All right, this is going to be a pretty short post because canning chicken is so very easy.
Raw pack: Canning raw chicken is almost brainless. Fill jars loosely with raw meat pieces "in suitable sizes for canning." I aim for 1/2-inch to 1-inch cubes. Allow 1-1/4" headspace. Add salt, if desired, 1 teaspoon per quart, 1/2 teaspoon per pint. Do not add any liquid.
Hot pack: Boil, steam, or bake chicken until it is about 2/3 cooked. Fill jars with pieces and hot broth. Allow 1-1/4" headspace. Add salt, if desired, 1 teaspoon per quart, 1/2 teaspoon per pint.
To process the jars, follow the directions that came with your pressure canner. Meats and other low-acid foods must be preserved using a pressure canner, not a pressure cooker, and not a water-bath canner. Directions vary slightly but significantly among pressure canners, and so you must use the directions that came with your canner.
Now for just a few notes.
Something one of my physiology professors shared--super high-level stuff: "A pint's a pound the world around." What this means for you is that about one pound of chicken will fit in a pint jar. But loosely packed, it will be a little less chicken. If I were canning ten pounds of chicken, I'd plan on using twelve pint jars.
Chicken (and rabbit, by the way) are the only meats that require 1-1/4" headspace. They expand more than other meats during the canning process.
If you are canning chickens that your raised and freshly butchered yourself, chill those chickens for six to twelve hours before canning. Trust me on this. If you don't, you'll be sorry.
You may can chicken with or without the bones. Processing times with the bones are less than without the bones. No, that's not what one would normally expect, but it is true. The USDA says so.
If you have cats, you might wish to can the chicken bones to make food for them. To do this, cram as many bones as you can into the jar and then add boiling water. Process with your other jars of chicken. To feed the cat, pour canned bones into a bowl and mash them with a fork. That's all it takes. Do not feed this to dogs. The protein content is too high for dogs and will harm their kidneys.
For further reading:
Ball Blue Book: The Guide to Home Canning and Freezing
The USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning
https://www.freshpreserving.com/chicken-stock---pressure-canning---ball-recipes-br1070.html
http://prepared-housewives.com/diy-canned-chicken-pressure-canner/ (super-detailed, complete, blow-by-blow report on how to can chicken with lots of pictures for the super-nervous first-timer who can't believe it's as easy as I've described above)
https://nchfp.uga.edu/ is another great site for canning info. They even have lessons for if you never processed food before. The sidebar you can find out how to:
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Freeze
Dry
Cure & Smoke
Ferment
Pickle
Make Jam & Jelly
Store
I always find commercial canned chicken has a distinct 'taste' or maybe texture, i always know if chicken in something was canned. Its not offensive or off putting, just obvious. Every time I have canned chicken at home it has the same texture as commercial. Sonething about the process changes the chicken.
ReplyDeleteAny ideas on how to not have that happen?
Exile1981
OK, I've got three ideas. One, we all have different taste buds. My girls loathe canned store-bought chicken and pretty much will only eat what I have canned. Two, as noted above, home butchered chickens need to be chilled before canning. Three, I've read that some people have a problem with the taste of canned tuna, and that adding 1/2 teaspoon powdered sugar per can fixes that. Perhaps a little powdered sugar would help the taste/texture of canned chicken?
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