Because it didn't want to get "canned"! HA!
Sorry, it was the funniest thing I could think of to make up for the day we spent a few Saturdays ago with 1000 pounds, if not more, of chicken. I still have the cooked chicken smell coming out of my pores and I thought I was smelling something cooking while I slept, but when I woke up I realized that I had not been roasting something...it was all in my head. Literally! At least the smell.
My mom is thinking ahead and wanted us girls to get together and can chicken with a group of women in her neighborhood for our Christmas Present. That sentence probably only makes sense to me and my sisters.
Little did we realize what canning chicken would entail. Let's just say, that my sister-in-law, Kristy walked away from the activity with features resembling a chicken she was there so long.
Let's also say, that we started at about 9 in the morning and me, Kristy and a couple other ladies...one being the owner of the garage all the chicken was cooking in...didn't finish until after 10 that night. We had to run here and there and take care of our families for little bits of time, but for the most part...Us and chicken. Everyone left after the chicken was all cut up and put in jars, but they didn't realize that 13 pressure cookers and over 900 pints of chicken takes HOURS and HOURS to finish cooking with constant watch of the pressure cookers.
I now know that...and so does Kristy.
Lauren came along to help as part of her 10 hour "knowledge" project for her Young Women's group.
I love the look on her face. You want me to do what? Lauren was so awesome. She wasn't ever squeamish and never hesitated to get right in there and cut the fat!! She had no idea what she was getting herself into.
None of this could have happened if we had not had any jars to use. So, in order to acquire all the jars we would need to can 280 pounds of chicken for our family---all my bros and sis's and parents---we decided to empty out my parents food storage in their basement. Good way to save some money, right? We could have MADE money selling the fermented jars of juice and fruit that were in my parent's basement.
The earliest jars I could find were dated 1976. A lot were 1983. I know. Some of the "food", if you could call it that anymore, had eaten it's way through the metal lids! And we emptied probably more than 250 OLD jars of food...into buckets...which had to be carried to the garden...because my parents are on a septic tank...washed out...and sanitized. My parents are bootleggers!!!
Sorry mom, but I think next year we should have a girls day of shopping and go to Costco and buy chicken already in cans, even though it tastes like tuna.
I made chicken noodle soup last night with one of our bottles of chicken. No tuna taste.
And we could survive for at least 30 days on the chicken we have in storage...so in the end, I guess it was almost worth it!
And we could survive for at least 30 days on the chicken we have in storage...so in the end, I guess it was almost worth it!
1 comment:
I spent a lot of money and a few hours at the cannery in Lindon. I got a couple of cases of chicken that I am sure is expired by now, that I will throw away. There was no way I could eat it after watching it be canned. Yours looks a lot nicer than mine.
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