Bottled Chicken

I'm excited that this is my first post. I have started bottling as a way to not only save money but to eat healthier. Everything is so much better when you know what is in it.

What you are going to need is a Pressure Cooker. This will be your biggest expense. If grandma has an old one and it has all it's parts it's probably ok to use. If you don't have access to one and want to buy one I would say go bigger. This is my baby, and it can hold 7 quart jars {the big ones} and 12 pint jars {half size} It's going to be more expensive, but for me - being able to process a lot at one time is worth it.

Next you are going to want some bottles get "Ball" jars or "Mason" jars. Those are the only ones that are going to stand up to the pressure cooking. Jars are a good investment because they can be used over and over again. Walmart will usually carry them year round. Some times you can even find them on FreeCycle!! If they are cracked, throw them away, other than that they are good.

There are two kinds of mouths... the opening... normal and wide mouth. I like the wide mouth. It is easier to get things in and out of. After using the normal mouth jars I only buy the wide mouth now.

Ok... back to the chicken part. Now don't blink or you'll miss how easy this is. I mean it.... Pull out your chicken {make sure it's defrosted} wash it.... cut off excess fat... salt both sides... and put it in the jars... wipe rims  and put on lids and put filled jars in cooker, add about 3 inches of water to the pot and process. I told you it was easy!

I found that for our family the pint jars work the best. I can put 3 chicken breasts... 1 pound, in each jar. That feeds my family {2 adults, 3 eating children 7-4years old}

The first time I did this I used quart jars and I could put 5 sometimes 6 chicken breast in each jar and that was just way to much for our family. If you watch the sales you can get chicken for really cheap and then bottle it all at once.

 You will want to store the jars in a dark place {pantry shelf} If you don't use all of the chicken in the jar once you open it, just put the lid back on and put in the fridge for up to a week.

You will want to get a "Ball Blue Book" you can buy it on Amazon for less than $10 and it's so worth it!! It gives details on processing times according to what size jar you use and your altitude.

Now when you pull out your jars out of the cooker, you may be kinda grossed out because of all the juice in the jar. Don't worry. It's all chicken juice, and you just dump it off when you want to use the chicken. The chicken is completely cooked!! You just open a jar pour off the liquid and shred the chicken to use like you would canned chicken from the store. {Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken Enchiladas, Chicken Salad, sandwiches.... what ever you use chicken for}
 I also made some chicken soup. With carrots, and celery, and a broth along with the chicken and it was stuck in the pressure cooker with the plain chicken. The soup is done and all is cooked. I usually just add some noodles and there you go easy dinner.

I love it because I don't have to worry about pulling chicken out of the freezer and hoping it is defrosted before I need to use it. And lets talk about the freezer... what happens to all your chicken if the power goes out for more that a few hours??? The best part - It will stay good for 2-3 years!!!{if you don't eat it all}
You can do this with bone in chicken as well.  When it's done the chicken will fall off the bone.

It really is so easy!! Get your pressure cooking out and start bottling!!