Canning Chicken Meat

[3goodeggs]

Great job!
I need to get my courage up still.

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Bbekissed...nice!

I canned our 6 chickens. First timer here. They came out good. Going to can some chicken soup. Hoping dh gets a deer so I can do that. Anyone got some good recipes for venison?

 

[Beekissed]

I might be picking up 10 free DP roosters, 7 mo. old and older, for FREE this weekend...to put in the jar. Going to feed them for a couple of weeks on fermented feed before processing but you really can't beat 30 lbs of chicken on the bone for free that have been raised and fed up to size by someone else and merely finished for sweetness here. Takes all the work and cost out of raising meat. Love FREE.

 

[Hennyetta]

Those of you who pressure cook the chicken to debone it before canning... do you put water in the pressure cooker with the chicken(s) or do you rely on the juices that cook out? If you put water in, how much?

 

[foreverlearning]

Those of you who pressure cook the chicken to debone it before canning... do you put water in the pressure cooker with the chicken(s) or do you rely on the juices that cook out? If you put water in, how much?

Yes, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. You don't want to cover the meat.

 

[Arielle]

Don't forget to make soup-- my kids just open a "can" and reheat.

Thanks Be for the tip on giving the legs to the dog-- I love to knaw on bones, eating the gristle ( figure it is better than shark cartilage) and yet I would NOT be fighting your grandma for those legs. lol

 

[BCMaraniac]

Don't forget to make soup-- my kids just open a "can" and reheat.

Thanks Be for the tip on giving the legs to the dog-- I love to knaw on bones, eating the gristle ( figure it is better than shark cartilage) and yet I would NOT be fighting your grandma for those legs. lol

I'm with you Arielle. I gnaw on end of the bones myself......but I don't think I'm up for the chicken feet!!

 

[Chris Duke]

Well, I'm just learning how to raise chickens, but I probably can about 20-30 birds per year.

I prefer to use a big pot because I usually do 4 at a time. I cut them in half so they all fit into my 22qt pot (pressure cooker).

I've both pressure cooked them and just simmered till semi tender. I prefer to just simmer these days. I like to just under cook them. They get plenty cooked in the Mason Jars after removing the bones. I cook them just long enough that I don't have a bunch of meat sticking to the bones.

I add my basic spices while simmering along with carrots, onion, and celery. Then after deboning the birds, I throw the bones back in and simmer on low for a good hour before straining anything out of the pot. I cook them one day and can the next. That way I get the chance to refrigerate and skim off the hardened chicken fat. I also can the chicken fat after rendering it down for use in pie crusts, etc instead of lard. Makes a crazy good chicken pot pie crust! I add everything to the pot, meat, spices, and veggies, then top off with fluoride free water for the simmer.

I use the broth to top off the Mason jars. I add a little broth before adding the chicken to help fill any air gaps. Saves time.

Favorite use for my home canned chicken besides chicken curry and chicken & dumplings is Cesar Salad. It blends real well with the cheese and dressing for that salad. Mmmm, sooo good!

 

[foreverlearning]

Great idea with the fat for the pie crusts, I'll have to try that.

 

[Beekissed]

I will be finishing up my last chicken canning today and tomorrow. So far I've canned 3 doz. jars of chicken and also broth. The fat is skimmed off and frozen into cubes for later cooking. We have eaten 3 different soups from this year's processing and I can honestly say, after doing this for most of my life, these chickens taste better than any I've ever had before. These ancient and young, breeds of all kinds, roosters obtained on the cheap and fed out on FF have been the most flavorful chicken I've ever had the fortune to eat. The fermented feed took all the gaminess out of them and the canner took all the tough out, leaving golden broth, flavorful and tender meat and a mild, gourmet taste to it all.

Today I expect I'll get another dozen or more jars of the same. What a feeling to have a source of meat that isn't raised commercially, with all that encompasses, and know that something that would ordinarily be spurned as too tough and old for consumption was turned into something that is tender and the best tasting chicken I've ever had. I thank God for it!