Homemade chicken stock is an absolute staple in my pantry. Stock of any variety is for that matter. It has so many uses in a variety of different ways, in various recipes creating flavor profiles only a scratch made stock could provide. Truth be told I always keep a few commercially produced varieties on hand for those just-in-case moments, but as a general rule I try to keep homemade stock on hand. It’s too easy to make not to!
I shared a post a few months back about making chicken broth and how simple it is to do. You can read about that here if you are interested in learning more.
I had made about 17 cups of homemade broth that I stuck in my refrigerator using two half-gallon mason jars. Disclosure: I love the way it looks when I open my fridge and I see those nostalgic Ball jars sitting there with their ember-colored nectar inside, just like my great-grandmas fridge contained every single time I ever opened it. I’m not kidding. I love incorporating these types of elements into my own life. They give me a connection to a time gone by that I remember fondly and learned so much from. This being one of them. So, I have my beautiful broth in the fridge and then life happens. Two days go by… then three and on the fourth day I realized that I forgot all about it. So very early Sunday morning I decided to heat it back up and can it. There was no way I could use all this stock before it went bad, and I would be quite upset with myself if I had let that happen. So, after a delicious cup of Christmas tea from the Bar Harbor Tea Company which I just happen to purchase in bulk It’s. That. Good. I decided to heat up the stock to redistribute the fats back into the broth and prepare my jars.
The USDA says you do not have to sterilize jars, lids or rings if they will be processed longer than 10 minutes, so I don’t. I just wash them in good hot, soapy water and rinse them. I do the same with the lids and the rings always taking care to inspect and check each item to ensure that it is in perfect condition for canning. Whether the item is new or used, I always inspect it before each use. If I’m canning something hot, then I always keep hot water in my clean jars until it’s time to put the contents inside them. This prevents the jars from encountering thermal shock and bursting from the extreme temperature change. That’s an important rule to remember. If you’re canning something cold, the jars can be cold and your starting water for your processing vessel should be cold. If you’re canning something hot, the jars need to be hot and the water in your canning vessel needs to be hot and ready to go.
Using wide-mouth pint size jars and my stainless-steel jar funnel I ladled the hot broth in. I used a 1″ headspace rule for this session which turns out to be just under 2 cups per each pint size jar. A perfect amount to keep and use without waste. I was able to fill 7 pints and had about 1 1/2 cups left over which I put in a jar in my fridge to use now. Because this broth was made using chicken bones, it should be processed in a pressure canner. Pints should process for 20 minutes, and quarts should process for 25 minutes. I have friends who exclusively water bath and that’s fine if that’s how they want to do it. I enjoy utilizing both ways honestly. I like water bathing and I like using the pressure canner, so I tend to follow the “general rules of canning”. At least when it comes to which vessel is recommended…
After my jars finished processing, I let the canner naturally depressurize. This simply means that I let the pressure leave the canner on its own and in its own time. For my particular Presto canner, this means that the gauge will have gone down to zero. The air vent, otherwise known as the cover lock, located in the front has also gone down flat, and when I remove the pressure regulator from the vent pipe, there is no steam that is still escaping. I always open the cover away from my face, just in case and then I remove the jars by placing them on cutting board or butchers block, removing the rings and letting the sit overnight to verify the seal is good. Anything that doesn’t seal can be reprocessed or put in the fridge for use. Here is an important tip: Do not set your processed jars directly onto a granite or stone type countertop. That type of material is naturally cold and when you set extremely hot jars directly on it you risk the jars bursting which could cause serious injury or even crack your countertop. Never set them on a stone material.
Now it might just be me, but I would almost swear on the Bible that pressure canning your homemade stock makes it taste even better, something that I personally never thought was possible. The flavor seems to develop and become even deeper in those beautiful jars. Because of this factor I find that I can actually decrease the time I usually let the stock simmer on my stovetop making this entire process easier to accomplish in a realistic, busy mom (or Nana) day.
I hope you will give making stock a try. It really is simple, and the flavor is just unparalleled to any broth on the shelves. I love being able to control the ingredients I feed to my family, especially during these uncertain times. And because you’re making it all from scratch, you control the flavor. Some might like a mild broth, while others enjoy and intense flavor bursting through their dish. By making it yourself you control every aspect of it. And that alone is worth its weight in gold. If you’d like to watch this canning process, you can do so by clicking here and being redirected to my YouTube channel.
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