Canning Chicken In A Pressure Cooker Raw Pack Recipe 385 Food

CANNING CHICKEN OR RABBIT

Steps:

• Start by preparing your jars and getting water in the canner heating. You want the canner hot, but not boiling, when the jars are ready to be processed. If you are new to using a pressure canner, see this article for full pressure canning instructions. This includes more detailed information and step-by-step instructions on how a pressure canner works.

CANNED CHICKEN (RAW PACK METHOD)

Steps:

• Fill the pressure cooker with 2 inches of water and begin heating it up (hot, but not boiling).
• Place a rack at the bottom of the pressure canner to avoid jars rattling and breaking.
• Place clean jars into the pressure canner while the water is heating up to keep the jars warm.
• Chop chicken breast into small pieces, about 1-inch square.
• Wash hands and grab jars from the canner (be sure to dump out any water that may have gotten into the jars).
• Using tongs and a large funnel, fill each jar with about two cups of chicken, leaving 1 1/4 inch headspace (or 1 1/4 inch of empty space at the top of the jar).
• Using your tongs or bubble remover tool, gently press chicken into the jars to maintain proper headspace.
• Add about 1/2 inch of hot water into each jar.
• Add optional 1/2 teaspoon salt to each jar (see note on additional seasonings).
• With a clean cloth and a bowl of very hot water (or vinegar), wipe down the rims of each jar to help each jar seal correctly.
• Place your canning lids and bands on each jar, tightening them down to fingertip tight. Don't over tighten your lids, people have just as many problems from over tightened lids as they do under tightened lids.
• Place all jars into the pressure canner using jar lifters, add your lid following the manufacturer's instructions for your specific model and turn the heat up to medium on the stove.
• Once steam begins coming out of the steam vent, start the timer for 10 minutes so the canner has enough time to push all air out of the canner.
• After 10 minutes of venting, add your weight (also known as a rocker or jiggler). Check the chart to know how much pressure you need to use based on your pressure canner and elevation.
• Allow the pressure to come up slowly. Don't try to speed this process up because you'll have to spend more time getting the heat stabilized once it reaches the right pressure anyway.
• Once you're getting 4 "jiggles" per minute, or your dial gauge has come up to pressure, start your timer and process the chicken. If you're canning pint jars, you will process them for 1 hour 15 minutes (75 minutes). If you're using quart jars, you will process for 1 hour 30 minutes (90 minutes).
• Once the time is up, turn the heat off and allow the pressure canner to come down to zero pressure naturally (do not remove the weighted gauge).
• When the pressure is down to zero, carefully remove the weighted gauge to allow any extra steam release and the pressure canner to normalize before removing the lid.
• Carefully remove the canning lid and, using your jar lifter, remove the jars and place them on a towel-lined counter that's draft-free and in an area where the jars can sit and cool overnight, or for 12-16 hours.
• Once the jars are completely cooled you will want to check the seals to make sure each jar is sealed correctly and is ready to sit on your pantry shelf, waiting for a busy day where a jar of canned chicken will come in handy!
• Remove bands and check to be sure all the seals are solid. If any jars didn't seal correctly, place those jars into the refrigerator and consume within a day or two.
• Be sure to label your jars so you always know what's in them and when they were canned!

CANNING CHICKEN IN A PRESSURE COOKER - RAW PACK RECIPE - (3.8/5)

Steps:

• Prepare chicken: Remove any excess fat from the fresh chicken breasts, then cut in large chunks (4 or 5 pieces per breast). Set aside in the refrigerator until you are ready to fill the jars. Warm up the canning jars by running them through a dishwasher cycle (heated dry turned on) without any detergent. Leave door closed until ready to fill jars. Heat 3 quarts of water. You will be pouring this into the canner. (You don't want to boil it, but it just needs to be hot. For raw packed foods (like as in this instance), the water should only be brought to 140°F.) Wash lids with soap and water and set aside. Preheating lids is NOT necessary. However, if you want to, cover lids with water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer (180°F) over medium heat for 10 minutes. Keep lids hot until ready to use. To prevent seal failure, do not boil lids. Using your warmed up pint-sized jars, pour 1/2 teaspoon salt and scant 1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules into the bottom of each jar. If using quart-sized jars, use 1 teaspoon salt and a scant 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules. Loosely fill jars with chicken chunks, leaving 1 1/4 -inch headspace for expansion during processing. Do not add any water or broth. The meat will form its own liquid as it cooks in the canner. (FYI, in case you are wondering, this picture does not show 1 1/4 -inch headspace. So leave more headspace than shown.) Wipe the rim of the jar with a clean, damp paper towel to remove any bits of chicken or grease that may interfere with the seal. Center a lid on the jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight. Pour 3 quarts of boiling water into the canner, up to the 3 quart water line marked on the inside (in my canner, this is the lowest line marked near the bottom; your instruction manual will confirm if this is the case for your canner). Always add water before setting jars in the canner. Set the rack inside and evenly place jars on the rack. The jars may touch. If you have an extra rack to place between the layers of the pint jars, you may set 10 pint jars on the bottom, put the rack on them, then stagger stack 10 more jars on the top layer. If you do not have an extra rack, you may only be able to stagger stack 9 jars on the top layer. (Stagger stack means you place one jar on top of two.) Cover. Do not place the pressure regulator on the vent pipe yet. Turn heat on high. When steam begins flowing steadily out of the vent pipe (for me, it usually heats for about 15 minutes before this occurs), put timer on for 10 minutes. Maintain a moderate steam flow. This procedure is called "exhausting". After the 10 minutes are up, put the pressure regulator on the vent pipe, increase the heat to high, and wait for the pressure to reach 11 pounds pressure (if you are below 2,000 feet altitude). (Plan on 5 to 10 minutes to reach pressure.) (Process at 12-pounds for 2,001-4,000 feet altitude, and 13-pounds for 4,001-6,000 feet.) Once your pressure has been achieved, put the timer on for 75 minutes if using pints and 90 minutes if using quarts. Adjust your heat so that the correct pressure is maintained. To do so, you will need to keep checking it. When the time is up, turn off heat. Wait for the pressure to drop. Pressure is completed reduced when the air vent/ cover lock has dropped and no steam escapes when the pressure regulator is tilted. This may take 45 minutes or longer. (Leave the pressure regulator on the vent pipe during this time.) When pressure has been completely reduced (and the air vent/cover lock has dropped), remove pressure regulator from vent pipe and let canner cool for 10 minutes. Take the jars out of the canner and set on a towel to cool. (FYI, the liquid in the jars will not reach up to the top. If you notice some chicken juice residue on the outside of your bottles, that's okay. Sometimes they can leak if they have been packed too tightly, but it doesn't wreck the seal.) Do not disturb the cans as they cool. After the recommended 12 hours, you may wipe the jars off, test the seals, remove bands, date the lids with a permanent marker, and store in a cool, dry place. (If any of the lids have not sealed, you will want to place the jar in the fridge for immediate use or reprocess it, before the 12 hour cooling period of course. To know if it is not sealed before the 12 hour mark, look at the lid closely to see if it has flattened or turned concave on the top. If it has, it is sealed. If it is convex, it may not have sealed and I would store it in the fridge until you can manually test it by pressing the center of the lid and seeing if it flexes up and down when pressed.)