How to Pressure Can Chicken

I think when you don’t add water you end up with a lot less broth, that’s why I chose to add some water in mine. I think it is ok as long as the seal is good!

That’s way weird! Has the lid remained sealed and everything? I don’t see
how it wouldn’t be fully processed, since it processed for the same time as
the other bottles. If the seal popped and everything looks fine I would
think it’s ok. But if you are worried you could stick that bottle in the
fridge and use it first. Maybe someone else might have a better answer …

No it’s not fully cooked!  You need to get it to pressure and maintain it for 75 min for pints… 90 min for quarts.  It takes a long time for mine to get to pressure.  I imagine it probably boils for a half hour before it hits pressure.  I think you’re just making the preliminary stage!

are you really sure the bones are hard?  I’ve pressure canned legs and thighs before, and the bones felt hard until you broke them apart with your fingers:)  I hadn’t thought of giving the bones to the dogs – I’ll have to do that, I’m not giving them my chicken!  yummm….

I added the water because I wanted more broth and because it made more sense
with the frozen breasts. My books do say that for raw packing you can just
pack them in tightly and can without adding water. I haven’t tried frozen
without water but it would be an interesting experiment.

Pam, It is chunks of chicken just kind of smashed together. When I pull
them out of the jar I just separate them and they are perfectly chunked. I
save the broth for soups, etc. and use the chicken in anything that I would
use regular cooked chopped chicken in. I have a lot of recipes I use it
for, and also throw it in Chicken or Tuna helper and it is just perfect. It
is really good chicken!

I LOVE hearing feedback like this. I’m so happy you tried it out and
had success! I was so scared at first but now I almost ONLY use my
canned chicken and ground beef. It’s so convenient and yummy.

My pressure canner specifically says it is ok for use on a glass top
stove. I have water bath canned and pressure canned on mine with no
problems. I have heard that the main concern is with the canners
being full you need to set them on the stove carefully or just the
weight of it could damage the stove. I have an older stove so I was
ok with risking some damage, but so far have had no troubles!

I have done both, broth added or none. If you add no fluid the jar ends up about half full of natural broth, but the top of the food will begin to look dry after a few months on the shelf. You can turn the jar upside down, then back again every few weeks to avoid this, but who needs the extra work. If you add at least a half-jar of broth or bullion when filling, it all works out better in my opinion. Besides, the broth is usually good for wht you’re making of this.

This is an old post, but had to agree with the ‘gritty’ comment of Amy’s regarding canned burger…and I fried mine. DH told me ‘no’ on the canned ground beef (but he loves the canned chili and salmon) so I’ve promised to at least try to disguise it better. I think I’ll stick to prefrying it with onions and garlic, then freezing it in ziplocs. I can still throw it into dinner fairly quickly. It is just dependent on electricity to keep.

I have added spices and other ingredients to have a seasoned meat. I canned chicken topped with salsa for a Mexican flavor but you need to add additional salsa because what is in the canning jar will be mushy, but still flavorful.

Meats release their liquids during the canning process, so the spices and other vegetables will be diluted some. So just adding water and a little salt will create a concentrated broth. You can use tomato juice/tomato sauce with Italian seasonings. DO NOT USE sage – it gets stronger during the processing.

The only time I have chicken broth to can is when I cook a whole chicken in a pot of water. This usually produces 4 quarts of broth as well as the pulled cooked chicken. I hold back enough for dinner and can the rest, using some of the broth for the cooked chicken and then can the extra broth in separate jars. I use the broth for soup starters and for making gravy.

What applies to chicken, also applies to beef and pork. Personally, I like to can pork in a mixture of water and vinear because we usually make barbecue. You can also can the meat in a barbecue sauce but it will be soupy and need to be cooked down once opened.

Just a note – meats have to be processed for 75/90 for pints/quarts no matter their proportion in the jar.. Most vegetables will be very soft/mushy.when processed for this length of time. The only exception I have seen in the Ball’s Blue Book is the Meat Sauce recipe, page 62, which is processed for 60/75 min for pints/quarts.

As the chicken cooks it turns in to chicken broth. I think you could for sure add spices, I was just too lazy to try it this time. I want to add in dehydrated onions and celery to make a nice chicken soup base. Maybe next time!

All your canned foods should be rotated within a year. Label the jar with the content, date and processing time. Some write on the lid with a Sharpie, I make rectangle labels that I use clear packing tape to attach to the jar. The important info to have is the contents and date. When you place the jars in your storage room, place the newest jars in the back, just as you would your commercially canned foods.

As you can probably tell, I am very passionate about this subject! It delights me to see young people consider this option for saving money and preparing for emergencies. Canned foods cannot be moved as easily as freeze/dried or dried foods but they are wonderful staples for the home.

The USDA, and the American Canned Foods Association says commercial canned foods are safe to eat so long as the can is uncompromised (no sharp dents, leaks, bulging, rust). For most, they begin to loose taste, texture and nutrients at about FIVE years. Very old canned foods may be sanitary to eat, but will look and taste poor, and have little nutrition.
The USDA says properly processed home canned goods can be considered to have the same shelf lives as commercial, though they “recommend” using them in one to two years. (Just to be on the safe side, I suppose.)

USDA recommends that all canned foods be boiled/cooked for 10 minutes prior to eating. Personally, I don’t always do this. I always smell and check the jar for any odd smells/fuzzy things. I have had jars of vegetables pop open and after a few days you will think you have something dead in the storage room and go looking for the cause! I have never had any meat lose a seal.

This brings up a great suggestion I was given when I first started canning – remove the rings. You need to be able to clean around the lids with a soft nail brush and wash the jars in warm soapy water before drying, labeling and storing. Caked on foods are an invitation for rodents, ants and other bugs. Having the rings off also helps locate when a jar has opened because the lid will come off easily. The only time I replace the rings is when transporting the jars or giving to others. This allows them to store leftovers in the jar.

Good rule of niceness – put a label on the jar that you wish it to be returned – especially jelly/jam jars – with a promise to provide a refill. This may get more jars back to you.

The chicken was completely cooked. In the meals I’ve made with it so far I have heated it up at the end of the recipe. But I don’t see why you couldn’t eat it straight out of the can since it already cooked for 90+ minutes….

Thanks for the tips. I dont have any wide-mouth jars so I just went with what I had. I’ll have to try to get some! We have already started using the chicken and I just love it!

A baby bottle cleaner works the best for mason jars. They are pretty inexpensive too.