…… Canning Meat in Electric Canner - Pointers Please

[Barry Natchitoches]

I got one of those electric pressure canners like Summer Brease and a few others of you have.

I did not plan to use it so quickly, but food bank must have had huge donation of chicken thighs and pork loins, cuz they gave us a 40 pound box of frozen chicken thighs and 3 frozen pork loins this morning.

The chicken thighs are literally one huge block of frozen thighs - they are not packaged except to be in a large plastic bag that is in a large cardboard box.

It will take all day to defrost and separate the individual pieces.

But then, I am going to need to can them, as my small freezer cannot handle that quantity.

I have never canned meat before.

And I have never used that canner before.

Help!

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I got one of those electric pressure canners like Summer Brease and a few others of you have.

I did not plan to use it so quickly, but food bank must have had huge donation of chicken thighs and pork loins, cuz they gave us a 40 pound box of frozen chicken thighs and 3 frozen pork loins this morning.

The chicken thighs are literally one huge block of frozen thighs - they are not packaged except to be in a large plastic bag that is in a large cardboard box.

It will take all day to defrost and separate the individual pieces.

But then, I am going to need to can them, as my small freezer cannot handle that quantity.

I have never canned meat before.

And I have never used that canner before.

Help!

Barry, all I can say is that you need to follow the canning instructions exactly the way the instruction book says. I did that with all of my canned ground beef, and it all came out perfect. The instructions are very easy to follow. There is a section in the book for each type of meat that you want to can. The instructions are very specific for each type.

Let me know if you have any specific questions, and I'll try to answer.

 

[nomifyle]

I got one of those electric pressure canners like Summer Brease and a few others of you have.

I did not plan to use it so quickly, but food bank must have had huge donation of chicken thighs and pork loins, cuz they gave us a 40 pound box of frozen chicken thighs and 3 frozen pork loins this morning.

The chicken thighs are literally one huge block of frozen thighs - they are not packaged except to be in a large plastic bag that is in a large cardboard box.

It will take all day to defrost and separate the individual pieces.

But then, I am going to need to can them, as my small freezer cannot handle that quantity.

I have never canned meat before.

And I have never used that canner before.

Help!

I'm interested too, we have several packages of leg quarters from commodities, although not as many as we had before the upright freezer, but still several. DH wants to can them in pieces and be able to take them out and fry the pieces. He said when he was growing up they use to can pieces of chicken in 1/2 gallon jars and could fry them later. And I'm pretty sure they water bathed the chicken. This was a long time ago, he's 78.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I'm interested too, we have several packages of leg quarters from commodities, although not as many as we had before the upright freezer, but still several. DH wants to can them in pieces and be able to take them out and fry the pieces. He said when he was growing up they use to can pieces of chicken in 1/2 gallon jars and could fry them later. And I'm pretty sure they water bathed the chicken. This was a long time ago, he's 78.

Judy, you can't water bath can meat. It's not safe.

 

[Nich1]

I got one of those electric pressure canners like Summer Brease and a few others of you have.

I did not plan to use it so quickly, but food bank must have had huge donation of chicken thighs and pork loins, cuz they gave us a 40 pound box of frozen chicken thighs and 3 frozen pork loins this morning.

The chicken thighs are literally one huge block of frozen thighs - they are not packaged except to be in a large plastic bag that is in a large cardboard box.

It will take all day to defrost and separate the individual pieces.

But then, I am going to need to can them, as my small freezer cannot handle that quantity.

I have never canned meat before.

And I have never used that canner before.

Help!

That is Wonderful, Barry! I've canned meat many times and it keeps very well. Here's what I have done with chicken. There are several things to do and I think you'll get the flow.

I've bought the 10# bags of leg quarters. First, I fill my water bath canner 2/3 full of water and bring it to a boil. I put the leg quarters in the boiling water, put the lid on the canner, and cook them...letting the water come back to a boil and continue to cook them...guessing here, but probably cook another 10 minutes, at least. The meat is ready to fall off the bone. Then, I remove the quarters one by one into a large bowl and remove the bones and some of the skin, putting the meat into hot jars. The meat is hot but it's manageable. (I put the jars filled with water into the microwave on high until the water is ready to boil in the jars so they will be hot when the meat is ready. My microwave will hold 7 quarts at a time...I put all 7 in at once.) To the jars, I add 1 tsp of salt. It doesn't have to be canning salt; just regular iodized salt. The lids have been heating in some water in a separate pan on the stove, too. Fill the jar (1/2" or so from the top) with liquid from the canner where the leg quarters are cooking. Put the lid on, etc. Meanwhile while you're working, put water into the pressure canner and onto the stove with medium to med. high heat, to get the water heating so it's hot when you put the hot jars with meat into it. Then, when the canner is filled with 7 quarts (that's what my pressure canner holds) after the weight has "rattled" for a few minutes, I time it for 90 minutes. Remove the canner from the heat and let it cool on its own...do not remove the weight. I take my canner outside to cool on the front porch to keep some of the heat out of the house. When the weight on the canner doesn't have any more steam coming out, bring that baby inside, remove those beautiful jars to cool on a rack. Then, step back and be proud! :-)

If this doesn't make sense, you'll know I meant well. :-) Some may have other ideas or better ideas and that's good, too. This has worked for me and I haven't died yet. :-)

OOpps.. Do I feel silly. I just looked at your post...you have an electric pressure canner. Please disregard what I said!

 

[nomifyle]

Judy, you can't water bath can meat. It's not safe.

Duh! I do know that I was just saying what DH's family did over 60 years and and I can't get it in his head that you can't do it that way.

 

[catskinner]

Boneless or bone in?

My instructions say to can boneless raw pack for 75 minutes in pints and 90 in quarts.
Bone in raw pack is canned for 65 minutes in pints and 75 minutes in quarts.

I only do raw pack so I am not sure about hot pack. Maybe someone else can jump in and help.

 

[phloydius]

I got one of those electric pressure canners like Summer Brease and a few others of you have.

Which model of electric pressure canner do you have?
The settings might be somewhat different from model to model. Some do not let you set a specific sea level, as an example.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Which model of electric pressure canner do you have?
The settings might be somewhat different from model to model. Some do not let you set a specific sea level, as an example.

With this pressure canner there isn't any need for adjusting the pressure based on sea level. Everything is automatic.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Boneless or bone in?

My instructions say to can boneless raw pack for 75 minutes in pints and 90 in quarts.
Bone in raw pack is canned for 65 minutes in pints and 75 minutes in quarts.

I only do raw pack so I am not sure about hot pack. Maybe someone else can jump in and help.

That's what my canning book says, too, for chicken, but I haven't done any chicken, yet. If I do, I think I would cook the chicken first, instead of raw packing it. It's just my preference, though.

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

The thighs have both bones and skin.

It is frozen into one 40 pound ice cube, so I have been letting it defrost all day. That is OK, cuz I have had many other chores to do to keep me busy.

I figure I will be up much of the night, chiseling off pieces of meat from the huge block, and then boiling them. I figure on hot packing the meat, because these are big thighs and I don’t think they will fit in my pint size jars. I figure I will need to boil the meat before I finally get a chance to catch a wink of sleep, then get up tomorrow morning to pull the meat off the bone and load the jars.

Then I will try my hand at using that new Presto electric canner I bought a month ago.

Thankfully, my wife is on a chemo holiday, so she feels much better right now and does not need much from me. In fact, when I got home from the mobile food pantry, she had breakfast waiting for me - scrambled eggs, hot buttered grits and breakfast sausage patties. The meal was fit for a king.

It was even better, because it has been a long time since she felt well enough to cook a meal like that. When she gets in the kitchen and cooks, I know she is having a great day!

 

[SouthernBreeze]

The thighs have both bones and skin.

It is frozen into one 40 pound ice cube, so I have been letting it defrost all day. That is OK, cuz I have had many other chores to do to keep me busy.

I figure I will be up much of the night, chiseling off pieces of meat from the huge block, and then boiling them. I figure on hot packing the meat, because these are big thighs and I don’t think they will fit in my pint size jars. I figure I will need to boil the meat before I finally get a chance to catch a wink of sleep, then get up tomorrow morning to pull the meat off the bone and load the jars.

Then I will try my hand at using that new Presto electric canner I bought a month ago.

Thankfully, my wife is on a chemo holiday, so she feels much better right now and does not need much from me. In fact, when I got home from the mobile food pantry, she had breakfast waiting for me - scrambled eggs, hot buttered grits and breakfast sausage patties. The meal was fit for a king.

It was even better, because it has been a long time since she felt well enough to cook a meal like that. When she gets in the kitchen and cooks, I know she is having a great day!

You will do fine, Barry. Just keep the meat hot, and pack the jars while it's still hot. Save the broth you cooked the chicken in, bring it to a boil, and fill your jars with it to one inch after you pack in the meat. Everything has to be kept hot. The canner will heat up your jars and keep them sterile while you're filling each one. I've canned almost 50 pints of ground beef in my canner, and the process is so easy. I haven't had any to not seal or go bad.

 

[Wildwood]

Duh! I do know that I was just saying what DH's family did over 60 years and and I can't get it in his head that you can't do it that way.

I know this is late and I'm just now seeing this thread. I do can whole thighs with the bone in but skin off in wide mouth quarts. I can get four or five in each jar. If you were very careful, you might be able to pull them out, bread and fry them. I think I'll try it. They are cooked to the very tender stage already though. I can see where that would work though if they were water bathed and not so well done. I sure wish it was safe to do that. The texture of the meat would be more like fresh cooked.

I love the flavor it gives leaving the bone in. I carefully remove them from the jar, put them in a skillet and pour the broth over them. I add a little extra water to my chicken, unlike most, and that gives me more liquid. If there's not enough broth, you can add a little water to get the liquid about half an inch deep in the skillet. I put a lid over the skillet and simmer it for ten or fifteen minutes to make sure it's safe to eat, turning the chicken about half way through. It tastes completely different than the usual canned chicken...more like fresh cooked but not exactly.

The only issue with this is the thighs I can get nowdays are so big that sometimes I can't get as many in the jar...I don't like to crowd them as much as regular cold packed deboned chicken.

Edited to add...the chicken I mention above is pressure canned. I don't think I clarified that.

 

[nomifyle]

I know this is late and I'm just now seeing this thread. I do can whole thighs with the bone in but skin off in wide mouth quarts. I can get four or five in each jar. If you were very careful, you might be able to pull them out, bread and fry them. I think I'll try it. They are cooked to the very tender stage already though. I can see where that would work though if they were water bathed and not so well done. I sure wish it was safe to do that. The texture of the meat would be more like fresh cooked.

I love the flavor it gives leaving the bone in. I carefully remove them from the jar, put them in a skillet and pour the broth over them. I add a little extra water to my chicken, unlike most, and that gives me more liquid. If there's not enough broth, you can add a little water to get the liquid about half an inch deep in the skillet. I put a lid over the skillet and simmer it for ten or fifteen minutes to make sure it's safe to eat, turning the chicken about half way through. It tastes completely different than the usual canned chicken...more like fresh cooked but not exactly.

The only issue with this is the thighs I can get nowdays are so big that sometimes I can't get as many in the jar...I don't like to crowd them as much as regular cold packed deboned chicken.

Water bathing is how DH's family did it and the four children grew up to be fine healthy people.

 

[bluelady]

Judy, you can't water bath can meat. It's not safe.

Yes! People did do it, not every jar is going to develop high botulism levels, but some got sick and some died. May actually have never known it was from the canning.

 

[nomifyle]

Yes! People did do it, not every jar is going to develop high botulism levels, but some got sick and some died. May actually have never known it was from the canning. I would never risk my family when we know what we know now.

I wouldn't do it either, but DH would, but I won't let him. Not only did they water bath chicken but they did it in 1/2 gallon jars.

 

[bluelady]

I wouldn't do it either, but DH would, but I won't let him. Not only did they water bath chicken but they did it in 1/2 gallon jars.

Yes, and maybe they survived because they were tough! Literally only the strong survived, as many died young. Plus they didn't have the awful environment, processed foods, and all the other health problems we have now. Yeah, they had diseases & horrible accidents, but we have weak immunity, autoimmune disease, etc. So they got away with it maybe better than we might. Who knows, but I'm not taking any chances!

 

[Wildwood]

One reason they survived it is because they took it out of the jar and fried it. That is why we cook all our meat at high temps for ten minutes even after we've pressure canned it. That frying probably killed any germs. We know better now and wouldn't take the chance but there are still people water bath canning meat. I'm not judging anyone. It's not for me but to each their own.