Friday, January 27, 2012

How to: BOTTLE MEAT

Ok people, canning meat is the best ever. 
It is single handedly the most convenient thing in my life!
I am serious. 
 I use it probably 5 times a week because the other nights we are eating leftovers.

So without further ado, how to bottle chicken:


Make sure you have enough bottles, run them through the dishwasher to be sure they are sterile.

Watch the ads and when chicken goes on sale clean the store out. 
Chicken is usually anywhere from $2.00+ / lb. 
A good price on chicken is anything under $1.79 / lb. 
I got this chicken for $1.49 / lb at Macey's.

Cut off additional fat at rinse


Put the chicken in the bottles, fill to about the first rim


Add 1/2 tsp of sea salt on top

Take a clean damp rag and clean off the rim so the lid will be sure to seal.



 Put all your lids in warm to hot water before placing them on each bottle.

 Now we are ready to can!

The key to the whole process:
The Pressure Canner.
Ask your grandma, your mom, aunts, see if anyone has a pressure canner you can use. 
If not, you can order one online starting at about $200 depending on the size.
It is so worth it and it will pay for itself over and over again!

Fill it about a 1/4 way full with water.


Add your bottles. 
Depending on the size of your canner you can process 8 - 18 bottles at once.
When you close your canner you need to do it at opposite ends. Like the front one first, then the back, then the left, then the right, etc.

Turn your burner on high. 
The canner will need to get hot. Keep the pressure release in the open position. When it starts to get hot steam will come out of the pressure release that is called "exhausting." It need to exhaust for 10 min. Once 10 minutes is up close the pressure release. 
When the release is closed the pressure gage will start to climb. 
The gage needs to be about at about 14. 
When the gage gets to 14 you will time it for 70 minutes. Also you will want to turn down the burner gradually so the gage stays at 14 for the entire 70 minutes. (it will eventually be at about medium heat)
After the 70 minutes turn off your burner completely and let the pressure gage get back to zero (it will take some time, maybe around 15 minutes). Once the gage is back to zero you can flip the pressure release open to remove and pressure / steam and you can open your canner. 
Be sure you open your canner the way you closed it with opposite sides.


Voila! 
You have bottled chicken ready to be thrown into any dish. 
I use it in soups, casseroles, crockpot dishes, salads, literally anything that calls for chicken. 
It's already cooked so it makes things SO FAST!
 It is delicious and so moist. 


It's not just chicken either you can bottle pork, roast, ground beef, etc. 
(The ground beef is a little more difficult because you have to brown it before bottling. But it saves you from having to brown it later when you are cooking a meal.)

10 comments:

  1. April this is awesome!! How long does the meat stay good in the cans??

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  2. Love this April! You are such a helpful blogger. Now..to invest in a pressure cooker!

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  3. Dana, it stays good for 3-5 years, but I use it all the time that I think the oldest I have is 6 months old.

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  4. Does it make me a bad Mormon if I have never heard of doing this?!?
    I usually cook a bunch in the crockpot, then shred it and freeze in smaller amounts to use in meals. But if the power goes out, I am out of luck.
    I love this idea for food storage especially. Thanks for sharing you domestic diva.

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  5. Wow, I am fascinated by this! I had no idea this was possible. Thanks for sharing it!!

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  6. I didn't know you could do this either! Crazy. I need to find a pressure canner.

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  7. I want to do this! Next time you do this April, CALL ME! That last part is really confusing to me... Cooking is NOT my language! :) SO COOL THOUGH!

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  8. April, I'm so proud of you !!!!What a domestic goddess. A friend told me recently that she does this,but didn't tell me how. Thanks! I love your blogs.

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  9. Thanks for this information. By the way, we have April all year at my house also. (My name is April too. And yep, totally born in April. 16th to be exact.) I am planning on using this as soon as I see some meat on a good sale. It will be less expensive than buying dehydrated meat, I am pretty sure, since I already have a lot of jars and a pressure cooker. Plus, it will be more palatable since it hasn't been dehydrated. My kids might actually *gasp* be willing to eat it. Awesome. Thanks!

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