I am really curious about a canning issue I have. My 96 year old Auntie told me today that she used to fry chicken then can it. Have you ever heard of this, or done it, and if so how? Also, what kind of adjustments do you need to make when using 1/2 gallon jars to can in? Thanks.
By Sam B
Sam,I've canned chicken before to fry later but not fried chicken as you said.
If you Google; "canning chicken meat" you can read more.
Hi Sam,
I've canned freshly made pork sausage in a pressure canner, and I always started out with raw meat with all the seasonings in it. I was told that I could add "color" to the meat if I wanted to by scramble-frying it long enough to give it a nice brown color. Supposedly, this only makes it look better on the shelves of home-canned foods.
Since we used the canned sausage for making sausage milk gravy to go over hot biscuits, I was going to be frying it anyway when making the gravy, adding flour and the milk, it wasn't necessary for the meat to have any color of having been cooked at all prior to the canning process.
I know you can successfully can raw chicken meat very much the same way. Either ground up or in chunks. Just pack the jars with the raw chunks, after adding a bit of salt to the jar, and add no water or anything else. If you want color on the chicken, then you can certainly fry it in a little butter or oil first just long enough to get the color desired then proceed as above with the canning process.
If you intend to bread the chicken first, then fry it long enough to get a nice color, I think you might find that you just end up with cooked chicken in a gravy after canning. I don't think it'll come out looking or tasting like freshly fried chicken.
I am certainly open to learning more, so if anyone else has ideas or knowledge on the subject, I'm eager to know about it.
Good Luck with your canning venture.
Pookarina
I personally would not can anything in a half gallon jar. It would be difficult to be sure the internal temp reached a high enough heat to fully cook the food. Quart jars should be large enough for anything.
Yes you can can fried chicken just as you can any other meat. I would not use 1/2 gallon jars either. Way too big. They would have to be processed for such a long time to ensure that the internal temperature is high enough that you would probably end up with tough, rubbery chicken.
I'm curious as if you are thinking you will end up with nice, crispy fried chicken out of a can? I know that is what some people think of when they hear fried chicken canned. I honestly do not know if that is possible or not. I have not tried it nor heard of anyone who has. Considering meat can be canned without liquid, why not give it a shot? I would fry it til the coating was done but not quite finished cooking the meat. Follow typical pressure canning instructions for the amount and your altitude. When you're ready to have some, pop them in a preheated toaster oven or oven for about 10 mins to finish cooking the meat and crisp up the coating.
Good luck and let us know how it turns out! Oh, if you are going to do it with coating, I would not use egg or milk. I'd rinse off the meat under water and then drop in the coating to get it to stick.
Before you try canning fried chicken, which I am not quite sure you can do, PLEASE check this site. It is put out by the USDA (united states dept of agriculture) for safe canning & preserving. The link I am listing here is for meat:
www.foodsaving.com/
Yes fried chicken can be canned. My father in law told me exactly how to to it. You fry the chicken in lard. When you put it in the jars you add a small amount of the lard you cooked the chicken in. Pressure seal as you would if you were canning any other meat. After you place the lids on the chicken you turn the jars upside down and the lard is supposed to make an additional seal.
They stored their jars in what they called a root cellar which stayed dark and cold. As I understand a root cellar is a outside little room that people kept all their canned items stored in and the chicken is kept in a spot where a hole is dug into the ground. This was done in the south as winter approached and the ground was often frozen or very cold.
Found this From an old canning book.
The chicken mentioned here is pan fried chicken not the flour coated kind.
This information is for answering the question only.
From the KERR Home Canning Book 1943
Chicken (Fried)
Dress and cut up fowl in usual manner. Chicken like other meat, should not be canned until the body heat dissapears. Sear chicken in hot fat until lightly browned. Pack hot chicken into clean KERR Jars to within 1 inch of top. Add 1 teaspoon salt to each quart jar if desired. Add 3 or 4 tablespoons of fat in which chicken was seared. Put on cap, screwing band firmly tight. Process according to time table.
From the time table :
Meats
Bleed well and cool thoroughly. Precook, pack,add salt 1 teaspoon in quart, add 3to 4 tablespoons liquid or lack raw. Then process
Not water bath time in minutes 180
Pressure cooker 5 lbs time in minutes 60 minutes 15 lbs pressure
OR
90 minutes 10 lbs. Pressure
(These guidelines also apply to chicken rabbit duck and turkey )
Disclaimer !
For information and answer to question only.
This information is from the KERR home CANNING BOOK 1943 Edition
My mother used to can fried chicken but I don't know how she did it. There was no liquid and the chicken was not crispy..... but it sure was good. We took it on picnics and on our vacations. It was sooo good. She must have cooked it almost done and the pressure cooker did the rest. Sure wish I could find someone whoo knows how to do this.
Thank you for your suggestion on canning fried chicken. I knew that it would not be crispy when opened, but I had not heard of anyone doing it. I have canned it raw pack and hot pack many times. I have also canned Bacon with great results. I am 78 years old and have been canning for many years, but I am still learning and reading about the better and safer ways of doing it is exciting.
I would think precooked in airfryer would be best without any coating. Then when ready to use , crisp up in air fryer. Just not sure about liquid in the jar. I air fry all the time and am amazed at how crispy it turns out with just spices.
FIRST, NO COOKING IS NEEDED (TO FINISH COOKING THE MEAT) PROCESSING WILL COOK THE MEAT DRY CAN PINTS 75 MIN. @ 10 PSI, IT WILL COME OUT SOFT AND WILL NEED TO BE HEATED TO GET CRISP.
Slip in the air fryer upon opening the jar...crispy, perfect fried chicken!
