# Canning question--



## RUN1251 (Mar 15, 2012)

I am,new to canning. So far I have done greens, hamburger, sausages, turkey and chicken. Every time I have fluid from within the jars bubble out into the water. The first time I thought it was because I used a 15 lb wt when I should have used a 10 lb wt. We live at 64' elevation. Then I thought I was filling the jars too full but yesterday with the chicken I used a ruler to measure exactly 1". I am using qt jars, removing the air bubbles,leaving 1" head room, tightening the jars correctly, and at the end of 90 minutes turning the stove off, leaving the wt on the canner, and leaving the canner on the stove to cool over night. I've read everything I can and can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I've been careful to not have fat in the jars. Any suggestions?


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## Freyadog (Jan 27, 2010)

mine do that from time to time. I just did some pork and it did get a tad in the water. I honestly do not know myself why mine does this from time to time but it does.

I measure correctly and use the proper #age and it still does it. :scratch


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## rawhide2971 (Apr 19, 2013)

I don't think you are doing anything wrong. My wife and I have been canning for years and when in the case of cannign meat exspecially you can expect to have a little oozing. As long as your seal is good you should have no problems. Of course thats the litmus test. Make sure your seal is good. And check it a few days later to make double sure. I could be dead wrong and hopefully some more experienced or wiser voices will chime in. Check out some youtube experts and you might get a better education and response. Not all on youtube are reliable but I have found some of the older more experienced mebers there that share thier experiences to be quite helpful.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

If your jars are sealing then you are doing it right. When I pressure can I always need to clean the outside of the jars and the canner after they cool. It is just part of the process.


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## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

RUN1251 said:


> Every time I have fluid from within the jars bubble out into the water. . . . . Any suggestions?


My suggestion is that you pay attention to temperature/pressure stability. The ideal situation is to play with the temperature on your stove so that the pressure in the canner barely moves up or down. The wider the swings in temp/pressure in your canner the greater will be the turbulence in the water in the canning jars inside the pressure canner. Think of a slow boil versus a fast boil in a pot of water, which is more violent or energetic?

When you vary your pressure/temp in the canner you create a surge effect so the less temp/press swing you get the less water should be purged out of your jars. This means that you have to be more finicky about maintaining temp on your stove, up or down, little by little.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

How many of you pre-cook the poultry some before canning? 

Does pre-cooking the meat some stop the bubbling over problem?


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

I have this problem all the time. I'm at the cusp of altitude change/weight and I think going up a few pounds when canning gives me trouble. If I can according to the rules I get a canner full of boil over or caramelizing, if I can just a little under recommended I don't have these problems. I know there is a wide safety margin so I'm starting to think I'll reduce pressure a bit. 
I do wonder if the weather has an influence, low pressure cell moving over and I have a LOT more problems. On the other hand I know it's going to rain if my jars come out a bit low, LOL.


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## ClemKadiddlehopper (Aug 15, 2014)

LincTex said:


> How many of you pre-cook the poultry some before canning?
> 
> Does pre-cooking the meat some stop the bubbling over problem?


The only pre-cooked chicken that I can is off of soup carcasses. All other is canned raw. I feel that fluctuating pressure is the main culprit. Even fruit will bubble over so it is not a problem restricted to meat. There is also a fine line on head space clearance. I find leaving a bit more than reccomended cuts down on boil over.

I have a gas stove and can regulate the temperature/pressure easily. It is my oppinion only, that the boil out effect is caused by pressure swings. I have noticed that weather has a big cause and effect upon the gas pressure and therefore, the heat production of my stove burners. So much so, that I use one setting for warm weather canning and a completely different setting for cold weather canning and do very frequent checks of the gauge. Even the amount of propane in the tank makes a diffence in the efficiency of the stove.

The same problem occurs in water bath canning when the water changes from a gentle boil to a vigorous boil and back again.

It is actually my cast iron cookware which makes the temp. differentials so obvious on my stove. Cast iron reflects what is going on very fast. If I don't make a note of the weather, I end up burning the heck out of what ever I am frying.

If I have to constantly adjust the burners to fry pancakes consistently, imagine what that is doing to the canners. I do not envy any one who has an electric stove. Their problems will be ten times worse.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

I agree with the above, inconsistent temp/pressure is the main culprit, the lids being on too tight or not tight enough can also cause it.

Venting the canner, cooling it with a fan(to cut down time between loads) or water will cause boil-offs also(not to mention the possibility of exploding jars).

Some fruits need to be cooked prior to jarring, peaches and plums especially, if packed raw they will boil off if pressure canned.

Linc, I bake the chicken I can and I very seldom have any boil-off issues with it.


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## JustCliff (May 21, 2011)

Are you using a newer type electric stove? They tend to cycle from one extreme to another. 
I use gas or my old electric stove and don't have that problem much but, it does happen from time to time.


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