Thursday, November 1, 2012

Canning Sweet and Sour Chicken


When one of Canning Granny readers, Diana, shared the recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken, I knew I had to try it...

Here's what I did...

I sterilized 5 quart canning jars.

I cooked and shredded 4-1/2 pounds of chicken breast

Drained 3-15 ounce cans of pineapple chunks, reserving the juice

Diced 2 green bell peppers, 1 red bell pepper, and 2 medium onions

I layered in the jars... chicken, onions, peppers, and pineapple chunks.


In my large stainless steel saucepan, I combined...

3 cups reserved pineapple juice
3/4 cup brown sugar
1-1/4 cups white vinegar
6 Tbsp. soy sauce
4 Tbsp. ketchup
1 tsp. ginger

I brought this mixture to a boil over medium high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Then poured the hot liquid into the jars, covering the layered ingredients, leaving a one inch headspace. I removed any air bubbles and adjusted the liquid as necessary.


I wiped the jar rims with a damp cloth, then tightened on my hot lids to fingertip tightness.


I processed the jars in my pressure canner at 10 pounds of pressure for 90 minutes. After processing, I allowed the pressure in my pressure canner to drop to zero naturally, then opened it and removed the jars using my jar lifter. I set the hot jars on a folded dish towel on the counter to cool... and to listen for the PING of each successfully sealed jar.


Several weeks after canning this "meal in a jar," I opened a jar for dinner, made a pot of rice and served it over the rice... SO YUMMY! Mr. G said it was Chinese Restaurant GOOD!

For a printable copy of this recipe, click here.

44 comments:

  1. This sounds delicious! I am going to have to try this.

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  2. Saving this one for the day I finally get a pressure canner! Thanks!

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  3. I am new to canning. How did you prepare the chicken and did you cook it all the way through?

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    1. I just boiled the chicken breasts and pulled if off the bone... yes I cooked it all the way through (so I could get it all off the bone). If you used boneless chicken you could just cut it in chunks and raw pack if you wanted to. ~~Granny

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    2. If you raw pack...how would you adjust the liquid that you add knowing that the raw chicken will make it own juices?
      Thanx!

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    3. Leave maybe an extra half inch headspace. ~~Granny

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  4. Totally going to put this one in the keeper file. Thanks for sharing it.

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  5. Pam, you're making my mouth water!!! Stop it! lol

    Thanks for the email btw!! Hugs!

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    1. LOL!!! You're welcome, I was indeed concerned about ya! <3 ~~Granny

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  6. This looks fantastic, can't wait to give it a try.
    Julie

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  7. What would the shelf life be?

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  8. Could you water bath this and how long I have no pressure cooker but sounds so good

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    1. Sorry, it must be pressure canned. ~~Granny

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    2. Has anyone ever tried canning rice

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    3. Yes, I have canned rice. 1/2 c white rice, fill with water to the 1 inch mark and pressure can at 10lbs pressure for 10 minutes.

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  9. How long would you process pints? I'm guessing 1 hour & 15 minutes. I'm gonna try this in pints.. Can't wait!

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    1. I processed them and the chicken got really dark.. may have been a little long for processing time. Sure is good! I'm enjoying it now over a bed of basmanti rice. YUM!

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    2. You were spot on. All meats need to be processed at (at least) 75/90. Pints for 75 minutes, quarts for 90 minutes at 10 lbs. pressure.

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  10. I just recently tried this recipe myself, but I found it on Creative Canning (http://creativecanning.blogspot.com/2009/01/sweet-and-sour-chciken.html). She suggested searing the chicken first for better texture, and I agree.

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  11. Just opened my first jar chicken way over processed didn't even look like chicken any ideas as what went wrong?

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  12. How did you heat it after canning, when serving?

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    1. I just poured the contents of the jar into a saucepan and heated it, then served over rice... yum! ~~Granny

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  13. Curious if this recipe is homemade or comes from an extension office? Ratio looks a bit concerning to me, but if tested and safe, looks delicious!

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  14. I tried this and not sure what I did but it was horrible. I have been canning for 30+ years so I am not a novice. It was bitter and burnt tasting.

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  15. NIce to have on hand. Next time, I will add sliced carrots to the jar!

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  16. Could you substitute fresh pineapple?

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  17. Can you omit the ketchup? My hubby is allergic to tomato.

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  18. I just canned a large batch, and I'm sorry I did. The one thing I didn't take into account with this recipe is the sugar. I popped a jar of this open, and after following the recipe, it tasted tart and burnt. I was very disappointed, however, it was a good learning experience. I know how sugar behaves in cakes and cookies, but didn't take into account how it might behave in a jar.

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  19. I love this! I can't wait to try it. I've been looking for more "meal in a jar" recipes.

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  20. I am not positive the place you're getting your info, however great topic. I must spend a while studying more or understanding more. Thank you for excellent info I was on the lookout for this information for my mission.

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  21. How long would it need to process without chicken?

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  22. Brilliant photographs! wow....lovely n delicious .it tastes yummy too!
    order online food delhi

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  23. HELP! Hi Diana, I made this delicious sounding recipe with my new Presto 23qt pressure canner w/the extra wt set using instead of the 15lb wt came with. MY CHICKEN TURNED BROWN. I did my jars exactly as you I structed and my cubed chicken at the bottom is brown and looks like steak instead. It is not the color of the sauce but definitely the chicken that is brown. Did I do something wrong? I am very new at pressure canning.

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    1. The soy sauce in the recipe makes the chicken turn brown... you did nothing wrong. ~~Granny

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  25. Just pulled these out of the pressure canned. Was a bit concerned with the look but each step along the way my jars looked just like the ones pictured here including the finished product. Hopefully the taste that everyone is raving about is there. Also I cubed chicken breast and slightly seared it so it would retain shape. Thank you for shariing this recipe. I now have 5 meals for us ready to go.

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  27. This recipe has become a regular stock item in my pantry. We LOVE this stuff. I do raw pack my chicken and leave 1 1/2 inch headspace for chicken juices. I share this recipe on my rebel canner FB page often.

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  28. I want to try i a few months. Thanks for recipe

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    I do raw pack my chicken and leave 1 1/2 inch headspace for chicken juices.

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  30. I was very disappointed with this recipe. The sauce before canned was fantastic. But once canned, the chicken was EXTREMELY dry and the sugar in the sauce burned. I was sad it did not turn out as I would have loved to have this on my shelves.

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