canning questions

lancecolonel

lancecolonel

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my first attempt at canning chicken is about to happen. i have a few books and some say to use 10lbs of pressure and some say use 11lbs. also, i have read both 75 and 90 minutes for length of time. is it possible to "over can"? does anything bad happen if you use too much pressure or process for too long? i am thinking i will go with 11lbs for 90 minutes but will readily accept any help that can be offered. thanks.
 
thanks. here's another: the canning process is underway. i am finding it a challenge to maintain 11lbs of pressure. it has crept up to 13 lbs a few times. i have been careful not to let it drop below 11, though. any issues with too much pressure that i should be aware of?
 
lancecolonel said:
thanks. here's another: the canning process is underway. i am finding it a challenge to maintain 11lbs of pressure. it has crept up to 13 lbs a few times. i have been careful not to let it drop below 11, though. any issues with too much pressure that i should be aware of?
Click to expand...

As long as you are operating in the safety spectrum of the canner you are GTG. Remember the pressure/time issue is for food safety and to be done in the most efficient way possible with a built in safety factor. No one says you can run it at 100 minutes with 15# of pressure as long as your canner can handle 15#. The only downside is your chicken might be moosh.
 
Chicken holds its texture very well when pressure canned.

Do a search for my "adventures in canning" threads.

There's a reason I use a canner with a "jiggiler" instead of a gauge [wink]
 
I second the jiggler vs the dial gauge. It makes it a little easier to maintain pressure and is less likely to go bad. Gauges can go out of cal and should be checked annually. I have 2 canners that came without jiggles. One a sears and one an All American. Both have been fitted with jigglers.
 
lancecolonel said:
^ how do you do that? are they universal? i have a presto canner.
Amazon.com: Presto 01781 23-Quart Pressure Canner and Cooker: Kitchen & Dining

is this what i should buy?
Amazon.com: Presto Pressure Canner Pressure Regulator: Home & Kitchen
thanks in advance
Click to expand...

I tihnk that is the part you need but I would call and verify it with Presto first before ordering it. I converted an older Sears, which I think is an older Presto, and used that part. I trust the weighted jigglers over the dials as they cant really go out of cal.
 
I use a jiggler as well and we can all our meats for 75 minutes at 10lbs, we are on the border for elevation between the 10/15 lb mark but we've always used 10lbs without any problem.

If I had as many $5 bills as jars of chicken I'd be retired right now and none of it has killed me in 4 years.
 
thanks! i ordered it the other day as it looked like it was compatible. methinks it will be a lot easier than constantly monitoring the gauge and adjusting heat....
to everyone else:
like twigg said above, search for his canning threads. lots of good info in those. answered a bunch of questions i hadn't even asked yet.
 
update: was pleasantly surprised when i opened a jar of chicken and it smelled like a freshly roasted bird. [smile] however, i threw the chicken in a crock pot with some onions, cream of mushroom soup and white cooking wine and let it cook on low for a couple hours. my husband reported that the chicken seemed overcooked. i guess the lesson learned here is to cook everything for a much shorter time when using your own canned meat, or add the meat towards the end of the cooking time.

i am currently processing some boneless chuck stew meat and using the "jiggler" i linked to above. wow, what a difference. set it and forget it (pretty much).

i added a spoonful of dried minced onion flakes to each jar and plan on trying twigg's stroganoff recipe (read his threads!) in a few weeks.

thanks again for all the tips, guys!
 
lancecolonel said:
, i threw the chicken in a crock pot with some onions, cream of mushroom soup and white cooking wine and let it cook on low for a couple hours. my husband reported that the chicken seemed overcooked.
Click to expand...

Remember; any meats ypu pressure can at home are "Cooked" by the canning process all you need to do is just heat them up.This might mean you'll need to par-boil your veggies first then add the sauces with the meat later.

Home canned meats can be eaten cold right out of the jar. On that note I'd suggest removing the skin off ANY kind of poultry BEFORE canning it as the skin turns gelatinous, is very yucky and hard to seperate from the other fluids in the jar.

Think "Turkey flavored snot" ... it's that bad. [thinking] [puke]
 
Twigg said:
Remember; any meats ypu pressure can at home are "Cooked" by the canning process all you need to do is just heat them up.This might mean you'll need to par-boil your veggies first then add the sauces with the meat later.

Home canned meats can be eaten cold right out of the jar. On that note I'd suggest removing the skin off ANY kind of poultry BEFORE canning it as the skin turns gelatinous, is very yucky and hard to seperate from the other fluids in the jar.

Think "Turkey flavored snot" ... it's that bad. [thinking] [puke]
Click to expand...

Pork fat is similar after canning, the more that can be removed prior to canning the better.

Corned beef isn't too bad though, if you make homemade corned beef hash it kinda just mixes with the potatoes and meat.
 
But...but pork fat renders into such tasty gravy !

Greasy yes, but oh so tasty !
hungry.gif
 

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