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Home Ashley Her Family Recipes How to Can Chicken

How to Can Chicken

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When I'm pregnant, I don’t handle raw meat very well. Yuck. I luckily canned some chicken earlier this fall. It's been a life saver, and the only reason Pat’s had a meal every now and then. 

This chicken is just like the canned chicken in the store, and fully cooked. We use the chicken for soups, casseroles, fajitas, chicken tacos, enchiladas, chicken salad, etc. 
How to can chicken
I began looking for a good sale on chicken, and was referred to Zaycon Foods. I was super impressed with my experience. Zaycon sells chicken for $1.69 per lb, (super cheap) and in 40 lb boxes. (They sell other meat as well.) If you watch for sales you can get it even cheaper. My last order of chicken was $1.39 per lb. 

You place your order online, and then on a certain date they deliver your chicken to a certain location. The pick up was incredibly easy, I pulled into the parking lot, followed the cones into a drive-thru, popped open my trunk and they placed the boxes inside. I never got out of my car. Smooth.

My mom and I both ordered two cases, 160 lbs all together. (A whole lot of chicken right?) We both canned one of our boxes, and froze the other.

To freeze them, we cut the fat off with scissors and placed two chicken breasts into Ziploc freezer bags.

I've really been impressed with the quality of chicken. I honestly don't think I'll buy my chicken anywhere else from now on.

I've had people ask how to can chicken, so here goes. If you have any tips, feel free to leave a comment, I'm still a beginner in this area.

how to can chicken1 how to can chicken2  how to can chicken 3 how to can chicken4  How to can chicken 5 how to can chicken 6
Raw Pack-Chicken
  1. Wash jars in dishwasher to sterilize
  2. Rinse chicken and trim off fat with scissors
  3. Stuff chicken in jars leaving 1 1/4" headspace (bottom lip)
  4. Using canning salt or real salt, add 1/2 tsp. into pints or 1 tsp into quarts
  5. DO NOT ADD WATER
  6. Wipe jars rims off and add hot lids and clean bands
  7. Put bottom rack in canner and fill with 2-3" of water (about 2 quarts), add 9 pint jars, put on middle rack, add 9 more pint jars OR you can pressure can 7 quarts
  8. Put lid on securely and turn heat to high
  9. Let steam come out of petcock or vent pipe for 10 minutes and then shut petcock.
  10. When pressure gauge hits 15 lbs, start timing. Make sure pressure stays at 15 lbs and NEVER goes below. (Different altitudes may differ) If you go below 15 they say you need to bring your canner back up to 15 and start timing all over again...
  11. Pressure cooking time: 90 minutes for Quarts, 75 minutes for pints.
  12. When finished, shut burner off and let it cool down naturally. Don't do anything to speed up this process! It takes about 45-60 minutes.
  13. When at 0 lbs of pressure open petcock for 10 minutes- then take lid of away from face.
  14. Put jars on towel or cooling rack- don't let wind get to jars
  15. Let jars set 12-24 hours before touching.

Note: We borrowed my Grandma's canner, with two canner it went really fast.
For a small family I prefer to can the chicken in pints, if you had a large family I would use quarts.
If you have any questions ask away. My 80 lbs of chicken will last us quite awhile, but I promise 1 day of canning/freezing was well worth it. 

Happy Canning!

P.S. If you do order from Zaycon, and want the write "Sullenger" in the referral line, I wouldn't mind at all :)
// Labels: Ashley, Her Family, Recipes
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21 comments:

  1. Stacie S-HJanuary 31, 2013 at 12:57 PM

    Love the Zaycon chicken. We bought 1 case our first time and canned and froze half and half. The last time we bought 2 cases and froze about one case and canned the other case. So yummy and I like knowing its healthier for you

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 31, 2013 at 1:45 PM

    I love Zaycon foods I order bacon also from them and can it. best thing ever.

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  3. The Hyer FamilyJanuary 31, 2013 at 2:19 PM

    Hi! You don't know me but I've been reading your blog...wanted to let you know that pressure canning is the big craze right now around me...except we use an electric pressure cooker...from Cuisinart about $80...put the chicken in the jars, put 4 jars in the pressure cooker, turn it on and set it for 55 minutes, and when it's done the chicken is cooked and sealed. We do it with beef, chicken, pork and all kinds of dry beans. It's nice cause you can pressure can back to back and end up with an entire counter full of jars, with very little effort...

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    1. AmyJanuary 31, 2013 at 6:21 PM

      I have a Cuisinart Electric pressure cooker, but I didn't know I could can with it. If you have the one I do, I'm assuming you would use pint jars in it. This is the one I have, is yours the same?

      http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CPC-600-1000-Watt-Electric-Stainless/dp/B000MPA044/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359681489&sr=8-1&keywords=electric+pressure+cooker

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    2. brownbunchFebruary 5, 2013 at 9:35 PM

      Wondering exactly how you do this. I have the EPC 1200 series and have been excited to can chicken all day. Thanks

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  4. RebeccaJanuary 31, 2013 at 3:30 PM

    I love Zaycon chicken too! My mom and I have frozen our chicken breasts. We have individually wrapped them with the plastic wrap that sticks to itself and then placed two - four of them in a freezer bag before freezing. That way, if we want only one breast (as they are huge!) they aren't stuck to each other. Glad you found a way to still eat meals while being sick and pregnant!

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  5. Lindsay SJanuary 31, 2013 at 3:47 PM

    So...I am such a rookie. Never canned ever, so this may sound lame. Does it cook the chicken? Can it stay out of the fridge after canning? How do you cook with it after? Thanks ;)

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    1. AshleyJanuary 31, 2013 at 4:06 PM

      You are totally fine! Yes it cooks the chicken, its just like canned chicken you will find in the store above the tuna fish :) Once it's canned, I store it in our basement with food storage, but once the can is opened, it does need to go in the fridge.

      Add it to anything, casseroles, soups, chicken tacos, etc. It just needs to be warmed up. I make a lot of chicken salad sandwiches with it as well.

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  6. Lindsay SJanuary 31, 2013 at 4:24 PM

    Perfect, I buy chicken by the bulk and freeze it but have never known to can it. Thanks for your help. Love your blog. Have talked about you and your family multiple times in my relief society lessons. Your example is amazing. Congrats on the twins, so exciting

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  7. Jacob and Kimberly PalmerJanuary 31, 2013 at 4:28 PM

    I love canned chicken!! We just did a batch for the first time and it was so easy! We like to use the chicken for fajitas, but I'm sure we'll branch out and use it for more things.

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  8. UnknownJanuary 31, 2013 at 5:02 PM

    We use our canned chicken all the time. Thanks for posting to help others.

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  9. RobyneJanuary 31, 2013 at 7:05 PM

    When it gets to 15lbs pressure, how long do you time it for until you turn it off and let it sit? Thanks

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    1. AshleyJanuary 31, 2013 at 8:44 PM

      90 minutes for quarts, 75 min for pints.

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  10. AshleyJanuary 31, 2013 at 8:40 PM

    90 minutes for quarts, 75 min for pints.

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  11. SarahFebruary 1, 2013 at 9:43 AM

    I learned about them last fall and just picked up my first item (chicken fingers) a couple weeks ago. They are amazing. I hope to get the emails for the raw chicken like yours. I think their system is totally awesome! I'm glad you wrote about them :) They deserve the business, although they already sell out. Glad you noted to put your name in there too. Your canning skills look awesome. Love your blog. Don't think I've ever posted on it.....and I've read it for years. I just appreciate all the tips you put on here and for the lessons you've taught me. You are totally amazing to me and I'm so excited you are having twins. I babysat my best friends twins for years and my hubby and I hope we get a pair ;) Congrats. Sorry for the long post.

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  12. JaraeFebruary 1, 2013 at 1:49 PM

    I canned chicken from Zaycon food about a year and a half ago and just ran out so I need to do some more. Thanks for getting me thinking about it. :) One thing that I loved doing with my chicken after putting them in the pint jars was place half of a chicken bouillon cube inside. It makes the chicken taste soooo good. I would rather cook with my canned chicken then boiled or store bought canned chicken. :)

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  13. AnonymousFebruary 2, 2013 at 3:39 PM

    I really wish that I was better at canning and supplying food for storage. This post is inspiring to me. Thanks.

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  14. CallisterCatchFebruary 2, 2013 at 10:04 PM

    You can also can Teriyaki Chicken and Cafe Rio Chicken. Just marinate it in Teriyaki sauce over night and then can it like you do the regular chicken. We just cook up so ham fried rice and you have a delicious meals in minutes. The Cafe Rio chicken you just cook in the crockpot for half the time until its shreddable and then put it in and can it like normal. My family loves it!!!!

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  15. KatrinaFebruary 4, 2013 at 2:35 PM

    Thanks for sharing! I just registered with them and hope they will be coming to my area very soon!! :)

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  16. Jen KetcherFebruary 4, 2013 at 2:55 PM

    What kind of a shelf life does the canned chicken have? (How long does it stay good stored in a basement?)

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  17. UnknownFebruary 6, 2013 at 5:28 PM

    I have been buying and canning this for a while, and I love it too! I wanted to tell you that the breaded chicken tenders are delicious! When I ordered them, I couldn't find any reviews and I didn't know how they'd be, but my family LOVES THEM!

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