How to safely can chicken at home
“Chicken? Really? That sounds gross!” Hear me out…
Home canned chicken is actually quite tasty! When you control the quality and the salt content, the flavor and versatility is amazing! Just think…. jars and jars of cooked, ready-to-eat chicken sitting there on the shelf begging to be used to make a super fast lunch or dinner. You can whip up BBQ Chicken Sliders, Chicken Tacos, Chicken Enchiladas, Teriyaki Chicken over rice, Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, Chicken Salad, add chicken to your green salad… your imagination can take over and you will wish you hadn’t lived so long without canning your own chicken! Especially once you see how ridiculously easy it is!
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*This recipe assumes you know the basic steps and safety measures needed for safe home canning. If you do not, please do your research and fully understand the potential consequences.
You will need:
- Chicken – I like to can boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but any cut of chicken will work. You can even use whole pieces bone-in and skin-on.
- Salt – Canning Salt or Kosher Salt. Don’t use table salt!
- Jars, lids, rings, basic canning equipment and a pressure canner.
If you do not raise your own chickens, watch for sales and buy as much as you can afford. There are a couple of stores near me that will occasionally have boneless skinless chicken breasts on sale for $0.99/lb, so of course, I buy 30 to 40 pounds as that will last months in my household!
If you are unable to can immediately and have room in your freezer, pop them in until you are able to can them up. My freezer is *magical* because no matter how much we eat out of it, there is never any room! I know, terrible problem to have… So, as I was saying… if you do freeze make sure to have them thaw before canning.
Prepare your jars and your canner. Your jars need to be super clean, but you do not want them to be hot when you place the chicken in them. (hot jars plus cold chicken could crack a jar). Thoroughly check your canner and add the required amount of water according to manufacture’s direction. Do not preheat you canner. (again hot water and cold jars = potential cracking)
Next, cut the chicken into cubes. If you are using whole pieces, you can simply skip this step and go straight to packing into jars.
Now pack the chicken into clean jars. Don’t be afraid to pack tightly as the chicken will shrink in the canner while processing. Leave 1 inch of head space. I am using pints and half-pints because this is the perfect amount of chicken for a meal for us. There are many households that can in quart jars. I would rather open 2 jars on occasion, than have uneaten chicken. Wide mouth jars make it easier to get the chicken out when you are ready to eat it.
Next add the salt. Do not skip this step as it does make a difference in the flavor of the finished product. I am using Mortons Kosher salt here. You *could* add flavoring in this stage if you wanted to: BBQ sauce, Taco seasoning, garlic and onion… I don’t add flavoring because I prefer to have the blank slate to create anything when I use the chicken, rather than being limited by a predetermined flavoring. I use 1/2 tsp for the pints and 1/4 tsp in the half-pint jars. Commercially canned chicken uses significantly more salt in theirs!
This is where you may think that adding water or broth is necessary, but it absolutely is not! You will create a mess in your canner if you do so! The chicken cooks while processing, it creates it’s own liquid, adding more will overflow your jars and could cause the lids to not seal. All you do now is wipe the rims of your jars with a towel that has a little vinegar on it, place the lids and tighten the rings to finger tight. Then simply move the jars into your cold pressure canner.
I have 2 pressure canners and I double stacked this one. YES, you can do that! Simply add a second rack between the layers (a towel will work in a pinch).
Place your lid on the canner and slowly bring the canner up to temperature. My canner vents for 10 minutes once it starts to steam, then place the weight. Start processing time when the canner reaches the appropriate pressure for your elevation. (10lbs where I live, higher elevations may be 15lbs- always check!) Process 75 minutes for pints or half-pints and 90 minutes for quarts. Remove from heat and allow the canner to cool naturally and release pressure. Never try to speed this process! Use caution to take the lid off once pressure has released.
Use your jar lifter to remove your beautiful jars of chicken onto a towel lined surface. Leave undisturbed for 24 hours.
After 24 hours, remove rings, check the seals, gently wash jars, label and store.
When you are ready to eat, they will be there!
Enjoy!
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