Fifty-Three Pounds Of Chicken

Hey there! Welcome back.

What is your favorite way to process fifty-three pounds of frozen chicken if it suddenly landed on your counter? Probably like you, I had never thought of what I would do with that much chicken at once. But then a friend showed up with a large box of chicken pieces just hoping we would be willing to take it off their hands. How could I say no? It may have also been that saying no never even crossed my mind. I mean, this was fifty-three pounds of free chicken for me to put up. That sounded like a home canner’s dream come true. So I quickly decided that this much chicken just had to be canned, as that opened up practically endless possibilities for how it could be used later.

Since the chicken was still frozen solid, I let it sit out to thaw, aiming to start processing once it was thawed enough to separate. After getting a “good” start, I saw that despite all the chicken baking and boiling and cooling I had gone through less than half the box. It was quickly becoming obvious that this was just the beginning of a full-blown chicken canning marathon.

So, more chicken went into the oven, stockpan, and even my crockpot in a seemingly endless procession until all 120+ pieces were cooked and ready to be picked off the bones. 

That was a whole process in itself and for a while I wasn’t sure if I was going to run out of chicken first, or fingers. Micah and Alayna both wanted to help, but as they struggle to detect all the bones, I stuck it out myself.

Once the meat was all ready, I pulled out my jars, filled them with steaming meat, topped them off with broth and a little salt, and prepared my pressure canner. Only to find that the weight was missing. That sent me into researching and digging until I found out how to water bath chicken. Since my water bath canner was also missing in action I made do with a large stock pan. Now, before anyone gets worried, I know pressure canning is the standard for meat, but since water bath canning used to be all anyone did, I decided to give it a try.

I have to admit, waiting the entire 180 minutes while the jars canned was definitely not my favorite part of it all. Since I was using a substitute pot, it was not tall enough to put as much water in as was needed. Instead, I had another pan of water going and kept topping off the “canner” when it got a little low.

After removing all the bones for bone meal, the scraps for dog food, and enough meat to make four meals for ten people, I was able to put up five quarts of chicken. Not a huge amount, but I was happy.

By the time I was done, it was 11 PM and I was rather tired but satisfied. Seeing those jars lined up on the counter, knowing they’d be feeding my family in the months to come, made all the effort feel worthwhile. It’s funny how something as simple as preserving food can feel like such an accomplishment, but every time I do it, I’m reminded why I love it.

And now, if fifty-three pounds of chicken shows up at my door again, I will know what to do with it!