The New Canner

Its huge, Its Shiny [can you ever resist shiny?] its All American! Its the newest tool at our farm.

 

 All American Pressure Canner Model 930

I believe I mentioned Ralph ordering this canner in a chicken evaluation post. It arrived and I have to admit it is an intimidating size for  me. I am short, this canner towers above the stove. It is beautiful though and holds a wonderful amount. 14 quarts and 19 pints.

The day after it arrived we did a test pressure up to make sure everything was alright and worked. It did. The pressure came up and held. No leaks and the canner was ready to go.

We had a delay in butchering due to barn repair but yesterday saw me process the first batch of roosters with this canner. It is wonderful. De-boning and preparing the roosters takes the same time for both canners. (We find for us 10 roosters at a time is about right) With the Model 910 though I would have to run 3 batches of quarts to can the meat and even more to can the broth and stock.

I have been cold packing the meat. I did try the hot pack but it just took too long, if all I had to do was hot pack and process the meat that way it might work but I have to be able to help Ralph outside and do other things around the farm. I find the cold pack more flexible.

I start the canning the night before by getting everything ready, I make sure I have enough ice and the stainless bowls I sort the chicken into are clean and ready. I sharpen my knives and have clean towels on hand. I get the jars sterilized but I let them cool. I prefer to put cold chicken into cold jars and then as quickly as I can get them into the canner to cook. I add no salt to the jars.

In the morning Ralph brings the chilled birds up from the shop where we have had them in ice and I get to work. I cut and sort all of them into bowls with ice to keep them cold. 

The backs and rib cages and wing tips go into the big stock pot as I process them and start simmering with a simple mix of celery, carrot and onion. I do not add bouillon, it is mostly salt and will effect the flavor of your cooking later on, you want a clear simple stock. { I do make the occasional batch of Louisiana spiced stock with a bit more heat and spice.} This pot will simmer through the process of canning the meat and then it is ready to can when the batch of canned chicken is done.

I fill the jars with the sorted chicken parts. We do like drumsticks and I can fit 4 or five into a quart which makes us a nice meal. When we eat them I make a simple BBQ sauce and brush some of it over them then heat them in a hot oven until they are warmed up, not as good as roast chicken but still very good. I can thighs and wings in quarts. The breast meat is canned in a mix of pints and quarts. Then I  have a quart of mixed bits of meat, the oysters from the back of the chicken and bits of dark meat when I trim the drumsticks and thighs.

For this first run of canning with the Model 930 I decided to do all quarts to see how it worked and how much time I can save.

It was a resounding success. The initial pressure up took a little longer as it was cold pack and the canner was at a standing start. Then it was not much difference than the small canner. It releases pressure at the same speed. The double layer of quarts makes it much much faster. When the chicken had been canned and I was waiting for the canner to loose pressure I strained the stock and filled quart jars with it. I was just done filling the last jar with stock when it was time to take the chicken out of the canner.

This time the canner was hot and filled with hot jars and it started to vent much faster. I was surprised that it was not a lot longer to reach pressure than the small canner.

 The first days work with the Model 930, and the Model 910 that I learned so much with.

As to saving time....it saved me at least 4 hours of waiting for the canning  processes to finish. This will be a huge advantage come summer bean canning season. We also hope to can Irish potatoes and anything else we can stuff into jars. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate this new canner at 9...it's not perfect. For me it is very tall and I have to be extremely careful putting jars into it, I have to make sure I don't bump it with my arms. However it is wonderful for the time it saves and the fact that all the meat goes in at once and does not sit out waiting its turn to can which is a concern.
For anyone serious about being prepared or who has a large family to can for and feed this is an ideal canner.

God Bless you all and happy canning!


PS:
Ralph is trying a new technique with seed potatoes called green sprouting. This gives them a head start and should help them yield better in this hotter and more humid climate. As you can see he is trying a wide selection of varieties as we do have the room.