Elevating your individual meat birds can lead to a freezer filled with complete chickens. Which isn’t a nasty factor, until you want the freezer house! That’s precisely what occurred to us this week. The butcher known as to inform us that our beef was prepared, so we needed to make room within the freezer for over 300 kilos of meat. So I made a decision to strive my hand at strain canning hen.
Surprisingly sufficient, I’ve by no means used a strain canner. So, for my Self Reliant Ability of the Week, that’s what I’m doing! Canned hen, for us, is far simpler for meals. We don’t cook dinner complete chickens fairly often, it’s often simply chunked or shredded hen that we put into pasta, pot pies, and casseroles. So canning these birds made probably the most sense for me.
Canned hen is fantastic for fast, straightforward meals. However it may be fairly pricey from the shops!
Elevating your individual meat chickens may give you numerous homegrown hen that you may strain can fairly inexpensively.
Strain canning hen is an particularly good technique to make use of in case your hen is on the powerful aspect. We grew our meat birds out a little bit too lengthy (and put them within the freezer too shortly), in order that they have been a little bit powerful. And residential canned hen tastes so a lot better than the flavorless stuff you purchase within the shops!
Right here is the video of me strain canning hen for the very first time:
Adjusting in your altitude is essential, as even at 1000 ft above sea stage can change the strain you have to can your meals at. I by no means realized this earlier than, however even at my altitude (2,300 ft), I’ve to can at the next strain than somebody at or close to sea stage. Healthy Canning has a terrific article so that you can work out what strain you have to can your meals at.
Based mostly on these suggestions, since my canner has a dial gauge, I strain canned my hen at 11 kilos of strain.
Isn’t this beautiful?
If correctly canned and stored at a considerably fixed temperature, your property canned hen must be good for a few years. Most lid producers recommend utilizing your meals inside 18 months, however I consider that’s overly cautious and largely to cowl their butts. I’ve heard of residence canned meals being good for 10 years or extra (although I’m unsure if I’d strive that!).
So inform us! Are you going to strive strain canning hen? Or have you ever finished it earlier than? Please share your expertise within the feedback so we are able to all be taught!
Surprisingly sufficient, I’ve by no means used a strain canner. So, for my Self Reliant Ability of the Week, that’s what I’m doing! Canned hen, for us, is far simpler for meals. We don’t cook dinner complete chickens fairly often, it’s often simply chunked or shredded hen that we put into pasta, pot pies, and casseroles. So canning these birds made probably the most sense for me.
Canned hen is fantastic for fast, straightforward meals. However it may be fairly pricey from the shops!
Elevating your individual meat chickens may give you numerous homegrown hen that you may strain can fairly inexpensively.
Strain canning hen is an particularly good technique to make use of in case your hen is on the powerful aspect. We grew our meat birds out a little bit too lengthy (and put them within the freezer too shortly), in order that they have been a little bit powerful. And residential canned hen tastes so a lot better than the flavorless stuff you purchase within the shops!
Provides wanted
- Strain canner (you possibly can NOT water bathtub can any type of meat)
- Glass Mason or Ball jars (you need to use pint, pint and a half, or quart)
- Rings
- Model new lids
- Debubbler instrument (or rubber spatula)
- Uncooked or cooked hen, cubed or shredded
- Desired seasoning
- Kosher salt (or another non-iodized salt)
Getting ready to strain can hen
- Examine your jars to ensure there aren’t any nicks or small cracks within the rim or in another place on the jar.
- Clear and sterilize the jars by working them by way of the dishwasher, or boiling in water.
- Warmth the model new lids in sizzling water to melt the wax seal.
- Put about 2 inches of water within the backside of your strain canner. Don’t neglect to place the rack on the underside (like I did)!
- Dice or shred your hen. You should utilize cooked or uncooked hen, whichever you favor. I used to be going to do mine uncooked, however determined it will be too onerous to drag the uncooked meat off the hen, so I boiled the chickens complete.
Strain canning hen
- Put kosher salt, or different non-iodized salt, into the jars. For quart jars, use 1 tablespoon; for pint jars, use 1 teaspoon.
- If utilizing different seasoning, add it now. Powdered garlic, onion powder, and hen bouillon are good additions.
- Stuff your cubed or shredded hen into the jars, leaving a 1 inch headspace (1 inch headspace is the underside exterior ring of the jars).
- In case your hen is cooked, you’ll want to add liquid to your jars as nicely. Rooster broth is sweet to make use of, however you need to use water for those who don’t have broth. Uncooked hen will make its personal juices contained in the jars whereas cooking within the strain canner.
- Run your debubbler instrument (or rubber spatula) throughout the within of the jar to launch as a lot air as doable.
- Wipe the edges of your jars after they’re stuffed with a paper towel dipped in vinegar.
- Place heat lids on the jars, and tighten the rings finger-tight.
- Put your jars within the strain canner, and switch the warmth on to the canner.
- Tighten the canner lid as tight as doable.
- When steam is popping out of the vent gap, set a timer for 10 minutes to permit the canner to vent.
- On the finish of the ten minutes, place the load over the vent gap and proceed to observe the strain in your canner.
- When the canner will get as much as the right strain, set a timer. For pints, cook dinner for 75 minutes on the appropriate strain. For quarts, cook dinner for 90 minutes. The time is similar for uncooked or cooked hen.
- On the finish of the cooking time, flip off the warmth and go away the canner alone whereas the strain goes again down. Don’t take away the load or attempt to take away the lid till the strain is at zero.
Right here is the video of me strain canning hen for the very first time:
Adjusting for altitude
Adjusting in your altitude is essential, as even at 1000 ft above sea stage can change the strain you have to can your meals at. I by no means realized this earlier than, however even at my altitude (2,300 ft), I’ve to can at the next strain than somebody at or close to sea stage. Healthy Canning has a terrific article so that you can work out what strain you have to can your meals at.
Based mostly on these suggestions, since my canner has a dial gauge, I strain canned my hen at 11 kilos of strain.
Isn’t this beautiful?
How lengthy does canned hen final?
If correctly canned and stored at a considerably fixed temperature, your property canned hen must be good for a few years. Most lid producers recommend utilizing your meals inside 18 months, however I consider that’s overly cautious and largely to cowl their butts. I’ve heard of residence canned meals being good for 10 years or extra (although I’m unsure if I’d strive that!).
Are you going to strive strain canning hen?
So inform us! Are you going to strive strain canning hen? Or have you ever finished it earlier than? Please share your expertise within the feedback so we are able to all be taught!