# Preference for canning chicken?



## SouthCentralUS (Nov 11, 2012)

I have not canned chicken breast yet, but plan to can some shortly. I was watching a youtube video and the woman said if you don't cook it first it will come out of the canner one big glob.

What is everyone's preference for canning the breasts - cold or hot pack? Pros and cons?


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

I para-cook it first then pack in hot water with better than bullion.


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## Outpost (Nov 26, 2012)

SouthCentralUS said:


> I have not canned chicken breast yet, but plan to can some shortly. I was watching a youtube video and the woman said if you don't cook it first it will come out of the canner one big glob.
> 
> What is everyone's preference for canning the breasts - cold or hot pack? Pros and cons?


We just had some the other night. We had canned it raw-packed with some seasonings and a touch of olive oil. We always use the wide-mouth jars for anything not cut up and when it came out, while it came apart a tad (didn't get the whole breast out in one piece) it certainly wasn't a glob. Truthfully, it was actually a very nice dinner.... all from stuff we canned a few months ago. (although next time, we'll shorten the processing time for the Brussels-sprouts a tad!)


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## ONEOLDCHIEF (Jan 5, 2012)

My wife just canned turkey yesterday, she browns it first, then pressure cooks it for 90 minutes at 10 lbs of pressure... Good luck


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## lilmissy0740 (Mar 7, 2011)

Just opened my first ever canned chicken the other day. I packed it raw, from the advice of others on here, and pressured canned it in quart jars. I cut my meat up into chunks. Let me tell you, it was delicious. Hubby made me take a bite a few hours before it was even time to start to cook dinner, lol. He said if I fell over or headed to the bathroom he and our daughter wouldn't be eating any! I put some on a salad tonight and it just fell apart when I smashed it between my fingers. I will definitely do this every time I raise chickens.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

I raw pack mine with no added water or bullion (although originally when I started out I was putting one bullion cube in each jar.)

I buy 6x 3lb packages of boneless skinless breasts when they have it on sale for $1.90 per lb at my local grocer (normally $3.48) and then I get about 17 jars full out of that.

I prep it by trimming what little fat there is, and I cut it up into... ehhh... 1/2 inch cubes at the smallest, but what I've found is that I prefer to have 1 inch cubes going into the jar and then the pieces are bigger when coming out.

Yes, it does look like one glob of chicken meat in the jar, but you stick a fork into the jar and it breaks up into the pieces, and if you do the smaller cubes going in, it's almost like shredded chicken coming out. It's super tender and very moist. 

I couldn't be happier with it, and I no longer cook with raw chicken, I only use my canned. I do the prep time up front on the cutting/fat trimming and when I want to use a jar or two, it's just a matter of open jar, pour in skillet, add the rest of Chicken Helper stuff and boom, 12-15 minutes later, I'm eating dinner 

Then I clean the jars and reuse them in the next batch. Right now I'm stock piling new jars for pig season, I'm hoping to pull down a couple feral pigs and I'm figuring I'll can maybe 100 lbs worth and the rest I'll turn into a few hundred lbs of sausage.

Hmmmm speaking of which, I should go add a couple dozen jars to my amazon cart for giggles.


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## neldarez (Apr 10, 2011)

I also raw pack boneless, skinless chicken breasts that we buy on sale or when we go to costco........easy peasy and it works great, can use it in casseroles or make a soup. Could even add mayo and make chicken spread for sandwiches............have fun!


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## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

I do mine same as Dakine and its awesome..It super moist and tender. 


Ive also gotten the already cooked rotessiry whole chickens when on sale..debone the meat and simmer it all in a stock pot with a standard chicken stock making idea to make stock. Then when it cooled, fished out teh fat n bones, threw those away and canned the now shredded chicken in its own stock for future soups. Cooked meat needs either water or broth when you can it. Raw chicken doesnt..just throw it in a jar n it makes it's own juice when you can it. 

I boiled chickens before to can and my house reeked...Ill never do that inside my house ever again...something about boiling chicken smell...barf!


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

We partially pan fry then raw pack with a little bullion. we have also par boiled and have had good results, but prefer to partial pan fry for a more pleasing look'


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## cnsper (Sep 20, 2012)

Well I had about 30 ducks a year or so ago. I deboned everything but the legs and canned raw because the freezer went out. They were thawing so I just canned what was in there. I have 6 jars left and it makes wonderful duck noodle soup.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

SouthCentralUS said:


> I was watching a youtube video and the woman said if you don't cook it first it will come out of the canner one big glob.


My grandmother canned raw chicken for 70 years. 
I don't get the "one big glob" comment?

Yes, you do have to break apart the pieces with a butter knife before it comes out of the jar, but I never once thought that was any type of inconvenience.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

I've done it both ways, and they're both fine.

Raw pack canning saves time and energy. I understand the glob she's talking about. The glob breaks apart easy enough, but if you're using regular mouth jars, it's awkward and not very convenient - best to use wide mouth for raw pack. The glob doesn't look very appetizing to my family if they see me cooking, but I think most canned/tinned meats don't look very appetizing when they first come out. 

I prefer hot pack canning when working with whole birds, which is what I usually do. Deboning cold, uncooked birds is a pain, so I put them in a pot and boil them to the point that deboning them is simple (I am unfamiliar with the stinky smell that Hooch posted about - in our house, birds in a pot smell like it's time to eat ). As I debone I fill some jars with light meat, some jars with dark meat, and some jars with both meats. What doesn't get put in jars (bones, skin, etc.) goes back into the pot to simmer for stock. (I put aside enough meat for a chicken and rice meal that evening, or my family would declare mutiny after smelling the chicken all day.)

The other hot pack option is baking the chicken - I do that a lot, too. Put the birds in at 350 until deboning is easy. I cover with foil to keep them moist. As with boiling, after deboning all bones/skin/etc. goes in the stock pot to make broth, including all the drippings at the bottom of the baking pan - those birds make a lot of drippings. 

Both baking and boiling the birds prior to canning gives them a cooked appearance. Raw packed birds (in my experience) can be a little pink even though they're entirely cooked through after canning - just doesn't look as appetizing. Of course, if you plan to brown the canned chicken after opening it, who cares, right? Browning the chicken before it goes in the jars gives the best appearance of all, IMHO. Just depends on how much time you want to put into it.

Cooked meats shrink due to releasing moisture at a cellular level. With raw pack canning, that moisture remains in the jar and becomes its own broth. With hot pack canning you can get more meat into the jars because the meat has already shrunk from boiling/baking - the moisture from the birds goes into the stock-making process and you add just enough liquid to the jars as is necessary to can. For me, making stock is the priority and canning chicken is a wonderful byproduct of that process. This is because chicken stock has played such an important role in keeping my family healthy for the past two years (but that's another thread) - so my preference is to use the method that has the best benefit for making stock. 

So it's all just a matter of opinion and preference - what are your goals for canning the chicken, how much time and energy do you want to use, etc. But each way works just fine.


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## SouthCentralUS (Nov 11, 2012)

OK. You guys helped me decide on canning it raw. I knew I could count on you. Thanks to all of you.

Friday my local store is having a really good sale on boneless, skinless breasts. $1.77 a pound. A couple of years ago the regular price was $1.29 and 89 cents on sale so I guess I will buy the 3 pkgs we are allowed to buy at that price. Well, buy the 3 pkgs a few times.


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## Outpost (Nov 26, 2012)

Hooch said:


> Ive also gotten the already cooked rotessiry whole chickens when on sale..debone the meat and simmer it all in a stock pot with a standard chicken stock making idea to make stock.


OH YES!!!!!!

Of all things, Wally-World makes some of the tastiest rotisserie chicken I've ever had! My wife will sometimes stop by at the end of the day and grab a couple that are "on sale"! We're better than 20 miles away from that store and they're still pretty warm by the time she gets 'em home! If, and I mean *IF* they don't get all gobbled up first, we cut the breasts into very large sizes... just enough to get them in a jar, skin and all. We mix the "juices" with a little water and bring the jars up to headspace. We do cut the processing time back a tad (ok.... don't be mad.... and I'm NOT saying anyone else should do that  ). Then, those unbelievable trimmings and bones..... What a broth!



Hooch said:


> I boiled chickens before to can and my house reeked...Ill never do that inside my house ever again...something about boiling chicken smell...barf!


yup..... I can relate...... like a hot day downwind of a hen-house that needs cleaning....

:blah: (couldn't find a "vomit" smiley.....)

-All the best


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## Outpost (Nov 26, 2012)

SouthCentralUS said:


> OK. You guys helped me decide on canning it raw. I knew I could count on you. Thanks to all of you.
> 
> Friday my local store is having a really good sale on boneless, skinless breasts. $1.77 a pound. A couple of years ago the regular price was $1.29 and 89 cents on sale so I guess I will buy the 3 pkgs we are allowed to buy at that price. Well, buy the 3 pkgs a few times.


Try it both ways! Honest! Experiment with it!

My wife and I are actually rather new to canning, and with the knowledge I've acquired from the fine folks here, and a little "playing around" a tad, we've actually come up with a few absolutely surprisingly good "canned" meals!

We've done some experimentation with both cooked and raw, seasoned and plain, slightly browned and even broiled. I'm frankly amazed!

Just follow the safety rules, and have at it!

-All the best!


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## Outpost (Nov 26, 2012)

SouthCentralUS said:


> OK. You guys helped me decide on canning it raw. I knew I could count on you. Thanks to all of you.
> 
> Friday my local store is having a really good sale on boneless, skinless breasts. $1.77 a pound. A couple of years ago the regular price was $1.29 and 89 cents on sale so I guess I will buy the 3 pkgs we are allowed to buy at that price. Well, buy the 3 pkgs a few times.


SouthCentralUS,

I had to share this with you.

Just so you'll know what we did.... The chicken breasts were really large, so I halved them lengthwise and trimmed them a bit. We sprinkled a fair amount of rosemary & garlic seasoning (purchased from SAM'S) on the breast strips. We then just put them into wide-mouth quart jars. Only 3 pieces would fit! (like I said.... REALLY large).

No water or anything else added. They were raw-packed and made their own juice during processing.

My wife came home tonight and pulled *one* of the jars down. She had to exercise a little restraint removing the breast pieces from the jar, but, as you can see, they held together with no "globbing".

The first pic is my plate of chicken with pasta (w/sauce and sausage).

The second pic is her plate of chicken on salad. (salad looks huge, but fresh leafy things look that way!)

The chicken was moist and *oh so tasty!*.

Honest.... not "prepper rations" or "survival food" at all.... With the exception of the fresh veggies and dried pasta, everything was canned months ago!

The wife and I are still learning about canning. The most important thing we've learned though is that home-processed and preserved food is actually (forgive me Elton) *Good Eats!*


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## Cud579 (Apr 26, 2010)

I personally have canned raw whole pieces of chicken, cubed deboned raw chicken and cooked deboned chicken. I like it canned anyway it comes. It makes no difference to me. If ou dont like store bought canned chicken breast then you probably won't like it raw packed. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Survival Forum mobile app


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## SouthCentralUS (Nov 11, 2012)

That looks really yummy. I was thinking of cubing it, but I may can some strips also. A lady on youtube canned the cubes, then drained them, dipped them in batter and deep fried them. Looked really good served with sweet and sour sauce over rice.

Thanks


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## Enchant18 (Feb 21, 2012)

I cook and shred it before canning. It's more work but better for how I use it. Quick BBQ, soups, casserole and for Mexican night.


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