Raw-Pack Instructions:

• Cut chicken into pieces that will fit into the jars.
• Loosely pack the chicken pieces into jars, leaving 1″ of headspace.
• Add salt if desired (up to 1 tsp for quart jars, 1/2 tsp for pints).
• Do NOT add liquid to the jars!
• Wipe the jar rims with a lint-free cloth or paper towel dampened with hot water or white vinegar.
• Top with new canning lids and jar rings (or clean and sanitized reusable canning lids and rings) and close lids according to manufacturer recommendations.
• Skip ahead to pressure-canning process instructions.

Hot-Pack Instructions:

Debone your whole chickens (or dice/portion boneless cuts)

• A stiff boning knife is best for this, but you can use a sharp chef’s knife or a stout filet knife as you prefer.
• You can do this in several ways, but I like to start with removing the breast meat- make a long cut on either side of the breast bone, freeing the meat from the bone with small cuts against the rib cage, working down towards the back of the bird.
• Remove the wing tips and wings, then the legs, cutting carefully around the tendons to free the leg quarters.
• Refrigerate or freeze the chicken pieces until you are ready to can them. If you freeze it, fully defrost before canning.

Make chicken stock (or heat pre-made stock or bouillon to a simmer)

• On a large sheet pan or roasting pans, roast the neck bones, wing tips, and carcasses/backs for stock… about 25-35 minutes in a hot oven (375-425 F), or skip the roasting to make a milder-flavored white stock.
• Place bones in a large stockpot, crock pot, or Instant Pot, along with mirepoix vegetables: peeled and large chopped carrots, celery, and onion (2 parts onions to one part each carrots and celery).
• Add a tablespoon or two of black peppercorns, a few bay leaves, parsley or parsley stems, and other fresh or dry herbs if you like. Don’t use sage! It turns bitter when pressure canned. See ingredient section above or our separate chicken stock post for more tips!
• Top up with cool water to cover the bones and vegetables by about 3-4″.
• Simmer stock over medium-low to low heat at a very low, lazy bubble for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• Strain stock & keep hot (See original post or our stock recipe for more tips & making a second lighter stock from the bones).

Par-cook and/or brown chicken

• Oven-Method: Partially cook the chicken breasts, leg quarters, and wings… there are various ways to do this, but I like to roast them on sheet pans in a hot oven (between 375-400 F).
• You can also brown the pieces in a large skillet (or several smaller ones) without cooking fully.
• You don’t need to roast them all the way through, just until they begin to color and firm up enough to slice easily. The juices should still be pink, not clear.
• The exact cook times will vary, depending on your oven and how large your chicken pieces are.
• Simmering Method: You can also simmer the chicken pieces in a large stockpot, dutch oven, or roaster in enough water or broth to cover.
• Simmer just until the meat is firm and tender enough to pick or cut from the bones, and use the light broth to pack the chicken.
• This method is simpler, and is great when you don’t want to turn on the oven, and makes a light chicken broth you can use to pack the meat.
• Roasting and packing in bone broth will give you a deeper flavor, but simmering in a quick broth is still a better method than raw-packing, and makes a great product!

Dice & de-bone meat

• Remove from the oven (or stockpot for simmering method) and let cool just enough to handle (if you have latex or nitrile gloves, these can help shield your hands while prepping the hot chicken).
• Slice white meat into large chunks or dice it into ready-to-use pieces. The pieces will shrink slightly during canning, so plan your cuts accordingly.
• Second, de-bone the dark meat. This can be tricky, especially with the tendons and small bones in the legs. You can also leave smaller cuts whole and can them bones and all!
• Use a small boning or large paring knife in a scraping motion to free the meat from the bones.
• Alternately, you can simmer the leg pieces until they are more tender and use them for soup, or pack smaller pieces whole in the jars. This will give you a collagen-rich broth in those jars, but the bones become soft and brittle during processing and need to be picked out before using the chicken in recipes, which is messy.

Pack jars for processing

• Place the recommended amount of warm water in the bottom of your canner (check your pressure canner manual, but usually 3-4" of water) and begin to preheat the canner.
• Pack clean, hot quart and/or pint mason jars with the diced or shredded meat, leaving 1" headspace at the top.
• Top up the jars with hot chicken stock, broth, or boiling water.
• You can add a teaspoon of salt to each quart jar (half teaspoon per pint) if you like. This isn't necessary for food safety but adds flavor.
• De-bubble the jars with a chopstick, de-bubbling tool, or thin flexible spatula. Top up with more stock if needed. If you run out of prepared stock, you can use boiling water.
• Wipe the jar rims with a lint-free cloth or paper towel dampened with hot water or white vinegar. Top with new canning lids and jar rings.
• Keep leftover stock hot while you process the meat. If you have room in the canner you can process the stock with the meat, though it has a much shorter processing time. If you are doing a larger batch of chicken, you can can the stock after the batch of meat. Or, refrigerate or freeze extra chicken stock.

Pressure Canning the Jars of Raw or Hot-Packed Chicken:

• Carefully place the filled jars into the preheated canner.
• Check that the canner vent isn't clogged and close & seal the lid. Bring the canner up to pressure over medium heat with the vent open, and once the canner is venting a steady stream of steam, set a timer for 10 minutes.
• When the canner has vented for 10 minutes, regulate the heat if necessary and drop the weight over the vent (or close the petcock if you have an older unweighted dial-gauge canner) to begin pressurizing the canner.
• Can quarts of chicken for 75-90 minutes (65-75 minutes for pints) at 11 PSI dial gauge/10 PSI weighted gauge up to 1000 ft (adjust to 15 at higher altitudes with a weighted canner, or consult the altitude chart link for dial-gauge adjustments). Use the processing chart in the notes below for the proper time for your batch.
• When in doubt, or when canning a mixed batch (pints and quarts, or boneless plus bone-in pieces), choose the longer processing time for your jars.
• Start your processing timer only once the appropriate PSI has been reached (11 PSI on a dial-gauge canner for up to 2000 ft, see notes for altitude adjustments), or when the weight on a weighted gauge canner is jiggling to indicate that the proper pressure has been reached.
• Watch or listen carefully, adjust heat as needed, and reset the timer to zero and restart processing time if you lose pressure below the correct processing pressure at any point.

Remove & cool the jars (+ can additional batches or stock)

• After the processing time is complete, turn the heat off. Once the pressure canner has cooled and returned to neutral pressure (the dial will drop to zero, and no steam escapes from the weight or petcock if jiggled) you should open the canner and remove the jars (follow your canner instructions for opening).
• Carefully remove the jars from the canner using jar tongs or the jar rack.
• Place the jars on a folded dish towel, cooling rack, or wooden surface. Protect hot jars from cold surfaces like granite, stainless, or concrete countertops until they have cooled.
• Process additional batches if needed, or start canning any leftover chicken broth. You can also chill the stock for up to three days before reheating and canning it if you are short on time.