Pressure Canning Chicken

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The tested recipe for canning chicken comes from the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP), adapted from the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning. Boneless chicken takes 75 minutes for pints and 90 for quarts. Bone-in chicken takes 65 minutes for pints and 75 for quarts. Both packs use 1¼ inches of headspace. At 0 to 1,000 feet, that's 10 psi in a weighted-gauge canner; a dial-gauge canner runs at 11 psi up to 2,000 feet.

This guide covers both packs, then pressure canning chicken stock, which is a separate, much shorter process. The same recipe applies to rabbit.

Use the times, pressures and headspace exactly as written. Chicken is a low-acid food, and the only safe way to can it is in a pressure canner.

Chicken at a Glance (NCHFP)

Processing Times and Pressure by Elevation

From the NCHFP's chicken or rabbit recipe. The times apply to both hot and raw packs.

Dial-gauge pressure canner

Weighted-gauge pressure canner

Above 8,000 feet, the NCHFP gives no dial-gauge pressures, so check with your county extension office. Our pressure canning altitude chart explains the elevation bands.

Choosing and Preparing the Chicken

The NCHFP's guidance on the meat itself:

• Use freshly killed, dressed, healthy birds. Large chickens such as stewing hens have more flavor than fryers.
• Chill dressed chicken for 6 to 12 hours before canning.
• For rabbit, soak the dressed meat for 1 hour in water with 1 tablespoon of salt per quart, then rinse.
• Remove excess fat.
• Cut the chicken into pieces that fit the jars with 1¼ inches of headspace to spare.
• Decide on bones. You can can it with or without bones. Bone-in jars process faster; boneless meat comes out of the jar ready to use.

What You'll Need

• A pressure canner that holds at least 4 quart jars upright (see our best pressure canner picks)
• Pint or quart canning jars, new lids and bands (wide-mouth jars make packing pieces easier)
• A large pot or roasting pan for the hot pack
• A jar lifter, funnel, bubble remover and a ruler or headspace tool
• Hot chicken broth for the hot pack
• Canning salt (optional)

Recipe for Canning Chicken, Step by Step

Option A: Hot pack (preferred)

The NCHFP prefers the hot pack because raw chicken usually doesn't release enough fat and juice to cover itself, and the liquid improves quality in storage.

1. Boil, steam or bake the chicken until about two-thirds done.
2. Add 1 teaspoon of salt per quart to each jar if desired.
3. Fill the jars with the hot chicken pieces and hot broth, leaving 1¼ inches of headspace.

Option B: Raw pack

1. Add salt to the jars if desired.
2. Fill the jars loosely with raw chicken pieces, leaving 1¼ inches of headspace.
3. Add no liquid. This is how the NCHFP tested it, so don't top the jars up.

Process

4. Remove air bubbles in hot-packed jars and recheck the headspace. Wipe the rims with a clean, damp paper towel. Put on the lids and bands.
5. Load the jars on the rack in a canner holding 2 to 3 inches of hot water (or the amount your manual gives).
6. Lock the lid, heat until steam flows freely, and vent for 10 minutes.
7. Put on the weight or close the petcock and bring the canner to the pressure for your elevation.
8. Start timing at pressure: 75 or 90 minutes for boneless pints or quarts, 65 or 75 minutes for bone-in pints or quarts. If the pressure falls below the target, return to pressure and start the timing over.
9. Turn off the heat and let the canner cool and depressurize on its own. Remove the weight, wait 10 minutes and open the lid away from you.
10. Cool the jars undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours, then test the seals, remove the bands and label.

Our beginner's guide to using a pressure canner goes through venting and the cool-down in more detail.

Pressure Canning Chicken Stock

Stock is a separate NCHFP recipe with a much shorter process: 20 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts, hot pack only, with 1 inch of headspace.

1. Put large carcass bones, with most of the meat removed, in a large stockpot. Add enough water to cover them.
2. Cover and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, or until any remaining meat falls easily off the bones.
3. Remove the bones and cool the broth. Skim off and discard the fat.
4. If you like, pick off the small bits of meat left on the bones and return them to the broth.
5. Reheat the broth to boiling and fill hot jars, leaving 1 inch of headspace.
6. Wipe the rims with a clean, damp paper towel, adjust the lids and process.

Chicken or turkey stock: dial-gauge pressure canner (hot pack)

Chicken or turkey stock: weighted-gauge pressure canner (hot pack)

The 20- and 25-minute times are for clear stock only. Once you add pieces of chicken, vegetables or beans, it becomes a soup, and the NCHFP soup times are much longer: 60 minutes for pints and 75 for quarts. Our guide to canning beef stew covers the soup rules.

Common Mistakes When Canning Chicken

• Using 1 inch of headspace. Chicken pieces need 1¼ inches. Stock needs 1 inch.
• Using the bone-in time for boneless meat. Boneless chicken takes longer: 75 and 90 minutes, not 65 and 75.
• Packing raw chicken tightly. The NCHFP raw pack says to fill jars loosely.
• Using stock times for chunky soup. The 20/25-minute process is only for broth.
• Adding noodles, rice or thickeners. The NCHFP soup guidance rules out pasta, rice, flour, cream, milk and other thickeners. Add them when you serve.
• Canning in an Instant Pot or small pressure cooker. The NCHFP does not recommend its processes in electric multi-cookers.
• Skipping the 10-minute vent or the natural cool-down. Both are part of the tested process.

Storing and Using Canned Chicken

Store sealed jars without bands in a cool, dark, dry place. The USDA says below 95°F (35°C), with 50 to 70°F (10 to 21°C) best for quality. Canned chicken is ready for chicken salad, enchiladas, pot pie or soup; just drain it or use the liquid as broth.

Check every jar before opening. Don't taste food from a jar with a bulging or unsealed lid, rising bubbles, spurting liquid, an off smell or mold. The USDA says to treat suspect low-acid foods as if they contain botulinum toxin. For beef, pork and venison, see our guide to canning meat safely.

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