# Is there really no way to home can gravy?



## Honduras Trish

My research on the internet seems to suggest that there's no safe way to can gravy. But I'm still wondering. Does anyone here can gravy? Do you have a good, safe method?

I've been canning lots of chicken, by roasting it first, then chopping the meat, then canning it. As a result, I'm producing lots of grease and drippings for making pan gravy. So far, I've been saving this in the freezer, which is convenient enough, except that I don't have much freezer space, and the fixings for gravy are taking over the freezer! I sure wish I could can it.

Thanks!

Edited to add: How about canning the grease and drippings, without the flour? That's how I'm storing it in the freezer, a container with 1/4 cup grease and 2 cups drippings. Would it be possible to can this mixture?


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## Horseyrider

I wouldn't. Much fat messes with the rubbery stuff in the seals. Makes them gummy and nasty. 

Have you ever considered making a chicken demi glace? You reduce, reduce reduce and then pour the thick syrup into a jar and refrigerate. Then all you need to do is pull out a teaspoon to a tablespoon and add it to soups to enrich them.


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## Honduras Trish

Horseyrider said:


> I wouldn't. Much fat messes with the rubbery stuff in the seals. Makes them gummy and nasty.


Now this is kind of scaring me. All of my chicken, both the chopped and the ground, that I've canned has some grease on the top of the meat - probably close to 1/4 cup in some instances. They appear to have sealed fine - should I be worried about them?



> Have you ever considered making a chicken demi glace? You reduce, reduce reduce and then pour the thick syrup into a jar and refrigerate. Then all you need to do is pull out a teaspoon to a tablespoon and add it to soups to enrich them.


I'll have to look into this - thanks!


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## stef

Horseyrider said:


> I wouldn't. Much fat messes with the rubbery stuff in the seals. Makes them gummy and nasty.
> 
> *Have you ever considered making a chicken demi glace? You reduce, reduce reduce *and then pour the thick syrup into a jar and refrigerate. Then all you need to do is pull out a teaspoon to a tablespoon and add it to soups to enrich them.


Excellent suggestion!


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## judylou

To can gravy? No, I'm sorry, not safely. There is just too much fat in it. The fat insulates the bacteria - if any - and prevents the heat from killing it. Not to mention the fat can turn rancid with time.

Demi glace works best, I agree but you may also can it as stock using the standard chicken stock directions and then just use it to make gravy. The directions call for de-fatting the broth as much as possible first. Many will let it sit in the refrigerator overnite so that most of the fat will congeal and can be easily removed. 

It isn't possible to remove ALL of it, just as when canning meat, but you can remove the majority of it. When canning fatty meats you also need to defat it as much as possible before canning it but a thin layer (1/4 cup sounds like an awfully lot to me) of congealed fat will develop on the top of the jar.

Canning chicken stock: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_05/stock_broth.html


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## Guest

It's not the fat in the gravy that is the problem otherwise we wouldn't be able to can meat. It does have an insulative effect but that is remedied by adding to the processing time which is why meat is at 75/90 minutes for pints and quarts.

It's the thickener that is the problem. Flour or whatever it messes up the convective heat flow within the jar and you'd have to process it for quite a long time to over come that. So long that the gravy would likely be ruined.

This is why things like mashed pumpkin/squash and other foods with a similar consistency are not recommended to be canned any longer. The heat within the jar has to be able to flow properly so that the entire contents of the jar comes up to the necessary temperature level.


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## tinknocker66

A easy way to remove the fat is to pour liquid into as wide of a pot or container as possible. lay a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the fat and refriderate over nite. In the morning pull up plastic and all the fat will stick to it.I learned this by accident and now use this method all the time.


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## judylou

> It's the thickener that is the problem. Flour or whatever it messes up the convective heat flow within the jar


Excellent point! It never even occurred to me someone would try to can gravy with flour already in it.

But the fat is also a primary problem and the insulating effect isn't really off-set by a longer processing. That is why both - any added fats and flour (and all thickeners) are restricted in home canning. That pretty much eliminates any possibility of canning gravy.

Trish - there are many foods that cannot be safely canned at home. It is a very different process than commercial canning. So if you are new to canning, especially pressure canning, it is important to stick with approved and tested recipes like the Ball books and NCHFP, not your own recipes.


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## linda b

Do a search on canning storeing fat, chicken fat


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