How To Home Can Chicken

It’s getting to be that time of year. Time to buy good, healthy meat and can it for the winter. Once reason for canning meat is that organic, healthy meat can be hard to find and once you do find it, you can fill up your freezer, but it’s best to utilize several storage methods. Freezers can stop working and then you’ll be pressed to use or can the food any way.

Here are my methods for canning chicken on and off the bone. I use both the Hot Pack where you cook the meat first, and the Raw Pack, sometimes called Cold Pack where you put raw meat into the jars and can it. I’ve used these instructions since I was a kid at home and they have served me well.

Home-canned chicken and broth

A Few Notes

• Chicken that is pressure canned may take on a pinkish color. Its not raw, that’s just the color of the meat when canned this way. Its kind of like pork in that way.
• Be sure to keep the jar rims free from grease or the lids won’t adhere and seal.  You can use vinegar instead of water on a clean cloth to wipe down the rims before adding the lids. the vinegar will help remove the grease.
• As with any home canning project you should purchase and read a Ball Canning Guide before beginning. These instructions came out of an old Farm Journal book that belonged to my Mother. I have updated the times that the jars are pressurized, but you should still get that Ball Canning Guide and that’s my disclaimer. 🙂
• All of these instructions can be used for pork as well as chicken.
• My favorite method for canning chicken in the Raw-pack without bone method which is the last one I describe in this post.

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HOT PACK WITH BONE:   In Which you first cook the meat, then can it.

Bone the breast (because its hard to fit the breast bone into the jars) and, if desired, saw the drumsticks off short, I sometimes use a cleaver for this. (It isn’t necessary and you can choose to do it or not with all of the following instructions. Cutting off the snort end saves space because the meat usually draws away from the end of the bone and leaves a meatless bone sticking up there, just taking up space).

Leave the bones in other meaty pieces. Trim off large pieces of fat. I remove the skin. Place raw chicken pieces in water to cover and cook til meat is medium done, or until almost no pink color shows at center of pieces. Stir occasionally during cooking to heat meat evenly.

If desired, put 1 tsp. salt in each clean quart jar for seasoning. Then pack hot second joints and drumsticks into hot jars; place with skin next to the glass. Fit breasts in the center and add smaller pieces where needed.

Cover meat with hot broth, using from 1/2 to 3/4 cup per quart jar. Leave 1″ head space.

Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds of pressure (240 degrees F)
Pint jars  1 hour 5 minutes
Quart jars  1 hour and 15 minutes

Allow to cool and de-pressurize naturally. This means to remove the canner from the heat source and do not remove the weight or open the vent.
Remove jars from canner, place on a clean towel to cool completely before tightening the rings and cleaning off the jars for storage.

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HOT PACK WITHOUT BONE: In Which you first cook the meat without bones, then can it
Follow preceding directions for hot pack, with bone, but remove bone, and skin if desired, from meaty pieces  before or after precooking. 
Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds of pressure (240 degrees F)
Pint jars 1 hour and 15 minutes
Quart jars 1 hour and 30 minutes

Allow to cool and de-pressurize naturally. This means to remove the canner from the heat source and do not remove the weight or open the vent.
Remove jars from canner, place on a clean towel to cool completely before tightening the rings and cleaning off the jars for storage.

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RAW PACK WITH BONE: In Which you do not cook the meat before canning
I use this method the most because why cook the meat twice? The pressure canner cooks the meat just fine. This is especially a good method when you’re busy or when you run upon a sale on chicken thighs and legs. I bought 40# at .19 per pound and canned it all, staggering it over 4 days. I kept the chicken in the freezer, defrosting it as I was able to work it.

Prepare chicken as for hot pack, with bone, but do not precook. Pack raw meaty pieces into the clean jars the same way.
Set open jars in a large kettle with warm water extending to about 2? below the rims of jars. Cover container and heat at a slow boil until meat is steaming hot, about 75 minutes. You can test the temperature with a thermometer. The meat is ready to process when the center of the jar registers 175 degrees F.

Remove jars, adjust hot lids and rings.

Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds of pressure (240 degrees F)
Process pints 1 hour 5 minutes
quarts 1 hour 15 minutes.

Allow to cool and de-pressurize naturally. This means to remove the canner from the heat source and do not remove the weight or open the vent.
Remove jars from canner, place on a clean towel to cool completely before tightening the rings and cleaning off the jars for storage.

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RAW PACK WITHOUT BONE: In Which you do not cook the meat before canning but do remove the bones before canning. This is my preferred canning method for both chicken and pork.
Follow directions for raw pack, with bone, only remove bones from meaty pieces before packing into jars.  You can use boneless chicken breasts, tenders and boneless thighs for this as well.
Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds of pressure (240 degrees F)
Process pints 1 hour 15 minutes and quarts 1 hour 30 minutes
Allow to cool and de-pressurize naturally. This means to remove the canner from the heat source and do not remove the weight or open the vent.
Remove jars from canner, place on a clean towel to cool completely before tightening the rings and cleaning off the jars for storage.

SAFETY PRECAUTION!!!

I have to add this because everyone cans differently.

When using any home-canned meat or chicken, turn it out of jar, add a little water if needed, cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes before tasting or adding other ingredients. If it has an off-odor during or AFTER heating, DISCARD it. Burn or bury it so the spoiled food will not be eaten by animals.