Monday, April 4, 2011

Canned Chicken today!


As a mother of 6 kids canning meat is a life saver. I usually don't spend more than $1.49 a pound for boneless skinless chicken breast. Canning your own Chicken is so much cheaper than buying it at the store. I have also bought canned chicken from the LDS cannery and I think my canned chicken tastes better or just the same.
SO today I did the chicken a little bit different than usual. I usually just use all boneless skinless chicken breast and I trim any fat that I see off. I was told that it is the fat that gives the chicken it flavor and you need some fat to flavor it. I love the darker chicken flavors the best. I found boneless skinless chicken thighs for $1.05 a pound so I trimmed as much fat off a whole bag of that (they were pretty fatty) then I cut up 3 family packs of all white meat. I did trim the big pieces of fat off just because I had fat from the dark meat as well.
So here is the directions if you would like to try it yourself! First you do need a pressure cooker. Meat can't be canned in a steam bath!
Get your jars and wash them out. Get your lids ready and set it all aside. I like to put my canning funnel on the jar and just put the meat in as I cut it up. The funnel keeps any meat from getting on the mouth of the jar. You are going to want to leave about a quarter inch space from the bottom of the last ring in the jar. After you have filled all your jars add 1 tsp of salt to each jar. Then add water, fill it up just to the point where the lid rings start. Then take a spatula or butter knife and work all the air pockets out. Gently push the knife around through the chicken until the bubbles and pockets are gone. Make sure you don't have any salt or chicken on the mouth of the jar. Make sure your lids are clean. Then put your lids on. Don't screw your lids down to tight. Put your jars in the caner, add enough water so that it is about a quarter high up the jars. Make sure your pressure caner lid is on securely and get to cook in. You are going to want to cook it for 90 minutes from the time the pressure is at the right spot.
When it is done just let it naturally cool on the stove. If you try to cool it in the sink to get the lid off you will loose the liquid in your jars. They say if it is canned properly it should be good for 1-2 years. Mine never lasts more than 6 months. I have also done pork and beef and you pretty much follow the same steps.

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