Canning Chicken Soup & Broth

[ShepInTheValley]

I got lucky and got 10 lb pkgs of chicken hindquarters for 29 cents a pound. I baked them up yesterday, then cleaned the meat off the bones and bagged it up in Ziplocs. I threw the bones and skin into a big covered stew pot filled with water... allowing it to steam cook for a couple of hours. Then I strained it and refrigerated the broth overnight. This morning I peeled the fat off the top, then canned half of the broth into pint jars for future use. The other half, I added some seasonings and homemade noodles and canned some homemade chicken noodle soup.

I want to get a headstart on the winter cold & flu season with the healthy stuff on my shelf!

In the past, I've canned the chicken meat in water with chicken bouillion flavoring (powder)... MUCH cheaper than buying those small cans of chicken! Oh man that stuff's delicious... I like to eat it right out of the jar!

 

[Sarrah]

Good girl. Nothing better than home made chicken broth. Not to say in a pinch the store bought won't do. I wonder about the noodles though. Seems to me they don't do well home canned. I hope I remember wrong.
I made a hugh batch of chicken broth in the spring when we butchered. I canned the chicken meat seperate from the broth, I used just enough broth to cover it. My reasoning was I can make chicken whatever or soup. Works for us.
I had really good luck last year canning beef vegetable barley soup. It was one of those things that improved with age. I kept the barley light so it wouldn't take over and it worked good.

 

[sssarawolf]

You can always make up some noodles real quick, & then open ur chicken broth or whatever u have canned.

 

[ShepInTheValley]

The noodles won't make us sick will they?

 

[Sarrah]

They won't make you sick... relax
My understanding is they absorb the liquid and break down. I've never canned them myself. It is what others have told me so I didn't do it. Now you've done it you know more than I do. You can share your knowledge, so please let us know.

 

[Deemy]

I just got both chicken breast and leg quaters last weekend on sale! I cooked down the breast bones and got 7 qt of stock canned plus all of the chicken ready to eat in freezer. Lots of work but nice to see in my freezer. If it sale comes again I'm going to can it. I prefer to just can the stock rather than noodles because when sick I only want the broth and crakers. Deemy

 

[Mushroom]

I make broth from things that I cut off (skin trimmings, excess fat, tails, wingtips, etc) that I save in the freezer till I get enough to make a gallon ziplock bagful. I put it into my slow cooker and cook till the juices brown on the bottom of the cooker. I like the darker, richer broth I get that way. Then I add water to cover and simmer for 1 hours. I strain out the meat and chill. When chilled, I remove the fat and reheat. I boil the broth to reduce it then can. I get a rigcher broth that can be used for making gravy or soup. It's always nice to have it on the shelf. Notice that I didn't add salt. It leaves me free to add the salt when I cook with it.

Mushroom

PS, I do the same thing with beef trimmings and bones. The solids go to the cats/dogs to boost their nutrition.

 

[Army Girl]

I tried to can chicken noodle soup and the poor noodles just don't stand up to the processing. Tried again with homemade egg noodles and they held up very well , now when making soup to can I am sure to use the homemade egg noodles.

I use about a half cup of flour for each egg and work in more flour while kneading and rolling the dough. I make rolled out dough rounds about a foot in diamater then place about 4 rounds together and roll them like a jelly roll and slice noodles about a quarter inch thick. I don't let them dry...just throw them right into the soup.

My guess is store bought have a smaller egg to flour ratio and fall apart under the processing more readily.

 

[Tundra Gypsy]

Sorry for my ignorance, but when you say you "canned" up some soup; do you use the hot water method or do you have to put it in a pressure cooker? I'd love to put up some chicken soup; but don't have a clue. Thanks for the help.

 

[ShepInTheValley]

Anything with meat products has to be pressure canned... for chicken - 10 lbs of pressure, 1 hr 15 min for pints and 1 hr 30 min for quarts, I believe (haven't had my first cup of coffee yet so I'm still "iffy").

The homemade noodles in the first batch appear to have held up better than a second batch I canned yesterday with elbow macaroni. Our neighbors with a big family were all sick with the flu so I thought I'd make up a huge pot of soup for them, starting with the broth process the first day. I had to make an emergency trip to the vet the next day so everything got put on hold for a day. When I called the neighbors that night to see how they were doing, everyone was all better! I'd already added the macaroni (to stretch it and make it more filling)... so I was left with all this soup.

I ended up canning it but it appears the macaroni did not hold up. I haven't tried any of either batch, but will try and remember to let you know how these turned out when I do.

 

[Taz]

I made 60 pts of chicken stew this summer. I put it over biscuits or rice. When I make soup I use rice instead of noodles. Seems to work better.
It seems that pork is about the cheapest of meats these days. A few years ago I made a few qts of pork stew. Just as you would make your beef stew. It was to kill for! Am going to repeat that as soon as I can get home again. We are in RV in Housten right now.
I also want to make jerky. Seems to me that if one rehydrated jerky it would be mighty good in scalloped potatos.

Taz

 

[ShepInTheValley]

Well the chicken soup turned out good, other than I wish the macaroni weren't in it. I had one pint that doesn't look good like the others, a little dark on the top... so that will go down the garbage disposal. Maybe the seal didn't work right.

It turned out very thick so I just added a little water and more chicken broth to stretch it for a meal with grilled cheese sandwiches.

Last night I needed to cook something up fast because I had to go to town due to car trouble. I pulled out a pint of cooked hamburger, a quart of canned tomatoes and a small can of tomato paste, added some water and spaghetti seasoning. At the end I thought I'd add a small can of mushrooms and the sauce turned out wonderful!

I LOVE having my preps!

 

[monkeyface]

Ok, here's my question--what about the amount of salt and garlic? Do you add that when you heat it up or when you can? I did some spaghetti sauce a few years ago and it overwhelmed us with the salt and garlic that was in it. Same thing with the chicken soup I had made.

 

[Deemy]

I don't ever use salt or perrer in recipes...they are far to easy to add later and to ones onw taste. Dee

 

[momof23goats]

way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I do this every year, it is just a good thing to have handy. I also do turkey, beef, and deer. hubby loves it all.
yum!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know this will be really handy for you. so proud of you.

 

[blue gecko]

Every Tuesday night we feed local college kids...afterwards I can whats left. It's great to have chili, vegie soup, chicken soup, gumbo, beans, spaghetti sauce etc on the shelf. BTW for those of you who have canned noodles and found it unsat may I suggest putting the soup in the blender and pureeing the contents. Then you could thicken for gravy or pour over chicken or just tell every one its 'cream or chicken' LOL At least it won't go to waste. BG

 

[blue gecko]

A quick question for everyone doing this. Has anyone found a good time chart for different kinds of mixtures like the above? I usually choose the time/pressure for the meat in the soup but sometimes that seems a bit excessive...I still go with the longer time but a more definitive chart would be nice. BG

 

[Sarrah]

That is the rule I use too blue gecko. Time and pressure to the food item that takes the longest processing time.

 

[Taz]

What Sarrah says is the rule of thumb.

Taz