properly sealed can be stored in your pantry for 1 year.
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