I have been waiting for 4th of July to come along so I can stock up on chicken. First thing this morning, I ventured down the hill to my only supermarket in town and purchased a lot of boneless/skinless breasts for cheap, cheap, cheap!!! I brought them home, packaged them, and into the freezer. Although, all the while, I had a little voice in my head telling me to go get more and pressure can it. Some people get obsessed with sports- I get obsessed about food storage. I'm sure there is no cure!!!
I am not one to be nervous or question my ability, but I have never been comfortable at the thought of processing chicken. Mostly due to safety and...well...texture. BUT...I convinced myself to not be "such a chicken" and I went back to the store, purchased 20 pounds of jumbo thighs and 2 entire split chickens for $30.00 and brought them home. No turning back then!
So, I had to make the decision as to which method I was going to try for the first time. I decided skin off, bone out, raw pack with no liquid added and no additional salt. There are lots of different schools of thought out there about the "best" way... (as there always seems to be regarding prepping) but they are all safe and effective ways to get the desired results. So let's take a look.
Before you attempt any preservation of foods:Know your ingredients and your equipment and be prepared to spend hours in the kitchen. You can not walk away from a pressure cooker. I am not responsible for anything!
1st- I took all skin and bones off and out of my chicken pieces. This took a long time (3 hours) but the meat was inexpensive, so it was worth it. Remember you can leave the bone in and the skin on if you want to.
Next- I packed the meat tightly into pint jars (of course you can use quarts). Make sure there are no air pockets and leave a 1 inch head space. Wipe the tops of your jars thoroughly. They will be greasy and you will not get a seal if you skip this step.
Process jars in a pressure cooker: 10 pounds of pressure
pints-bone in- 1 hour and 5 minutes
pints- bone out-1 hour and 15 minutes
quarts-bone out-1 hour and 30 minutes
Use your chicken for soups, stews, enchiladas, casseroles and absolutely everything you use cooked chicken in.
I did it! You can, too!!!
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