Canning Chicken for Food Storage

[uching]

my cat would go crazy for that freshly boiled chicken....plus i didn't know you could can chicken or others till this clip.

[johnrk556]

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I haven't canned since the 80's, still have my Mirro Matic that looks just like yours. Bought a new gasket and started remembering how to can, came to YouTube and the web. I know there are $200+ canners on there, but I might not want to keep doing it. You have showed me I can use my old canner just fine, and I love the little round variable pressure control. Great video, by the way-

[imstillworkin]

@johnrk556 That old canner works fine. Another girl on youtube just inherited her grandma's canner which is exactly like mine and she's canning like crazy in it. Once you get started canning again you'll wonder why you ever quit. Happy canning!

[karenlemp]

I am for sure going to start canning chicken now, thank you for the info. I just have one wuestion...Did you say you put Broth in the chicken before sealing them? If yes, is it just any chicken broth?

[imstillworkin]

@karenlemp I use the water that the chicken was cooked in.

[cecpmp031969]

I canned chicken for the first time yesterday. When I was removing the jars from my pressure canner I noticed that some of the liquids from the jars had leaked out into the pressure canner during the canning process but the jars were all sealed. Should I trust the seal? Has this ever happened to you before?

[imstillworkin]

@cecpmp031969 Your jars should be fine and this could happen for a variety of reasons. I rarely have leakage from my jars but when I do it's because I didn't tighten the lid enough. If you start off with everything hot - the jars, lids, rings and the food - you generally avoid this problem. You're going to love the convenience of the canned chicken.

[sparklegrass1]

How big is your water bath canner?

[mcmastertube]

You shouldn't abuse your knives by using them on a glass cutting board. Otherwise, nice video. Thanks!

[JubeeBijou]

Question - When you are ready to eat this canned chicken, since it's low acid, do you boil it for 10 minutes FIRST (Ball says to do this for low acid foods), before say, using it for chicken salad sandwiches or casserole? Some have told me the heat is high enough when baking in a casserole to satisfy that boiling requirement. What do you do?

[imstillworkin]

@JubeeBijou Boiling temperature is 212 degrees. If you're baking a casserole at 350 degrees I'd say it would satisfy the requirement. For safety's sake, heat the chicken before using it in chicken salad.

[kyllikki9]

Wow! You did a great job on this video. So clear and to the point. I love the idea of using the water bath canner to keep jars hot, and then also to put the chicken into, until ready to pressure can. I will use this idea next time. Thanks again.

[MyFreedomChannel]

I like how your video is very precise, to the point, and your instructions are easy to follow with each step. Thanks so much! :)

[qzsue68]

Thank you so much! You make me feel much more comfortable about canning :)

[grammykathycc]

Great video. You explain the process very well. Thank you!

[sarahfarrar1]

Thank you SO much! This is the BEST video I've seen yet on Youtube on how to can chicken. One question: what about *raw* canning? Do you do that?

Also, on the type of pressure canner that you are using in this video...how do you know when the inside pressure has reached 10 lbs?

[imstillworkin]

@sarahfarrar1 I don't like to can chicken raw because I don't like the way it looks after its canned and the chicken pieces kind of weld together so that you have to tear it up to get it out of the jar. By pre-cooking it the pieces stay separate and it just looks more appetizing to me in the jar. I've done it raw before and I will tell you that it tastes exactly the same as pre-cooked.

When my canner reaches 10 lbs. pressure the weight on the top jiggles.

[organicsandmore777]

Recently I put raw chicken breasts in sterile jars and pressure canned for 90 min - they turned out great without precooking - used on a camping trip.

[sarahfarrar1]

@organicsandmore777

When you canned the raw chicken breasts, did you also any broth or water?

[mmabaddass]

By the way, have you ever cooked the chicken in any seasoning or additional boullion cubes to add flavor to the chicken before canning. I was going to cook mine with boullion cubes and a little seasoning so as to make chicken soup with it when i open the jars. Actually considered canning the cooked chicken with some frozen mixed vegetables so as to only need to make noodles when I used the cans. Thoughts?

[imstillworkin]

@mmabaddass It's just my preference, but I keep my food storage items basic because a jar of plain chicken is more versatile than a jar of chicken with taco seasoning for example. If you add vegetables, they end up kind of mushy because of the long processing time required for the chicken I also consider shelf life.  If you go by the shelf life of commercially canned foods, meat has a longer shelf life than vegetables. Adding vegetables shortens the shelf life of that jar.

[mmabaddass]

Outstanding and very simple to follow video and instructions. Thank you

[Allen2045]

Execelent video.

[grammykathycc]

Thank you, you explain things well.

[jvsm1971]

Kitchen SCISSORS are fab for cutting up meat instead of a knife..... much much quicker.

[jvsm1971]

@jvsm1971 Meant to say Kitchen Scissors are great for cutting up RAW meat.

[azascan]

poor little chicken

[MrBuckwilliam]

great video, i'm going out to get a pressure canner. the ending of your vid made me laugh... thank you so much :)

p.s, have you ever tried anything in gravy? or stews?

[imstillworkin]

@MrBuckwilliam I've never canned anything in a gravy because you're not supposed to add flour or cornstarch to anything you can. I know that you can buy commercially canned foods with gravies but I'll guarantee you they aren't using just plain ole flour. It's easy to just make a gravy with the broth when you open the jar to eat it. Happy canning!

[pgill61]

Thanks, you do a much better job than some other videos i have seen that don't really show the steps.

[ksweems]

Thank you SO much! I've been watching several YouTube vids on this subject and yours is the best by far! I was going back and forth between raw pack and cooking the chicken first and now I KNOW I will cook first. That's what my book says and it just looks better! Subscribing!! 

[Hoovesandpaws61]

Very nicely done.  How long will the chicken be good after it is canned?

[imstillworkin]

@Hoovesandpaws61 I've read that as a general rule the USDA says high acid foods (fruits, tomatoes, pickles) can be stored 18-24 months and low acid foods (meats, vegetables) can be stored 2-5 years. The canned chicken you buy in the store has a "best by" date 3 years out.

[quaffer22]

Now there's something I've not seen before: a lid popping.

Great addition to the vid.

I use both, raw & hot-pack methods, but must say the hot-pack looks nicer when done.

I lean toward raw-pack, because it's a bit faster and, well, I'm a bit lazy :D

[houndsman03]

Have you ever done thighs with the bone in? I think they are much more favorable in a receipt. I was wondering how the bone holds up to the canning process, if it turns to mush or?

[imstillworkin]

@houndsman03 I've never canned chicken with the bones but I've heard the bones turn out fine. I know what you mean about them turning to mush, I had that happen with a crock pot before. The processing time for bone-in chicken is a bit shorter. Process pints 1 hour 5 minutes, quarts 1 hour 15 minutes.

[houndsman03]

@italiancherrywine Thanks, that was what I was getting at, its a little bit more flavorful. I'll have to keep my eye out for a good buy on the boneless. Thanks

[katz217]

You are a good teacher.. One day i will be canning. Thanks again

[1930sgirl]

Thank you! I can't wait to try canning chicken...just waiting for my pressure canner to arrive.:)

[atticus9799]

Thanks for this great tutorial. I have said many times before that the pressure canner I bought 2 years ago mocks me from the attic. I am getting ready to give it a piece of my mind here pretty soon. I have considered doing raw pack, but after watching you do it this way, I may change my mind. Thanks again for your great videos!  Noreen

[katiatomsk]

I like to can mine raw and let the canner do the cooking. I do can turkey and I roast that first then can the way you are saying. We love turkey better in turkey/chicken salad. I love canning big quantities and then I have chicken, turkey, or beef ready to use. I sometimes take one whole day and just can all day and do several cases of meat.

[imstillworkin]

@katiatomsk I've canned it raw before and did a side by side taste test with the pre-cooked chicken. There was no difference in the taste or texture of the two. I don't like to can it raw because when you put the squishy raw meat in the jar it kind of cooks into one hunk and I had to rip it up to get it out of the jars. Plus it looks gross in the jars. Mainly, it's the gross looking jars that keeps me pre-cooking it, lol.

[katiatomsk]

@katiatomsk I use the canned chicken in dishes that appearance is not an issue. But I can see your point about the differences. I hope you have encouraged more people to can.

I use to have problems with white dusty jars because of the minerals in my water, but now I add a few tablespoons of vinegar to the water in the pressure canner and my jars come out beautiful. Just a tip incase someone else needs it.

[GoatHollow]

1 inch of head space then?

[imstillworkin]

@GoatHollow Yep, 1 inch head space.

[Hoovesandpaws61]

I'm getting spoiled seeing a video from you every day! Keep them rolling. I really enjoy them.

[katzcradul]

You use a lot more steps than me, but hey, that's the great thing about it. There's more than one way to do it. Your chicken looks great.

[roxiexd]

Thank you so much! This was very helpful

[TheCajuntransplant]

You make such great video's. Keep em coming

[docsimonson]

3 days and 3 lawyers? *snicker* I guess that leaves Congress out. Thanks for another great video!

[atticus9799]

@docsimonson Nope, Congress doesn't like to read things. Just vote on them! And forget about 3 days, they like to do things quick so that they can go on vacation.

[tracycolorado]

thanks , beautiful