The Death of a freezer and Canning chicken

Friday night we found our big freezer wasn't freezing. Lovely thing to find out on a Friday night, on a major holiday weekend. Went to bed and got up early on Saturday to take a look. Found the defrost timer had failed. AGAIN. Emptied the freezer into ice chests. Most was still frozen, but the chicken and the sea food. And the vegetables. They were pretty mushy. Tossed the seafood and took the veggies and fruit to the compost pile

The defrost timer seems to last about 5 years. Took it apart and found it was DIRTY. Dog hair, cat hair and general dirt. Cleaned it up. Not good tasting but very strong moonshine works great as a solvent!. Put it back together, tested it with my multimeter and it was good to go. Now since that malfunctioned, it froze up the main coil and fan. Had to take that apart and get Christine's hair dryer to thaw that out.

Once I got that done, dried out and then tested, we loaded back up the still frozen beef and pork and the veggies that were still frozen. But were left with a lot of chicken that was still good, but was way to much to cook and then serve, So we canned it.

De-bone the chicken and make sure to removed tendons cartilage and excess fat. Cut the chicken in to about ¾ to 1 inch pieces. This makes it easier to pack in the jars, and get out again.

We put in about 2 cups of chicken to a pint jar, leave about 1 inch head space. You can do it dry or I added a 1/4 cup of broth. wipe the mouths of the jar with white vinegar. This removes any left over grease. The lids I boil up a pot of water put the lids in and turn off the heat. If you boil them you can loosen the gasket, well that's what my grandmother taught me so I use it and never had a jar not seal. Put the rings on finger tight. To loose and the jars will leak, to tight and you may have a time getting them off.

Once you put the jars in make sure there is about an inch of water over the top of the jars. To little and the jars may not seal. To much and it might cause splashing or excessive steam, potentially leading to a decrease in the water level during the processing time. This may lead to the jars ending up uncovered and not fully processing leading to unsafe food. Seal it up and turn the heat on until steam is coming out the vent. This pushes out oxygen and fills the canner with steam. Then put the weight on and start the timer when it hits 11 lbs per sq inch.

Once 90 minutes is up turn off the heat and let the pressure drop on its own. Remove the jars and put them on a towel on the counter. If you put the hot jars on a cold counter they can shatter. And it's not fun with hot glass and boiling chicken flying about. Doing this on an electric stove it reminds me of my grandmother canning on her wood burning range. Having to move the canner around to maintain temperature, The pressure is VERY important. To low of a pressure can leave harmful bacteria which at the least make you sick. Or kill you. Pressure canning is not the mystery or danger that people think. It preserves foods that need no refrigeration and with proper storage keeps them good to eat for a very long time. Web versions of The USDA Canning guide or The Ball Mason Jar Canning guide are valuable tools to have on hand.

Home canning is safe and kind of fun to do. Proper tools are needed to do it safely. Here is a list of the products we use in our home.

We use the Presto 23 quart canner. I'd LOVE to have an American Standard, they are WAY out of our price range.The Presto does the job well and is compatible with induction ranges. You can find it here on Amazon. Presto 23 qt Canner

Canning tools. You need the proper tools to can safely. Using tongs to grab a hot jar is asking for disaster. I've seen a person lift one out of the canner, dropping it and causing multiple to explode. Remember they are under pressure until the cool. While this is not the same that we use it is a good kit. Canning Kit This jar lifter is the Mercedes of them. It fits my big hands the best. Jar Lifter

While web based guides or convenient, having the actual book is long term security. The Ball Canning Guide is a literal life saver if things go bad. Knowing how to safely can you food will keep you alive when things fail.

Have fun and safe canning!

Chuck