canning chicken....

I finally canned chicken this past week and I'm so sold on it! I wasn't going to blog about it but my sister asked me if I would and because I'm such a fan of it now, I couldn't turn her down.

Reasons I think you need to can meat too:
1. It's so easy. Don't be intimidated, it's much easier than you think.
2. You will have chicken ready to put into recipes anytime.
3. It's cost effective. Buy a whole bunch of chicken when it goes on sale and can it all. I bought chicken tenders for only $1.77/pound at Sprouts last week. Each pint jar will hold one pound of chicken. Do the math...$1.77 for a jar of chicken ready to go.
4. You will have a 3 month supply of chicken sitting on your shelf in no time for super yummy dinners!!

The directions I followed came with my All American Pressure Cooker as well as advice from the food storage guru herself, Wendy Dewitt. She has a book out now and her blog is http://www.everythingunderthesunblog.blogspot.com/

And here is my little disclaimer....If you choose to follow my directions, I cannot be held responsible for any damage or accidents that may occur. I highly, highly recommend reading the instructions that come with your pressure cooker. There I said it...my husband{an attorney} would be so happy!

What you will need:
Raw chicken
Salt
Pint jars (one pound of chicken per jar)
All American Pressure Cooker(mine is model #921 and will hold 14 pint jars)

STEP 1: Put your raw chicken and ½ tsp of salt into a clean jar. Stuff it in there pretty tight to make sure you get a full pound in there. Fill jars to ½” from the rim. NO water is added to the chicken. The juices from the chicken will cook out of the chicken during the cooking process and your chicken will be covered with juice. STEP 2: Wipe the rim of the jars. If the rim is not clean it could cause the jars not to seal properly.
STEP 3: Place the clean lids and screw bands on the jar. Do not OVER tighten the screw band.

STEP 4: Fill the pressure cooker with about an inch and a half of water.

STEP 5: Put your jars into the pressure cooker. 7 on the bottom rack and 7 on the top rack. Stagger the jars.
STEP 6: Put the lid on the pressure cooker {without the weight}. Tighten two wing nut bolts down at a time on opposite sides of the pressure cooker.

STEP 7: Turn the heat on high and watch for steam and small drops of water to start coming out of the vent.

STEP 8: After about 7 minutes of steam coming out of the vent, put the weight on the pressure cooker and watch for the pressure gauge to reach 10 pounds. Once it has reached 10 pounds of pressure and the weight is jiggling and sputtering several times a minute then begin timing your chicken for 75 minutes.

STEP 9: Once the 75 minutes is over, turn the heat off and leave your pressure cooker alone. Let it cool!! The pressure will slowly drop to zero. It is VERY important to NOT open the pressure cooker until it is cooled and the pressure has completely dropped. I learned my lesson the hard way on that one!!

{voila, here is the finished pruduct. I never said it was going to be beautiful. It looks like cooked chicken in a bottle!}

STEP 10: Remove the chicken from the pressure cooker and sit it on a towel on the counter. Let it continue to cool and check your seal to make sure the top are all on properly. Then you can rinse the bottles and then they are ready to be stored. I remove the screw bands to wash them and store them so that you don't end up with chicken broth under the band.

I've read that chicken can stay on the shelve for up to 3 years but that for taste and nutritional benefits a shorter shelf life is recommended. I personally won't let my sit for more than a few months. I will use it and replenish it when chicken goes on sale.