Can 'O Bantam

[Rujzin]

I have been looking at articles on pressure canning chicken. The idea is to chop raw chicken into one inch cubes and pack them loosely in a jar. No water is needed, and the chicken both cooks and fills with juice during the canning process. It will supposedly last up to three years and makes tender, non-mushy, flavorful chicken.

Amazing so far.

Then I started eyeing my quart jars and my little bantam roosters. We process our bantams, which are amazing, rich tasting little "cornish hens." I am pretty confident one little rooster would fit in a single quart jar with some room to spare.

But I am looking at putting a whole bantam in. Not diced up, bones would be involved.

Thoughts?

If not a whole chicken, what about a quart of mini drumsticks, a quart of thighs? Quartering is fine, I just don't want to debone. Or hack into bits.

Has anyone attempted this? I am happy to experiment, but if anyone has any hands-on experience doing this then all the better. I would love to free up freezer space and dump the need for all of those freezer bags (although if this fails, I'll do the mason jar freezer storage instead).

 

[donrae]

I've not done a whole bantam, but I've done leg quarters in quart jars. I just cram them in, basically, and process. the Ball Blue Book has instructions for canning bone-in chicken. If you don't have that book, invest in it. It's under $10 and an invaluable resource.

 

[Rujzin]

How embarrassing. I have that book, but I skipped over everything and focused on the jam recipes like a fool. I will go back and peek at it. Bone in and quartered is perfectly fine with me so long as I don't have to completely debone.

Thank you for the fast reply and for the welcome

 

[donrae]

No worries. Canned chicken is the bomb to have on hand for "those nights". I have a silkie rooster I may be processing later this spring.....not sure about canning the black meat, how would that look in the jar? I'm thinking

, but it may make a great conversation piece!

 

[BBQJOE]

Somehow I ended up with a canned chicken from the grocery. Not sure how they did it, but they got a whole chicken in a #5 can.
When I open it, it was nothing but a bunch of mushy chicken and bones.

My puking smiley isn't working.

 

[donrae]

I was watching Chopped one time and they had to use that whole canned chicken....

My canned chicken comes out much better. It is soft and tender, true, but it's still got some texture. I still want to see the can of silkie