I put canned meat back in the pressure canner to process longer- is that ok?

Question

I recently got a little confused about the processing time for canning meat broth. I canned a batch of quart jars and processed them for the recommended 25 minutes, removed them from the canner, and they sealed. I then worried that I should have processed them for the longer “canned meat” time of 90 minutes (which I now know wasn’t necessary). About 12 hours after the first canning, I put the sealed jars back into the canner, and processed them for 90 minutes. I took them out, they were (still?) sealed and seem fine.

Now I’m thinking, maybe that could have actually compromised the seal or some other safety aspect? I don’t plan to do that again, but I am wondering if I ruined the broth that I double canned without replacing the lids. I see that the recommendation for reprocessing would be to open them and put new lids on finger tight again. Does anyone have insight on this? Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

So, they have been over-processed, which is not a big deal for something like broth where you don't have any crispness you are trying to keep by limited processing time.

You're worried that the seal is compromised.

Are the lids popped down? You say they are still sealed, so presumably, yes.

If they are popped down, they are sealed, and the seal is, therefore, not compromised.

That's the whole reason for "safety lids" that pop down. The old rigid glass tops with rubber seals gave no indication if they were sealed properly, or not. The flexible metal lids do.

Removing lids to use new lids is protocol for failed seals (not the case here) and repacking (hot) is also required for thick stuff that wasn't sealed or processed properly the first time (also does not apply here.) Your jars were processed as specified, and safe, and then they took an extra trip through the canner, and are still safe.

My default for anything I've boiled for hours before canning it is to somewhat extend the processing time, since it won't harm the already-boiled-a-long-time product in the jars, and under-processing is actually hazardous, while over-processing is not (though it can spoil the appearance or texture of things that were not boiled a long time before going in jars.) I've spent hours making it, so spending (say) 10 minutes more than needed in the canner (just to be sure) has minimal impact on my overall time spent.