# Pressure canning Help! Canning Chicken



## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

We are canning pints of boneless chicken- 10 lb of pressure for 75 min- the weight has hiss consistently for the entire time- but it hasn't 'jiggled' - I am thinking that is okay?
Well now it is hissing with 20 min left on the clock- and the steam has seemed to stop? Like it ran out of water?!? Is that okay?


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

You don't want to start timing until the weight jiggles, then it should jiggle 1-4 times a minute. Did you exhaust the steam for 7-10 minutes (the time depends on your canner type) before putting the weight on? That seems like a really long time to wait before jiggling. Maybe the steam hole has something in it? I've heard of running out of water, haven't had it happen to me.

I think the bottom line is you need to re-process to be safe. Or eat up this batch or freeze if you think it'll be over-processed.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

I am going to store it in the fridge- it never jiggled- and yes we exhausted the steam for 10 min before putting the weight on it- darn it!
Well we are getting ready to do the quarts of dark meat bone in- 
I will try to make sure that it jiggles grrrr....


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

What canner do you have? The AA jiggles but the Presto rocks gently and hisses - unless you have the heat too high, then the Presto will hiss constantly. And like others said, you don't start timing until after it gets to pressure. This is where having a guage along with the weight is handy - you know where the perssure is.

my canner will take about 10 to 20 minutes to get up to pressure after I have the weight on, and that is with full heat.


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## Badger (Jun 11, 2010)

I suspect that if its not jiggeling you have too much heat. Turn the flame down and it should start to jiggle.


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

Becka03 said:


> We are canning pints of boneless chicken- 10 lb of pressure for 75 min- the weight has hiss consistently for the entire time- but it hasn't 'jiggled' - I am thinking that is okay?
> Well now it is hissing with 20 min left on the clock- and the steam has seemed to stop? Like it ran out of water?!? Is that okay?


Becka, once you vent it for 10 minutes and put your weight on you have to lower your heat waaaaaay down or you will get a steady steam/hiss etc and can run it out of water. My stove numbers are 0 to 10, I have it on 10 till I put the weight on then I lower it to around 4 so my weight will jiggle 1 to 3 times a minute----if you lower it to much and do not get a jiggle in one minute slight turn it up, if you getting a steady jiggle or to many times a minute lower it some. If you ran it out of water with 20 minutes to go I would feel it is not properly processed and would worry about it. I would redo it or eat it/freeze it.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

Thank you for all the answers and responses- I am not confident it got to 10 lbs pressure- so I am going to keep it in the fridge- so as not to waste it... I will make a buncha chicken recipes this week- LOL- I know we canned it for 75 min- but because there was no jiggling of the weighted gauge- I am not confident- nor am I willing to risk that - 
so we will have chicken all week!


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

Becka03 said:


> Thank you for all the answers and responses- I am not confident it got to 10 lbs pressure- so I am going to keep it in the fridge- so as not to waste it... I will make a buncha chicken recipes this week- LOL- I know we canned it for 75 min- but because there was no jiggling of the weighted gauge- I am not confident- nor am I willing to risk that -
> so we will have chicken all week!


Was it out of water when you opened it?


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

Becka, if there's noone there to help you in person, I think you would really benefit from watching a few you tube videos on canning. It's not that hard once you know, but it's a shame to put in all that work, material and time and then not be sure you did it right.

Bexar Prepper is a great teacher. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mZWSLlaxcI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mZWSLlaxcI[/ame]

Also Linda at sage225: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoTCqCAWHE0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoTCqCAWHE0[/ame]

Determine the pounds of pressure you need to apply for your particular elevation. (I see you live in central PA and are using 10lbs. I live in NW PA and have to use 15. If you're not sure you can find out by doing a little research on line, or maybe your manual has a key.) 

And most important of all, read your canning manual. I used a yellow highlighter in mine for all the step by step instructions. Use a ruler to get the right amount of water into the pot. Mine needs 3 inches of water, yours might be different. Don't guess on this. 

Most canners have a little peg in addition to the gauge and the rubber plug. The little peg, (pardon me, some call it a nipple) needs to rise up and stay in place during the initial venting. This will take quite a while. Once that pops into place the water will slowly begin to vent out of the pin hole in the middle of the lid. 

Once you see/hear a _steady_ (not stop and starting) flow of steam coming out of the vent, begin to time for ten minutes. Then put on your gauge. Do NOT crank the heat on as high as you can. ( I made that mistake and the gauge just hissed and water ran all over...the heat was turned up TOO high.) Just medium-high. Now you have to wait again, and it can take a while, for the gauge to begin jiggling. Now begin to time for the size jar you have....75 or 90 minutes. You want to keep movement of the gauge slow but steady...it should never completely stop. 


Now begin to reduce the burner heat slowly, _slowly_. You want to find that 'sweet spot', where the gauge is moving, but not violently....just steady swaying. 

Keep track of your start and stop times: I makes notes on a scrap of paper. 
When the canning time is completed and it's time to turn off the burner, let the pot sit and rest until the little nibbin falls back down into place. This means that the pressure has now reduced safely. Wait another 10 minutes. Looses the lid and lift it away from you: IE. lift the far side up first, so the steam does not hit you. It could burn you. 

Wait a few minutes and then you should be able to remove the jars and set them carefully in a draft - free place.

Sure hope this helps some.

I love canning. Was a scardy cat at first, but I did a lot of reading and watching and it's been well worth the effort.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

Thank you all- for the replies- yes it was out of water the first time with the pints and the jars- I could tell water had come out of them too- they were sticky- I never could get the canner to the point where it jiggled I have no idea what the problem was? It worked and jiggled fine over the summer when we did greenbeans?
But now- since it ran out of water- the bottom sorta bowed out... so it isn't sitting flat now- 
I mean the day wasn't a total loss-I got 8 old layer hens nice and tenderized LOL- and ready for meals this week right?


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

Becka03 said:


> (1)yes it was out of water the first time with the pints
> 
> I never could get the canner to the point where it jiggled I have no idea what the problem was?
> 
> (2) since it ran out of water- the bottom sorta bowed out... so it isn't sitting flat now-


Becka, if you want some help to figure out what went wrong so it does not happen again, we are willing to help as much as we can.

To look at 2 things you posted here is a definite indication that the Heat was probably way to high. Did you lower the heat way down after you "vented" it for 10 minutes when you put the weight on? If you did, your burner heat control could be shot or One other thing that could be wrong is there was a piece of something(trash/food or a bur, ding etc) where your weight sits down that was causing it to not set down right which could cause all your water to steam out.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

Fire-Man said:


> Becka, if you want some help to figure out what went wrong so it does not happen again, we are willing to help as much as we can.
> 
> To look at 2 things you posted here is a definite indication that the Heat was probably way to high. Did you lower the heat way down after you "vented" it for 10 minutes when you put the weight on? If you did, your burner heat control could be shot or One other thing that could be wrong is there was a piece of something(trash/food or a bur, ding etc) where your weight sits down that was causing it to not set down right which could cause all your water to steam out.


I can pretty guess that was the problem- that the heat was too high


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## Ali_R (Jul 18, 2011)

I had a similar problem with an All American canner. It wasn't that the heat was too high, rather it wasn't sealing correctly. My issue is that I am too weak to rotate let alone lift a full canner. My dad solved that access issue for me, he gave me a jeweler's caliper to use to ensure each clamp was even. I can get the empty canner in place on the stove and then once I'm set to go I can use the caliper to reach behind to ensure the lid is on perfectly even. 

I didn't notice you mention what canner you used and I don't know if there are other non gasket type canners (since the AA has the guage too), but the AA just hisses and goes dry when it doesn't seal. If it is a gasket canner could it possibly have a leak? It could just be too hot, but if you're getting steady hiss instead of what we call "wind blown mini blind sound" aka jiggling and a dry canner... Perhaps you're not getting a proper seal?


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