As I progress through the month of Canuary, January to all you non-canners, I challenge myself to use recipes that have an explosive flavor profile that you wouldn’t necessarily think would come from the contents of that pretty glass jar sitting on your shelf. As I went through my current inventory, as well as the provisions I have on hand to use for canning, I realized that I had everything I needed to create a family favorite that currently doesn’t exist on my shelves, and that is truly unacceptable. How that oversight came to be will forever be a mystery, but I intend to remedy this situation henceforth. The flavor in this recipe is an explosion of sweet and tangy with a hint of heat but not to any point of it being actually hot on your tastebuds. All the ingredients create a cohesive medley that is sure to become a staple in your pantry as well!
My grandchildren love this dish. And I love not only the flavor buy the versatility of the dish itself. It can be a fabulous base to a stir fry, or even used to create a fried rice dish. The Asian flare will lend itself nicely to multiple recipes and flavor profiles. But make no mistake, it’s simply divine on its own right out of the jar. This dish is scrumptious shredded in a flour tortilla topped with a homemade slaw. The possibilities are truly endless. Yeah, it’s that good.
And so, it was decided that the next flavor explosion would be in the form of Asian Chicken Thighs. I had recently gotten a great deal on chicken thighs and had some waiting to be used in the freezer. It was meant to be. I plan on stocking my shelves with flavor profiles Wolfgang Puck himself would envy, and this dish qualifies! If you’d like to watch me make this dish on my YouTube channel you can do so by clicking here.
[recipe title= "Canning Asian Chicken Thighs" servings= "Approx. 5 qts. or 10 pints" difficulty= "Easy Beginner"]
Ingredients:
- About 30 boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
- 6 Individual bulbs of green onions, sliced
- 1 c. Honey
- 1 c. Water
- 3/4 c. Liquid Aminos *You can use soy sauce instead
- 1 6oz. Can of organic tomato paste
- 1/4 c. Rice Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. Sriracha sauce
- 1 Tbsp. Onion powder
- 1 Tbsp. Garlic powder
- 4 Tbsp. Clear Jel
Recipe:
Wide mouth jars are the perfect option for this recipe, but you could also use standard size if that’s all you have. Wide mouth jars make it easier to get the chicken inside the jars as the opening doesn’t taper inward. Start by inspecting your jars, lids and rings to make sure they are in perfect conditi0n for canning, free of any cracks, chips, rust or dents. Discard and replace any that you question. Clean the jars, lids and rings with hot soapy water and rinse thoroughly. Set aside. This is a raw pack recipe so there is no need to keep the jars warm while you prepare the ingredients. Room temperature is fine.
Slice up the green onions including the white base to within an inch of the root. Thats all great flavor you won’t want to discard. *Toss the remaining roots into your scrap bag in the freezer. Do the same with the trimmed fat from the chicken thighs. They make perfect additions to your stockpot when making homemade chicken stock.
Add about 2 Tbsp. of sliced green onion to the bottom of each jar. Next start layering the chicken thighs in the jars. Layer them on the sides, leaving the center slightly open. This will allow the core to reach the proper temperature ensuring the chicken has been cooked thoroughly and properly for the allotted time. It also guarantees successful debubbling when the time comes. Another crucial element to canning. Tap the chicken thighs down but do not pack too densely. Quart jars will take approximately 6-8 chicken thighs depending on their size. Pints will take about 3-4 chicken thighs also depending on their size. Retain a 1″ headspace in each jar.
Next mix up the honey, the water, the liquid aminos (soy sauce) tomato paste, vinegar, sriracha sauce, onion and garlic powders and the Clear Jel in a bowl. Combine until smooth and lump free. I like to use my immersion blender with the whisk attachment to complete this step. It makes the sauce so velvety smooth.
Next ladle the cold sauce into the jars using a jar funnel and your debubbler tool to help the sauce get all the way throughout the jars completely encompassing the chicken thoroughly. Be sure to remove all the bubbles and readjust the liquid to maintain the 1″ headspace in any jars that need it.
Wipe the rims and the sides of the jars with white vinegar to ensure a proper seal. Apply the lids and the rings to the jars taking care to make sure the rings are on finger tight.
Set them in a cold pressure canner in about 3″ of water. Add any leftover vinegar from cleaning the rims. Seal your canner, let it vent and bring your canner to your specific PSI level and process for the specified time: Quarts should be processed for 1 hour, 30 minutes and Pints should be processed for 1 hour, 15 minutes.
Remove the rings from the jar when it is safe to do so and leave the jars overnight. Check the seals in the morning. Any jars that didn’t seal properly should be refrigerated and used or reprocessed. Personally, I never reprocess anything. it destroys the integrity of the proteins making them kind of mushy and unable to hold their original form.
Make sure to enter this canning session in your journal with the recipe, the yield and whatever notes you feel are important to remember. Date the jars and enjoy!
Note: You could use boneless skinless chicken breasts or even pork. I prefer to use the chicken thighs as they have the dark meat which contains all the flavor.
[/recipe]