Canning Chicken Step by Step

Canning chicken meat at home is simple. It is ready to be used as a main dish or can be added to many other dishes. In this post, I’ll show you how to can chicken step by step.

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Over the years, I’ve gotten so much better at meal planning, shopping for what I need instead of what I think I need, and staying within a budget. However, I am still not as good when it comes to thawing things ahead of time so I can use them in the said meal plan… Which is a problem… And also the reason that I learned how to can meat.

It might take a little extra work, but once you place that sealed jar on the pantry shelf it’s there to save you in case of brain malfunction. It saves me over and over again I tell you.

Canning Chicken Step by Step…

I don’t can all of my meat but I try to always have a few jars on the shelf. It really doesn’t take too much time and it’s a super simple process. Let me show you how to can chicken meat.

Benefits of Canning Chicken…

• No need to thaw – as I mentioned above, the fact that canned chicken is right there on the shelf ready to use is a huge life saver for me!
• Save space in the freezer – if you are a homesteader or (and) a hunter you know how valuable freezer space is. I always assumed that canning chicken would be this huge project that I would have to spend a lot of time researching and performing but I was so surprised to find out that canning meat is very simple. So now, in order to save my freezer space for other things, I try to can some of my meat.
• A great skill to have – I am not one to expect the worst out of this universe, so I’m not going to tell you to make sure you are prepared for it. However, I’ve seen times where there isn’t as much meat at the grocery store as there should be so I’m just going to add here that learning how to can chicken is a great skill to have in your tool belt… Just in case.

Raw Pack vs. Hot Pack…

When canning meat, you can choose to use the raw pack or the hot pack method. In the raw pack method, you cut the meat, pack it into the jar, add a tiny bit of liquid or nothing at all, and process the meat. It’s a simple method that I show how to do in my post about canning venison meat.

In the hot pack method, you cook the meat just a little bit before you pack it into the jars, add some liquid and process. The benefit of the hot pack method is that during the cooking the meat loses water content and shrinks and you can pack more into a jar. Some say that it also improves the shelf life (however, I gotta say that my raw pack venison lasts for a year and more…).

For meat like venison or beef, I always prefer the raw pack method. But when it comes to poultry or rabbit meat I prefer the hot pack method simply because it’s hard to take the raw meat off the bone and I feel like a whole lot of it is left behind.

Canning Chicken 3 Different Ways…

1. The first way is to cut a whole chicken into pieces, leave the bone in, and pack the jars with the chicken pieces (bone-in). Then, clean the rim of the jar, cover it with the lid, close it with the band, and process in the pressure canner the exact same way I do below.
   In this way, we left the bone in and didn’t add any liquid to the jars. The chicken will release its own juices while you process it in the canner.
   My problem with this was that it was just hard to stick the pieces of chicken with the bones inside the jars. It seems like there is a lot of wasted room and I don’t eat the bones so why can them?
2. The second way to do this is to try to take the raw meat off the bones, pack the jars with the raw meat (don’t add any liquid), clean the rim, close the jar, and process the same way that I do below.
   My problem with this method is that it takes forever to remove the raw meat from the small bones, it’s a nightmare of a job, and there is always a lot that is left behind.
   If you are canning chicken breast or boneless chicken thighs from the store, this will probably be the easiest way to go, but here on the homestead chicken comes whole so this doesn’t work for me.
3. I choose the third way… I choose the hot pack when it comes to poultry (or rabbit) meat. When the chicken is cooked, the meat falls off the bone and it takes just minutes to pack the jars. I get to use ALL of the meat, nothing is left behind and there is no wasted space in the jars. In this canning chicken tutorial, I’ll show you step by step how I do this.

Ingredients…

• Chicken – you can use a whole chicken or chicken pieces, like, just chicken breast or chicken thighs.
• Water or chicken stock – in the tutorial below, you’ll see that I used the water from the pressure cooker (the water I cooked the chicken in) to add to the jars. If you are canning chicken that is already cooked like leftover roasted chicken or leftover Thanksgiving turkey for example, you can use water or homemade or store-bought chicken stock instead.
• Salt – some say that salt helps preserve the taste of the chicken. If you add salt, use kosher, canning, or sea salt. Add 1/2 teaspoon to a pint jar or 1 teaspoon to a quart jar.
• Spices – I like leaving my canned chicken unseasoned so I can season it a different way each time that I use it, but if you like to add thyme, black pepper, chili peppers, or other spices to your chicken it is very possible. In fact, you can season it in a way that you can eat it right out of the jar. Even if you add seasonings, processing will be the same as in the tutorial below.

Tools…

• Cutting board
• Pressure cooker
• Pint jars
• Lids and bands
• Canning utensils
• Paper towel
• Pressure canner – I have a presto dial gauge pressure canner that I love. I’ll also give you instructions for a weighted gauge canner like this one.

How to Can Chicken…

Step one – cook the chicken. I raise my own chickens for meat here on the homestead. This is the hen that I skinned in my post on how to skin a chicken. She was an older hen and a very annoying one. Even though I clipped her wings she still somehow kept finding a way to get out of the fence and ruin the garden. It was time for her to go (read here about how to butcher a chicken). Since I just used my last jar of canned venison that week, I thought it was a good idea to can her meat instead of wrapping her and sending her to the freezer.

She wasn’t a Black Australorp chicken, which is the breed I now raise for both meat and egg production, but an Ameraucana chicken that I got way back when so we could have some colored eggs (she was laying green, beautiful eggs). She was a smaller chicken than the common Cornish Cross that you might choose to raise for meat and also smaller than the Australorps so I only got two pints of meat, but still, I wanted to go ahead and can the meat so I have something on the shelf.

Since she was small, she fit right into my Presto pressure cooker which is not too big… Sometimes, if I process a larger chicken or a few of them I have to cut it up. If I do, I make sure to find room for the carcass in the pot (there is still a whole lot of meat on it) or I use it to make chicken stock. If you pluck your chickens you can leave the skin on and can it or you can remove it. It doesn’t matter, it’s your choice.

If you are using the Presto cooker, add the chicken and four cups of water. Then, close the pot, set it on the stovetop, and turn the heat to high. When the weight starts to wiggle, lower the heat just a little bit to keep the weight at a gentle wiggle, and cook the chicken for 30 minutes.

30 minutes might be a little longer than the pressure cooker book is going to tell you that you need to process a chicken (so its meat will fall off the bone). I do 30 minutes because I don’t raise meat breed chickens, which are not so active. Breeds like the Cornish Cross, which is what we buy at the store, don’t move much so their meat is more tender. My chickens are more active so their meat is a bit tougher and so I need to cook it a bit longer to bring it to the point of falling off the bone. If I am processing a larger, older chicken, I might even add an additional 10 minutes or so. When the time is up, remove the pot from the stovetop and take it to the sink. Let cold water cool it for a couple of minutes.

If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can boil the chicken in water until the meat is soft and falling off the bone. This takes longer so I always use my pressure cooker instead (in many cases you can also use your pressure canner as a pressure cooker. They are bigger and you can fit a few chickens inside).

Step two – remove meat from the bones. When the crockpot has cooled enough, open the lid carefully and remove the chicken from the pot (save the pot with the liquid in it close by, we are going to use that liquid in a moment), let the chicken cool for a moment and then take all the meat off the bones.

Step three – prepare the jars for canning. Wash the jars, lids, and bands, with hot water and a little bit of dish soap. Add 2” of water to your pressure canner, set it on the stovetop, and turn the heat to high so the water in the canner starts warming up.

Pack the jars with the cooked chicken making sure to leave 1” headspace. Then add some liquid. There is no better liquid than what we used to cook the chicken in, it’s basically a fresh chicken stock. Use the canning funnel and fill the jars with the chicken stock making sure to still leave 1” headspace. If you choose to use salt or add seasonings, now is the time to add them to the jars.

Next, remove air bubbles, clean the rim of the jars with a damp paper towel, center the lids, and close the jars with the bands fingertight.

Step four – process the jars. Place the jars on the rack of the pressure canner, in the simmering water. Close the canner and turn the heat to high. At this point, the weight is off the vent. We want the temperature in the canner to rise to the point that steam starts to come out of the vent. Once the canner starts to vent steam, set the timer to 10 minutes and let the canner vent for that time. I usually lower the heat just a little bit at that point. After 10 minutes of venting, place the weight on the vent and watch the dial. Process pint jars for 75 minutes and quart jars for 90 minutes no matter what type of canner you are using.

Depending on where you live, you might need to adjust the pressure according to the table above. I live under 2000 ft in elevation, processing pint jars, and using a dial-gauge canner. So for me, it was 75 minutes on 11 psi. If you are using a weighted-gauge canner, you can follow the table above for the correct pressure or find more information on the National Center for Home Food Preservation here.

Once the processing time is up, turn off the heat and let the canner cool slowly. Don’t try to open it, just let it cool for a couple of hours. When it has cooled completely, open the lid and remove it but don’t remove the jars just yet. Let the jars sit in the warm water for 10 more minutes. Then, use the jar lifters to remove the jars and set them on the counter to cool undisturbed overnight.

Storing Canned Chicken…

When my jars have cooled completely, I check to make sure that they sealed (by pressing on the center of the lid, there should be no movement there), then I remove the bands, wipe the jars, and store in a cool and dark place (like a root cellar or a pantry). Home canned chicken can last many months in storage. I’ll encurage you to use it within a year, however, if you come over right now, you’ll find a jar of chicken that has been sitting on my shelf for three year… Still in perfect condition.

I always store my sealed jars without the bands. The reason is that I am able to monitor what’s going on inside of the jar better that way. If anything funky is developing inside of the jar it’s usually above the food. Removing the band makes it easier for me to see that space. Another reason is simply that these bands rust over time and get stuck. I had to throw away a few jars in the past simply because I couldn’t open them!

How to Use Home Canned Chicken…

• Chicken tacos – the meat is ready for you, just open the jar and serve!
• Chicken chili – one of my favorite dishes!
• Chicken soup – you can use both the chicken and the stock that is in the jar.
• In cream sauce – check out this rabbit in cream sauce recipe. You can easily use the canned chicken and stock instead of the rabbit.
• In casseroles – add to any casserole recipe that calls for cooked chicken.
• Chicken salad – I love chicken salads! You can easily use this chicken, make sure to keep the stock in the jar in the ridge to use in other recipes.

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What do you think? Canning chicken might sound like a complicated process but it’s really simple. Once you do it a time or two you’ll see that it’s really easy. Think about Thanksgiving… Can you can some of that leftover turkey? It might be a great way to preserve it.

More Canning Tutorials…

• How to Can Bone Broth
• How to Can Milk
• Canning Stewed Tomatoes
• How to Can Peppers
• Canning Beets
• How to Can Carrots

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