Home Canned Chicken
- Brianne Thomas
- 9 hours ago
- 6 min read
Forgot to defrost dinner again? Power outages ruining everything in your freezer? You can have tender, juicy chicken that’s ready when you are. This shelf-stable protein is the perfect addition to your pantry shelves!
Friends, we have a slight problem. As I write this, 40 states (including mine) are currently enmeshed in a historic winter storm, and more winter storms are expected to hit in the next few days. I’m not rushing to the grocery store (they’re likely cleaned out by now anyway), I’m not stressing about what we’ll eat, and I’m not settling for questionable store-bought canned soups. I can’t think of a better time to get some shelf-stable proteins on the shelves.
If you didn’t have the knowledge of home food preservation prior to this winter storm, take charge now. Let’s work together to get your shelves filled. I promise you’ll be so glad that you did!
Not sure about pressure canning? Why not give freeze-drying a try? Check out my review on Harvest Right Freeze Dryer.
Why Pressure Can Chicken?
Easy to Prepare. Even if you’re new to preserving food, canning chicken is super easy to do! Just a few steps are all it takes to get delicious, home-cooked chicken on your pantry shelves in no time.
It’s super convenient. I can’t tell you how many times having this little gem ready to go has saved me at dinner time. The meat is already cooked and can quickly be added to recipes.
It’s delicious. Unlike the questionable stuff sold in the cans at the supermarket, home-canned chicken actually tastes pretty darn good. Probably because it’s real meat, broth or water, and salt, which is totally optional.
It Saves Freezer Space. Home canning is a great way to preserve food and make room in your freezer.
It’s Emergency Ready. If there's a weather emergency like a big snowstorm or hurricane, you'll likely lose power or have to evacuate your home. Having shelf-stable, home-canned food items may quite literally become a lifesaver!
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How to Use Home-Canned Chicken
If you’re in an emergency situation, such as a power outage or backpacking, you can eat home-canned chicken straight from the jar. However, I typically like to make a meal out of it. We love it in recipes like:
Equipment Needed to Pressure Can Chicken
Tools
You’ll need a basic canning utensil kit that has a jar lifter, a debubbler wand, and a funnel.
Pressure Canner
Because meat is a low-acid food, you cannot water bath can it. You’ll need to use a pressure canner, not to be confused with a pressure cooker. These are not interchangeable! You cannot pressure can using an InstantPot. I have a 23-quart Presto Pressure Canner. I ordered an additional canning rack so that I could run a max-load of 18 pints at a time.
Jars, Lids, and Rings
Of course, you’ll need jars to can the chicken. I have used brand-name jars and no name jars, and they both work just the same.
Lids, however, are a very different story. Don’t go cheap when it comes to lids! Save those cheap lids for vacuum sealing or craft projects. The last thing you want is to open your canner and see your lids have failed. I’ve been there and trust me, it's not a good time. My absolute favorites are the For Jars lids, and a close runner-up is Ball brand lids. I’m not affiliated with either brand.
When it comes to rings, you can use the cheap ones that come with the no-name jars as long as they are not dented, rusted, or in some other way compromised.
Prepare for Canning:
To prepare jars for canning, I like to place my clean, room-temperature jars into my canning pot with room-temperature water. I allow my jars and water to come to the same temperature at the same time. You don’t want boiling water; you’re just heating everything up at this point.
Place a clean kitchen towel on the counter space where you intend to place your hot jars once removed from the canner. If the kitchen towel is on the thin side, like a flour sack, double up your towels.
Once your chicken is ready for canning, carefully remove the jars from the pot using your canning jar lifter and empty the hot water back into the pot. Place the hot jars on the prepared kitchen towel and begin adding the meat to the jars.
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Helpful Tips for Pressure Canning Chicken
Fresh vs. Store-Bought. If you’re using your own chickens that you’ve butchered, it's important to dress them and let them chill for 6 to 12 hours before you start canning. If you're using store-bought chicken, it's already been dressed and chilled, so you can skip that process. You want to ensure the chicken is completely thawed before you begin the canning process.
Pressure Canner. Water bath canning is not an approved safe method for meat. It is absolutely essential to use a pressure canner.
Bones. If you choose to keep the bones in, you will have to cut the chicken pieces up before canning and make sure you can get those pieces to fit into the jars.
Seasonings. I like to can our chicken plain with just a little salt. You can certainly add a variety of seasonings, but keep in mind that the canning process may alter the taste.
Liquid. The liquid in the final product is safe to consume. You have essentially made a chicken broth.
Siphoning. Loss of liquid may occur during the canning process, which is normal. If there is any meat above the liquid in your jars, it may become slightly discolored but will still be safe to eat.
Questionable. When in doubt, throw it out. Botulism can’t be seen or smelled. If your canned chicken doesn’t look or smell right when you’re ready to consume it, toss it out.
For more information on safe canning, check out the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Let’s Get Started!
What Are The Approved Methods for Home Canning Chicken
There are two approved methods for canning chicken. I personally prefer the Hot Pack Method.
Hot Pack – Boil, steam, or bake meat until about two-thirds done. Add 1 teaspoon salt per quart to the jar, if desired. Fill jars with pieces and hot broth, leaving 1 inch headspace.
Raw Pack – Add 1 teaspoon salt per quart, if desired. Fill jars loosely with raw meat pieces, leaving 1 inch headspace. Do not add liquid.
How Long to Process Home-Canned Chicken
For jars without bones (both hot and raw pack methods), process pints for 75 minutes and quarts for 90 minutes
For jars with bones (both hot and raw pack methods), process pints for 65 minutes and quarts for 75 minutes
For Dial-gauge pressure canners, process jars at 11 pounds pressure (altitudes of 0 to 2,000 ft), or at 12 pounds pressure (altitudes of 2,001 to 4,000 ft).
For Weighted gauge pressure canners, process jars at 10 pounds pressure (altitudes of 0 to 1,000 ft), or at 15 pounds pressure (altitudes above 1,000 ft).
What to Do After the Pressure Canner Process
Once your chicken has completed the processing time at the proper pressure, turn off the burner and allow the pressure to drop back down to zero. Do not remove the pressure regulator until the pressure is back to zero.
Carefully remove the pressure regulator and the canning lid. Remove the lid from the canner completely. Allow the jars to rest in the pot for about 5-10 minutes. This will allow them to adjust to having the lid taken off the canner.
Carefully remove the jars from the canner using your canning jar lifter and place them on the prepared kitchen towel. Allow the jars to rest on the counter for 24 hours and listen for pops of the lids (my favorite part!).
Once the jars have completely cooled and rested for 24 hours, remove the rings from the jars and gently tap the center of the canning lid on each jar. If the lid pops back up, your lid did not seal properly, unfortunately. It happens! If it's just one jar, place that one in the refrigerator and use it within a couple of weeks. If it's several jars, remove all of the lids, wipe the rims of the jars with vinegar, add new lids, and reprocess them again in the canner.
If your jars are all sealed properly (YAY!), use soap and warm water to wipe the outside of the jars before storing.
More Home Food Preservation
How to Store Home-Canned Chicken
Label and store the jars in a dark, cool cabinet, basement, or cellar.
How Long Does Home-Canned Chicken Last?
Properly prepared and stored, canned chicken can last about 18 months. The integrity of the seal may begin to deteriorate after that.
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