Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[Rod-T]

That's interesting. . So when you can ..do you cook it ..or strip from bone..? Is there some kind of brine you add to jar?
Sorry for all the newbie questions.

 

[Beekissed]

That's interesting. . So when you can ..do you cook it ..or strip from bone..? Is there some kind of brine you add to jar?
Sorry for all the newbie questions.

I just raw pack it~uncooked for those uninitiated to canning meat~add a tablespoon of salt(optional or can add less, depending on how you like your broth) and water and can it for 90 min. as per usual. I remove the breasts from the bone but everything else is left on the bones, the organs and any fat on them is placed in the jar as well. No matter how old the bird, no matter how tough the gizzard, canning is the great equalizer....it renders all meat so tender it falls off the bone and can easily be cut with a fork.

When you remove it from the jar it will just fall off the bones, those bones can then be given to the dogs, so nothing goes to waste. If you leave the skin on the birds, you can use that skin in the jar to add fats and then just remove that when you remove the bones, as it won't have a pleasing texture after canning.

When I'm less busy, I'll usually only can the breast, thighs, legs and organs, while cooking down the rest of the parts(backs, necks, ribs) for stock. Then I can that stock separately, render the fat off and freeze it to use in cooking later. This year I had so many other things on my chore list I cut the stock making out of the routine and just canned all the stock parts and left the fat in the jars. Six of one, half dozen of the other...it all gets eaten.

 

[Rod-T]

I just raw pack it~uncooked for those uninitiated to canning meat~add a tablespoon of salt(optional or can add less, depending on how you like your broth) and water and can it for 90 min. as per usual.  I remove the breasts from the bone but everything else is left on the bones, the organs and any fat on them is placed in the jar as well.  No matter how old the bird, no matter how tough the gizzard, canning is the great equalizer....it renders all meat so tender it falls off the bone and can easily be cut with a fork. 

When you remove it from the jar it will just fall off the bones, those bones can then be given to the dogs, so nothing goes to waste.  If you leave the skin on the birds, you can use that skin in the jar to add fats and then just remove that when you remove the bones, as it won't have a pleasing texture after canning. 

When I'm less busy, I'll usually only can the breast, thighs, legs and organs, while cooking down the rest of the parts(backs, necks, ribs) for stock.  Then I can that stock separately, render the fat off and freeze it to use in cooking later.  This year I had so many other things on my chore list I cut the stock making out of the routine and just canned all the stock parts and left the fat in the jars.  Six of one, half dozen of the other...it all gets eaten. 

That'd really cool.. thanks for explaining all that.. I'm gonna keep that in mind.. I've never butchered chickens yet.. but I've been thinking of trying it..
There is a guy over here that teaches a class on it.. I may take that first..
I'll have some roosters to do in a few months.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm so glad you are going to learn that. Once you taste your own birds you won't really want to eat any chicken from the store again...it has absolutely no flavor compared to a home grown bird, especially if one free ranges. After you've had your own, eating from the store is like slumming. Much like the difference between our eggs and the store bought ones...no comparison, really.

Keep us updated here as you learn? It's always cool to hear folks learning those things for the first time and it's a great comfort to know there are still folks wanting to learn such things.

 

[Rod-T]

I'm so glad you are going to learn that.  Once you taste your own birds you won't really want to eat any chicken from the store again...it has absolutely no flavor compared to a home grown bird, especially if one free ranges.  After you've had your own, eating from the store is like slumming.  Much like the difference between our eggs and the store bought ones...no comparison, really. 

Keep us updated here as you learn?  It's always cool to hear folks learning those things for the first time and it's a great comfort to know there are still folks wanting to learn such things. 

thanks. Just one more question. . I've canned jams ..using boiling water to set lids.. I suspect with meat. I'd have to use a pressure cooker to seal jars? Well that's what I've been told anyway.

 

[Beekissed]

A pressure canner is recommended, yes. I've also done it in the boiling water bath, just to try it out. I know old ladies who have been canning all things in a boiling water bath all their lives and so have their mothers before them. Before there ever were pressure canners, it was all done in a boiling water bath and folks did just fine.

As you are new to the practice of canning meat, it might be a good idea to stick to pressure canning. It's easy and not the fearful prospect everyone tries to make it out to be. The more simple and cheap the canner, the easier it all becomes. I picked up a Mirro canner on Amazon for $38 and free shipping. Easiest little canner anyone could ever use.

 

[Rod-T]

Thanks I'll probably go that route

 

[Talithahorse]

I have a side question. I have been using my home raised chickens to create chicken broth and for some reason my broth seems to lack a certain amount of depth to the flavor. If I leave the fat, it tastes greasy and kind of waxy flavored. When I skim the fat (like refridgerate it overnight, then skim the fat), it doesn't taste waxy/ greasy but it doesn't have any depth to the flavor. What am I doing wrong? I would like to can/ freeze the broth but want it to have great flavor. I am using Dorking, Rocks, or similar dual purpose and the flavor of the meat is excellent. Just don't know what I am doing wrong. I can't seem to make decent broth of any kind. Ideas? suggestions? (PS. I do cook it down with the bones, but I haven't tried using the feet)

 

[Beekissed]

Without tasting it, I'm not sure what you are lacking. I know I enjoy my stock and canned chicken much more now that I'm feeding them fermented feed...it has truly removed a gamy, barnyard note from the taste of the meat, eggs, fat and broth and replaced it with a nutty, rich clarity of flavor that it never had before.

The feet will certainly help, as they have wonderful flavor and collagen to add to the jar. Are you using the organs? These too can add more depth of flavor and different notes, particularly the liver. Adding the skin can add more of the fat. Sometimes just adding a few herbs/spices can help...garlic, onions, parsley, pepper, paprika, cumen, even brown sugar can all bring out different tones and more depth to the flavor of stock.

 

[bnjrob]

I have a side question. I have been using my home raised chickens to create chicken broth and for some reason my broth seems to lack a certain amount of depth to the flavor. If I leave the fat, it tastes greasy and kind of waxy flavored. When I skim the fat (like refridgerate it overnight, then skim the fat), it doesn't taste waxy/ greasy but it doesn't have any depth to the flavor. What am I doing wrong? I would like to can/ freeze the broth but want it to have great flavor. I am using Dorking, Rocks, or similar dual purpose and the flavor of the meat is excellent. Just don't know what I am doing wrong. I can't seem to make decent broth of any kind. Ideas? suggestions? (PS. I do cook it down with the bones, but I haven't tried using the feet)

It might be because it doesn't have any additives in it like the storebought stuff has. Storebought stuff has a lot of salt in it and may also have some onion and other stuff in it. It may also not be condensed enough like the storebought stuff is.

Adding in veggie waste (potato peels, onion skins, outer cabbage leaves, carrots too blechy to eat raw, celery ends etc), can help with flavor as well as adding in onions, garlic, celery, and herbs and spices. I have a bag in the freezer that I throw veggie *trash* into, for using in broth/stock making. Cooking the carcass to death till the bones are falling apart in the water and then straining and cooking it down to condense the flavors into a smaller amount of water can also help sometimes. I leave my fat in - but our birds don't really have much fat either so we don't have any greasy broth issues. But the fat helps with flavoring too and I also boil the skin too. If you aren't roasting your bird parts before you make broth, the roasting can also add some flavor. I will throw the bones/skins/etc into the roasting pan and roast it all till the bones are a good brown color.