What are you canning now?

[lcertuche]

I've been doing more dehydrating lately than anything. The last thing I canned was Amish Coleslaw. I really loved how it turned out and plan or making more as soon as i can pick up some more jars.

 

[Beekissed]

Finished up the meat harvest/canning season with 6 1/2 qt. of boneless, packed meat and 6 1/2 qt. of concentrated stock...and that's all folks!!!!

Thirty-three birds harvested this season, so plenty of meat for winter here. So glad that's done!

 

[mich9510]

Finished up the meat harvest/canning season with 6 1/2 qt. of boneless, packed meat and 6 1/2 qt. of concentrated stock...and that's all folks!!!!  e   Thirty-three birds harvested this season, so plenty of meat for winter here.   So glad that's done! 

I was just wondering why you can your chickens instead of just freezing them. Is it just personal preference, a freezer space issue, or something else? Not being smart or anything I'm just wondering since I'm fairly new to chickens/meat birds. I'm also fairly new to canning as well.

 

[Beekissed]

I was just wondering why you can your chickens instead of just freezing them. Is it just personal preference, a freezer space issue, or something else? Not being smart or anything I'm just wondering since I'm fairly new to chickens/meat birds. I'm also fairly new to canning as well.

Several reasons....the power goes out here frequently and for as long as 2 wks or more, so any meat in the freezer risks a chance of going to waste. That's fine if it happens in the winter but when it happens in the summer, total loss. The last time I risked the freezer I lost 50 CX birds, raised lovingly on free range to the peak of flavor and size, then butchered out single handedly by me....so tons of food, money, work and time down the tubes in one incident. Never again.

Most of the chickens I kill are culled older birds, so the meat is tougher..especially these free rangers of mine, so trying to cook one of those in such a way as to render it tender can also cook it bone dry, even if you use a crockpot or a cooking bag. Canning these older birds renders their meat so tender you can cut it with a fork easily and it also seals the fat and moisture into the muscle fibers, leaving it moist and flavorful.

Canning them also precooks them, so they are very quickly ready for any recipe I may need them for.

Canning them also stores them in better shape and for longer than one can do in a freezer and still have a good product.

In short, for my life, it's just the wise thing to do.

 

[lcertuche]

I believe canned chicken taste better too, it is naturally tenderized from the canning process. It last much longer too. It is an almost instant meal taking much less time to prepare than frozen. All points mentioned in the earlier posts.

I am so disappointed that I am without a pressure canner. My cockerels await. I will have to give up and freeze them but I think if they aren't ate soon I can still can them if I get the chance even after freezing.

 

[jerryse]

Got 7 old red hens plucked . Going to can these today .

 

[lcertuche]

Ummm, canned chicken. Can't get better than that.

 

[lcertuche]

Someone gifted me with a 16 qt. pressure canner and a neighbor has told me she has some jars I can have. I'm so tickled. I can now do some low-acid things like meat. I love canned meat. The one that gave me the canner also gave me 20 lbs. of ground beef, 2 packages of pork chops, 2 packages of fryer legs, 1 pork roast, a frozen turkey, and a ham. I am blessed beyond measure.

 

[Beekissed]

I'll say!!!!!

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow!!!

 

[lcertuche]

Yes indeed. I am blessed abundantly. "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom" Luke 6:38. It was a miracle but my family are always asking me "When did you pray for that?" Because I always say "Okay, we are going to pray and believe for _______." If I never get _______ then I don't really need it or there is something better God has for me. I never have much to give others but I give and do what I can and God remembers. You can never outgive God. The woman who did this didn't even know us very well and she blessed my entire family buying my children clothes and toys. I use to worry constantly how to feed my family on our meager funds but then I decided God fed Elijah, the birds of the field, the wild animals and he will feed us. Another woman from church (a neighbor) has offered me some canning jars she has in a storage building, and yet another lady has given me clothes for my grandson and clothes for me. Our church also has a clothes closet where I help out at that gives clothes to the community and I get clothes for my sons and DH there. Our church also gives us produce when they get hundreds of pounds of produce. I got potatoes, tomatoes, salads, bananas, bread from them and what the church members didn't claim which was still many, many pounds went to their food bank for the public. A friend gave me 2 deer shoulders. When I told her that I had been believing for deer meat she said that must be why her husband got a deer because it had been 3 years since he shot a deer.