What are you canning now?

[JulesChicks]

Hello all, I've been following this thread a bit and wanted to say I have immense respect for all of you and how active you are with canning. So inspiring! All I have ever canned has been making plum jam from our trees when I lived in California, both growing up and when I had my own home there. Of course that was with a water bath canner. We moved to WA state a couple of years ago and bought a property with a few acres and are working on renovating the house and reviving the land. We cleared a garden but the only plants that got a foothold with the rabbits was the pumpkins. We do have an orchard with several varieties of apples and plums and loads of wild blackberries.

Last week I ordered a pressure canner (the All American 921) which should come any day now. I plan to can chicken and veggies, soups, etc. Yesterday I happened upon an estate sale and guess what? They had an All American pressure canner - I think it's a 21 qt- the stamp on the bottom indicates it was made in 1982. It has a gauge and a petcock. I've been doing some research and the consensus online seems to be that it's a good idea to switch out the petcock for a vent pipe and regulator weight, maybe even the old pressure gauge and the rubber overpressure seal. I have to admit I'm a little nervous about using a pressure canner at all, and certainly an old one whose history is unknown. In fact, I even read on this thread an old post that recommended not to use old pressure cookers in case there were old stress cracks that are unseen. From my research though and simple observation, these All Americans have very thick walls and they are built to last but I would love some feedback on this question and whether I should make some updates and if so which ones. Should I test it first or just go ahead with some new parts. Thanks everyone and I hope to join your ranks soon! Aside- we are living in the small apartment over our garage (myself, husband and 2 kids) in 625sf, likely for another few months. My kitchen is tight with little counter space, but the biggest challenge is that the stove is apartment sized. There is one large burner and 3 small burners. I'm not sure anything else will fit but the canner, and maybe a small pot for the lids. The oven does work though!

Oh, I also wanted to know your opinions on whether I should return the new one or not. I paid $219 for it, including shipping. I paid $6 for the old one! Even if I put in a new vent pipe and weighted gauge and plug, I'm still under $50.

I will try to post some pics from my phone but BYC hasn't been letting me do that.

Thanks so much!!

 

[Beekissed]

It's likely your local extension office can check out that canner for you to see if there are any obvious issues and probably even give you advice on what and how you'll want to modify it to suit your needs. If they check it over and it is safe to use, I'd definitely send the new one right on back....those All Americans were built to last and are a classic in home canning.

A little too heavy duty and too many bells and whistles for my style, but my mom did many years of canning on an old one just like you describe...she preferred the weights to the gauge, though, because, in her words, "that pressure creeps up on you and the gauge is silent".

Welcome to the canning community and I wish you all manner of success in your endeavors!

 

[appps]

Should these bottles look like this straight out of the hot water bath?

It seems to be condensation inside the jars?

 

[Beekissed]

I've never used those kind of jars before, so not sure what they should look like when coming out of the canner....sorry, but I'm no help at all.

 

[JulesChicks]

Thank you Beekissed! I love your posts and highly respect your opinions. In fact, reading a post of yours on canning your chicken is what prompted me to buy a pressure canner sooner rather than later. I keep trying to convince my husband that canning will make a grown rooster tender - but I guess he'll have to taste to believe one day. If you wouldn't mind telling me how you prefer to do it now, was it no bone, with water, broth, etc? I read some people cook it first and I don't see the point. I'd like to can it raw, but do you debone first and then make broth and then can that? I will make bone broth (cooked for 24 hours to release everything from the bones and gel up) vs a quicker broth, so I could start that and then can it the next day.

Thanks so much!

ps: I think we do have a University extension office nearby, I will check with them.

 

[Raech]

So far i have made 7 quarts of tomato sauce; 3 pints of tomato sauce and 4 pints of spaghetti sauce going right now. I have more tomato sauce in the crockpot and on the stove. I let the crockpot cook down last night, and got the perfect consistancy for sauce by this morning. It was really nice after babysitting the stove to not have to babysit the crockpot yet still be productive.

 

[Beekissed]

Thank you Beekissed! I love your posts and highly respect your opinions. In fact, reading a post of yours on canning your chicken is what prompted me to buy a pressure canner sooner rather than later. I keep trying to convince my husband that canning will make a grown rooster tender - but I guess he'll have to taste to believe one day. If you wouldn't mind telling me how you prefer to do it now, was it no bone, with water, broth, etc? I read some people cook it first and I don't see the point. I'd like to can it raw, but do you debone first and then make broth and then can that? I will make bone broth (cooked for 24 hours to release everything from the bones and gel up) vs a quicker broth, so I could start that and then can it the next day.

Thanks so much!

ps: I think we do have a University extension office nearby, I will check with them.

I've canned chickens in all ways but it will make your life easier if you debone prior to canning it, use the bones and other parts for stock, then either can the meat with just salt and water or use your broth over the meat. I raw pack...I've never seen any sense in pre-cooking the chicken either~the flavor from the meat is sealed into the jar when raw packing, instead of dispersed into a large pot of water.

When I say easier, I mean easier when you open that jar for use...

It's even easier to can up the chicken with the bone in(NOT ribs, back or neck pieces...those small bones just crumble later when you are trying to get the meat off them...nightmare!), just breasts, thighs and legs....then the meat just slips off the bones when you take them out of the jar. I've done it that way more than any other but this year I'll be going back to deboning prior to the raw pack. The jar can be filled with more meat that way and you have only to open the jar and use the meat and broth inside, without having to slip out the bones and that little hip socket/gristle from the thigh.

The best thing about canning your broth separate, though, is that you can cook it down and concentrate it so that you use less jars and can dilute that stock later when making your actual soup. You can also render off the fat when making your stock...this stuff is just liquid gold! It turns any recipe into a silky, creamy and unctuous flavor fest. I skim it off the broth and freeze it flat in qt freezer bags, breaking off a piece when I need it for cooking.

This year I'm going to go a step further with my bones from the stock...usually I just give them to the dogs but this year I hope to cook them down further in the pressure canner, run them through the meat grinder along with organ meats, then add some raw eggs and flour for binder so I can bake them into dog treats. I'll keep those in a bag in the freezer so there's no chance of them getting moldy or rancid and just dole them out this winter.

 

[JulesChicks]

Great suggestions Bee! I can see how any smaller bones would be a major pain to remove from meat after canning. I never thought about feeding the cooked bones to the dogs but I guess it makes sense if they are cooked to the point of crumbling as after making bone broth or having been canned. And saving jar space by concentrating the broth is brilliant!

Question: can someone give me an estimate for how much jar space just the meat of a chicken takes up? For reference, I will be processing extra cockerels (once we get up the nerve as it will be our first time). Haven't decided exactly which ones yet but some are full Marans and one is Marans/Ameraucana - taking more after his big daddy Marans - he was huge. We haven't weighed them but I'm guessing live weight around 8+ lbs. Thanks!!

 

[Beekissed]

Great suggestions Bee! I can see how any smaller bones would be a major pain to remove from meat after canning. I never thought about feeding the cooked bones to the dogs but I guess it makes sense if they are cooked to the point of crumbling as after making bone broth or having been canned. And saving jar space by concentrating the broth is brilliant!

Question: can someone give me an estimate for how much jar space just the meat of a chicken takes up? For reference, I will be processing extra cockerels (once we get up the nerve as it will be our first time). Haven't decided exactly which ones yet but some are full Marans and one is Marans/Ameraucana - taking more after his big daddy Marans - he was huge. We haven't weighed them but I'm guessing live weight around 8+ lbs. Thanks!!

Depends on the breed and size of the bird, of course, but a large, DP rooster~even with the bones removed~won't fit into one qt. jar. It would even be stretching it to fit one of my large WR hens in a jar(breasts, thighs, legs)...they have some mighty big breasts. I'd allow a jar and a half to two jars for each large DP bird when thinking about how many jars to have ready.

 

[rancher hicks]

Don't have time to read all the posts I've missed but,

I'm making Tomato Basil sauce. It calls for 1/3 Basil. Can I use the stems? Chopped up of course but I'm not sure I'll have enough with out the stems.