Hello all-
I am going to try canning some cockerels as soon as the weather permits butchering and I have a few questions:
1. Is it best to let the boys rest in the fridge for 3 days before canning or does it matter because it will be pressure cooked?
2. Do I raw pack it tight or loose?
3. How much head space does the can need? (I will not be adding any liquid).
4. Can you make schmaltz out of the skin? Trying to decide whether it is worth the trouble to scald and pluck the boys so I can make something with the skin or just to skin them.
Thanks so much~
No need to rest the meat when canning it...it comes out completely tender no matter what.
Pack is as tight as you like or as loose as you like, depending on how much meat you want per jar....most agree that tightly packed raw packing is the most desired.
The usual head space you'd use in any canning. I'd suggest you add liquid, as chicken doesn't possess much blood in the muscle tissue, so not adding liquid to your head space fill line will leave you with meat sticking up out of the available liquid and too much head space, as it all tends to cook/shrink down in the canning process if you don't get it tightly packed.
Cockerels and roosters generally don't have a lot of fat on their bodies, though these WR males have surprised me greatly on the amount they have...was able to render a good bit of fat from their carcasses, which is unusual to say the least. Usually the hen stores WAY more fat than the rooster. There is a lot of fat to be had in the skin and if it's worth it to you to have that extra amount, go for it. I always skin my birds so at least that fat store is one I do not harvest....I get plenty otherwise. If you have a very lean breed/bird and really want that measure of fat, I'd say pluck instead of skin.
I've switched to deboning raw and raw packing my chicken meat and have been incredibly impressed with the finished product compared to when I canned bone in...I'm able to salvage more of the meat(I cook the bones~ with any meat still attached~ down for stock, pick those and can the picked meat also, then render the fat and freeze it, can up the stock). When I do it this way, I usually cut the raw meat into bite sized pieces prior to packing it in the jar...you wouldn't believe how much meat you can pack into a quart jar that way!
I started doing it that way to lessen waste, to better utilize my jar and shelf space and to lessen the work on the back end of the product and I know now I've found my favorite method of canning chicken. I can the picked off the bone meats into pints, which makes them easy to add to instant soup mixes, to make some chicken salad, etc.
