As promised I have some pictures from canning chicken this past week. As you know my big deep freezer decided to die on me leaving with a mess of food to deal with. I stuffed the refrigerator freezer full, an electric cooler full and a back up small fridge/freezer in effort to save everything until I could get to canning. Alas, the electric cooler stopped running and eventually so did the old back up fridge/freezer. I did lose some food but not much and not any meat which is so darned expensive!!
Before I post the pictures I want to talk to you a little bit about forgiveness. We all have times in our lives when we need to forgive someone for something hurtful they said or did. Carrying a grudge does you no good. The bible tells us that we must forgive others if we expect God to forgive us. I hold true to this and can forgive anyone. However, I do not believe we are expected to put ourselves back in harms way if we feel the offense would happen again.
Recently I was the receiver of some very hurtful words. It was not the first time. The offender said, "it was just a joke". That is a poor excuse to me. Those kinds of jokes hurt! They cut deep and not easily forgotten, especially by someone who has been the victim of verbal and mental abuse. I did forgive this person in my heart but have chosen to cut the ties, at least for now. I do not want the added stress in my life. There is a lot on my plate that no one knows about but me and God. Had it been a one time thing I probably would have chalked it up to the person having a bad day. After all, we all have them. (In fact that is what I did the first couple of times it happened and never said a word to this person. Perhaps that was my mistake and I should have said something sooner?) However, this was becoming a recurring habit that I have no desire to subject myself to again. Is it OK to choose not to have ties with a person that hurt you even after you have forgiven them in your heart? I believe it is. Take the person who has been brutally beaten, they still need to forgive but should they then continue a relationship with that person? I don't think so!! Hurtful words can often be much worse than bruises from a beating. Those words never fade away like bruises do. Don't be a bully then excuse it off!!
OK, enough said, I'll get off my soap box now and get to the real subject at hand, canning, LOL.
Put about 2 inches of water in your pressure canner.
Get your meat and other supplies ready. My meat was pre-cooked and needs to be heated as I plan on putting it in hot broth and a pre-heated canner.
This was from the drippings when I roasted the chickens. The fat rose to the the top and will be scooped out and thrown away as I do not want all that fat in my canned product. The remaining broth will be drizzled over the chicken when I put it in the pans to heat in the oven. I will also cover the pans with foil so it holds the moisture in and the chicken won't dry out.
I have two pans of meat ready to heat in the oven. On low about 300F. It will be heating while I heat chicken broth and the canner water.
Heating up my chicken broth. This will be used to ladle over the chicken in the jars.
All my jars were washed thoroughly and kept in scalding water until ready to fill. I use a rubber spatula to work out any air pockets that might form while filling the jars. I pack the jars tight with meat then slowly ladle in the broth. Leave about 1/2 inch of head-space in the jars. Work out the air bubbles then wipe the rim to get any food or moisture removed. Then put on the lid and band and place in the canner.
When loading the canner make sure you leave space between the jars so the water can move freely when boiling. Don't over load the canner so the jars touch!!
Secure the lid to the canner. Once steam starts to come out of the top where the pressure gauge goes you can then place the gauge for the amount of pressure recommended in the recipe. This was at 10lbs pressure.
Once the gauge starts to rattle that it has reached the 10lbs of pressure turn down the heat so it rattles slow but steady. Once you have the pressure regulated start timing. Pints need about 1 hour and 15 minutes in the canner. Once the time is done, turn off the heat. It will take and hour or two to cool down enough to safely remove the gauge and open the canner. If there is still pressure in the canner when you open it, it could blow up in your face so take caution and do not rush it!! Before opening the canner, jiggle the regulator gauge, if no steam comes out you are safe to open but still open slowly, lifting the lid away from you as you do. It will still be very hot.
The jars will still be very hot. Handle with caution!! I always set my jars on a towel away from drafts. A cold counter or a cold draft can cause your jars to crack. Let them cool completely. Then remove the bands and check the seals to make sure they are tight. Wash the jars and bands off, label with date they were canned. No need to put the rings back on. Store in a cool dark place until ready to use.
Canned foods can last a lifetime but will start to lose their flavor after 3 years. By dating the label you will know when you need to rotate out your inventory if you still have some left.
This chicken will be used in stews, soups, chicken and noodles, chicken and dumplings or drained and made into a chicken salad, just to name a few things. I canned two big batches of chicken that day and am very happy the meat did not go to waste.
The wonderful thing about having canned goods in the pantry is you do not need electricity to store them!! Tomorrow I am going to can some left over ham. I got a great bargain on a whole ham but it is way too much meat for two people to eat at one time. If you have never canned before but want to try, I recommend "The Ball Blue Book of Canning". It costs about $10 and can be found most places canning supplies are sold. It is filled with recipes and "how to's" for the beginning canner. I actually used this book to learn how to can and still have it today.
Until next time,,,,,,,,,,Blessings!!
