Canning Cubed Chicken

For several weeks I've had this brain child for canning cubed chicken.  We have been canning shredded chicken for years, it's one of our staples!  We use it for enchiladas, street tacos, chicken noodle soup, taco soup, chicken pot pies etc.  Basically any recipe that begins with cooking chicken breasts and shred I use our canned chicken.  That busy work is done and the meal is ready about 30 minutes sooner.

With that in mind I wanted to can chicken in cubes.  My primary goal was to have chicken I could use for copy cat Chick-fil-A nuggets AND copy cat Panda Express Sweet Asian Chicken with Rice.  

My hesitation on doing this sooner is that when I looked at canned chicken it had those white floaties that look like egg whites and generally just looked unappealing.  I'm sure they taste fine but I couldn't get over the appearance.   

In researching chicken I found that most of the white gel type substance that comes off of the chicken is the preservatives and fillers injected in chicken. Not all of it is fillers, come of it is coagulated protein that is naturally found in chicken. But it just isn't appealing.  One of the food extensions for home food preservation stated that canning fresh chicken is preferred.  Previously frozen chicken will yield more goo. 

So I began with fresh chicken breasts and cubed it into one and a half inch squares.  Next I seared the cubes in a hot skillet with some vegetable oil.  This will help the shape of the cubes hold up in the canning process.  It also allowed some of the white coagulated protein to cook out.  

Do not cook the meat all the way, only sear the edges.  The chicken will complete cooking in the canner.  When the chicken was seared and cooled slightly I ran it under warm water to rinse off any protein floaties.  

To keep the chicken warm while I seared multiple batches I placed the seared meat in my Crock Pot. Once all the meat was seared I began packing it into my sterilized Ball Wide Mouth Quart Jars.  Into each quart jar I added 2 tablespoons of Dill Pickle Juice. Because it has vinegar, salt, sugar, pepper, garlic, and other spices already infused into it, pickle juice functions as a great marinade, and its acidity goes perfectly with the buttermilk coating of fried chicken.   

Add 1 teaspoon Morton Canning and Pickling Salt per quart to the jar, if desired. I filled the jars with hot water or broth, leaving 1-1/4 inch headspace. Use a plastic tool to remove air bubbles. 

Process in a Pressure Canner, Quarts for 90 minutes and pints for 75 minutes with 10 lbs of pressure.

Now for the test, for dinner tonight I opened a jar and drained the broth.  Next roll the chicken in flour with salt and pepper and fry.  I served them with waffle fries!  It worked beautifully.  My test batch was five pounds of boneless chicken breasts yielding three quart jars.  

Now that I know this gives me the results I was wanting, I'll be watching for chicken breast to go on sale! Enjoy! 

  

Listen, my son, and be wise,

    and set your heart on the right path:

Do not join those who drink too much wine

    or gorge themselves on meat,

for drunkards and gluttons become poor,

    and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

Proverbs 23:19-21