how to: can chicken

so this past year i've really been "growing up" as far as my food storage goes and have even bravely ventured into canned chicken. for just a few select recipes, and i always buy it at costco. but this past week, i learned how to actually can and preserve chicken at home! seems gross - i'm not going to lie, it kind of is. but i think it's a money-saver, and it's a great way to be able to have more protein in your home storage, especially if you don't have a deep freeze (or it's already full). so here goes:

(1) chop your RAW chicken into chunks and put in a large bowl, sprinkling a
layer of salt on in between each layer of chicken. at this time, also add about 1 1/2 inches of water to your pressure canner and turn heat to high.

(2) wash your jars before using, leave them in the dishwasher so they stay warm
until ready to use them. wipe the rims of the jars, making sure there is no dirt/specks of dirt on your rims (otherwise they may not seal properly). keep your lids in a pan of hot water until ready to use. spray inside of jars with cooking spray -- this will help your chicken come out easier.

(3) using a funnel, fill your clean and warm jars with chicken. do not add
water or anything else. using a plastic knife, stir it around to get out any air
bubbles. leave about 1/2 inch headspace. re-wipe your rims and put the lid on.
place jars in your pressure canner.

(4) place jars in your pressure canner. put the lid on, but do not put the
weight on yet. let the canner exhaust (blow steam out of the top) for 7
minutes.

(5) after 7 minutes of exhausting, put the weight on and then watch for your
gauge to get to 10 pounds of pressure.

(6) when it reaches 10 pounds, adjust your heat so the pressure stays even at 10
pounds. if using pint jars, then process for 75 min. if using quart jars, then process for 90 minutes.

(7) at the end of your processing times, remove jars and let cool until
completely cool. wash jars and write the date on top. you're
done!

alright, i hope you learned something. good luck!