How to Pressure Can Turkey Stock

December 6, 2013(updated on October 22, 2018)

turkey stock labels

Last Saturday, my family gathered for a belated Thanksgiving dinner at my cousin Angie’s house. It was one of those really fantastic family gatherings where everyone was genuinely happy to be there and spend time with one another. Ages ranged from four to 96 and there was much discussion about family history and connection (at one point, a family tree had to be drawn to explain to my cousin Sam’s girlfriend just exactly how we were all related).

Scott and I were the last to leave, having stuck around to gather abandoned plates and help put away the leftovers. When we finally headed home, we did so with a gallon ziplock bag of cut fruit (remains from a massive Costco tray), a dozen empty jars (returns from previous homemade gifts), and a disposable roasting pan holding two turkey carcasses, swaddled in a black plastic garbage bag. My cousins, knowing my fondness for making use of every scrap, had saved it just for me.

bagged turkey for stock

When we got home, instead of crashing out in front of a movie as had been previously planned, I headed to the kitchen to break down all the turkey into usable parts. In the end, I had three very large plastic bags of goodness. Two held bones for stock and one held usable meat (half went into a batch of turkey shepherd’s pie, the other half is frozen for a future batch of soup).

As I separated out the meat from the bones, I started thinking about all the times I’ve pressure canned various stocks and broths over the last four years and realized that it had been far too long since I talked about the magic of pressure canning here. The only stock canning post went up in the very early days of this site and I’ve learned a great deal about the dos and don’t of preserving under pressure since then.

cooking stock

The next morning, I started the first batch of stock (there was more than enough for two batches). When making turkey stock, I like to keep it simple and so don’t add carrots, celery, or onion. Instead, I combine the turkey bones with freshly filtered cold water in a 12 quart stock pot. I put it on the stove and slowly bring it up to a simmer. Once it’s near a boil but not rolling, I cock the lid so that some steam can escape and cook it over medium heat for 4 to 6 hours (I’m after maximum flavor extraction for minimal effort). Whenever you make stock, try to avoid a vigorous boil, as it will make your stock cloudy.

You really want to make sure that you make your stock within a day or two of the turkey’s roasting, as you’ll get the best flavor. If you wait until the carcass has been picked clean during the leftover stage, it takes on a funky, old poultry flavor that really isn’t worth preserving.

pouring stock

Now, in an ideal world, here’s how I’d preserve stock. I’d cook it one day, strain it, chill it overnight, skim the fat, bring it back to a boil and then can. However, I rarely manage to do it that way because I have a very small refrigerator and so almost never have the space for the volume of stock I’ve made. I also don’t have any outdoor space, and so can’t even use nature’s icebox this time of year. And so, instead I make and can my stock in the same day.

Because I can’t remove the fat through chilling, I spend some time carefully spooning it off. There are a couple of reasons why it’s a good idea to defat your stock. One is that if the stock siphons out of the jars during the processing (and it happens a lot during pressure canning, thanks to the increased ferocity of heat and pressure), the slippery fat can put your seal in jeopardy. The other is that fats can go rancid during storage and that will give your stock an off-flavor. Because I know that my stock still has some residual fat, I make a point of using it promptly (to me, this means within 6 to 9 months) so that it doesn’t have a chance to develop a funky flavor.

prepped jar

While I’m painstakingly defatting my stock, I set up my pressure canner. I use a 16 quart Presto canner with a dial gauge that I like a great deal. It holds seven quarts or nine pints, fits on my comically small stove, and doesn’t take up TOO much storage space. I fill it with about three inches of warm tap water, set the jars in it and fill them with just enough warm water to prevent them from floating. I also pour about half a cup of white distilled vinegar into the water in the canning pot, to ensure that the jars don’t get covered in scum during processing. I drop the lids in alongside the jars and bring the whole mess to a simmer to warm things up.

Once the jars are hot and the stock is skimmed and just off a boil, fill ’em up. Remove one jar at a time from the canner to retain as much heat as possible. Fill it, leaving a generous inch of headspace. Wipe the rim, apply the lid and twist on the ring. Return that jar to the hot pressure canner and repeat the process with the next jar.

When it comes to pressure canning, forget everything you know about the rule of fingertip tight. In this case, you want to take the time to really tighten the rings. The reason for this difference is that the intensity of the pressure canner has a tendency to loosen up the rings during the processing time, so you want to compensate for that. Don’t worry, the oxygen in the jars will still be able to exit during the pressure canning process.

pouring stock into jars

Once all the jars are filled and are in the canner, lock the lid into place. Bring the pot up to a boil and let the steam vent via the vent shaft for at least 10 minutes. You do this by running the pot without the pressure regulator in place. That’s the little black and metal hat that sits atop the vent shaft. The reason for this is that a canner that has been properly relieved of its air through venting can reach a higher temperature. The higher the temperature, the more effectively the canner will kill any botulism spores present.

After you feel like the pot has been sufficiently vented and you see a steady stream of steam flowing out of the vent shaft, apply the pressure regulator and bring the pot up to pressure. Once it hits the correct pressure (this depends based on what you’re canning), adjust the heat so that you stay at that pressure. This can be a little tricky if you have a pokey electric stove like mine, but it certainly isn’t impossible. It just takes a little extra attention and learning how your stove adjusts. If your canner drops below the required pressure level at any point during the timed process, you have to start the time over again as soon as it comes back to the correct level.

Stock of any stripe gets pressure canned at 11 pounds of pressure for 20 (pints) or 25 minutes (quarts) in a gauged canner and at 10 pounds in a weighted canner. The National Center for Home Food Preservation has all the details and they can be found here. And remember, if you live at higher elevations, make sure to adjust your pressure accordingly.

Once the time is up, you turn off the stove and leave the canner alone. If your burner stays hot for a long time, you can slide it to a cooler spot on the stove, but other than that, just let it sit. I like to give my canner two or three hours to cool before I even attempt to open it (it will take at least half an hour for the pressure drop enough for the canner to unlock). When the jars are finally cool enough to handle, remove them from the pot, twist off the rings and give everything a good wash with warm, soapy water. Dry the jars and store them in a cool spot out of direct sunlight.

canner gauge

The last time I had my pressure canner checked, it ran true, which means that I don’t have to make any adjustments to my pressure during processing. Sometimes a gauge registers a higher or lower pressure when it’s actually at 10 or 11 pounds and so you have to do adjust your pressure point. That’s why it’s important to have your gauge checked yearly to ensure that you’re preserving safely.

Now, the reason the subtitle of this post is that while I’m talking about turkey stock in this post, this technique is one that can be used for all manner of flavorful stocks and broths. This time of year, we all tend to invest a bit more money in hams, big beef roasts, turkeys, and mountains of vegetables. There are always scraps and trimmings to be gleaned from these holiday meals that can be cooked down into gorgeous, rich liquids. Save that ham bone or the bone from that celebratory steak. If you don’t have the time for stock making now, stash those goodies in the freezer and make a project of it after the holidays are over. You’ll be happy you did.

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68 thoughts on "How to Pressure Can Turkey Stock"

  • When I want to use stock the same day and don’t have time to chill it to remove the fat, I drop ice cubes into the hot stock and immediately the fat clings to the ice.

    1. That’s brilliant. I put it in small jars in the freezer for about 30 min and it all rises to the top. From there it’s easy to spoon off quickly. I love that ice cube idea though!

  • Canning stock is why I started canning! No room in th freezer. Last year, after I made the stock, I canned it with a few carrots and onion and leftover turkey from picking at the carcass. Open a jar up, add half a cup of a grain, simmer, toss in some frozen peas, and dinner is on the table!

  • Great Post!

    I have the very same pot and an electric stove and due to the volume of the pot, it can indeed be tricky to keep the pressure just right at 10psi. That’s always aggravated me because most recipes call for 10psi but Presto provides a 15psi weight.

    A year or so ago, I purchased a 10/15psi weight from Presto. This is the one that ships with the smaller pot (which has no guage). It has a base jiggler and two rings. Put one ring on and it’s calibrated for 10, add the second ring and it’s 15. Presto doesn’t advertise this fact (nor will customer service admit it), but the two-ring weight will work just fine with the larger canner (the guage proves this). This is probably one of the best investments you can make if you do a lot of pressure canning because it buys you insurance against a stove that’s tricky to regulate. You can err on the “too high” side and it won’t go over 10psi and overcook your food. I highly recommend it and I wish Presto would just ship both pots with the dual-ring jiggler.

    Around this time of year, when I have a bunch of carcasses, I actually use the pressure canner for both making the stock and canning it. I’ve been known to put two turkey carcasses plus one or two chicken ones (usually stashed in the freezer) into it at once and make a huge batch. Sure, it doesn’t provide crystal-clear stock, but that’s a small trade-off for stock in 45 minutes under pressure (about an hour total). The only trick is finding containers big enough to hold the stock while I prepare the canner and jars. 🙂

    1. That 12 quart food grade plastic container in the photos above caught my eye immediately! I’m thinking like you, Justin. If I just had something big enough to hold all that stock while I do something else… 🙂
      I wouldn’t normally think of plastic but this might be the tool for the job.

      1. I don’t know where Marisa got hers, but I’ve seen those (and bigger ones) at The Container Store and King Arthur Flour online. They’re commercial grade storage bins that you could find at a restaurant supply store if you had a public one nearby (alas, we don’t).

        I’m too cheap to buy them, so I don’t own any. 🙂 I just get by with a big stockpot and a couple of 5+ quart glass bowls.

        1. Smart N Final carries several sizes of plastic food storage containers, for far less than King Arthur (I don’t know about The Container Store, we don’t have one nearby). I have several of the 8 quart size that I use for dry storage of bulk items like rice and sugar. They’re also great for rising bread dough, or for holding cut up fruit when I’m prepping for canning. I pour my cooled, strained stock into one and stick it in the ‘fridge overnight, then skim the fat off the next day. They are really useful containers to have around.

        2. A good restaurant supply warehouse has shelves of these and for significantly less that you would pay online. Worth checking into

  • I calculated the other day that it costs me around 10 cents a pint to make and can my own chicken stock, and that’s probably on the high end because I like to use lots of fresh veggies instead of saving the leftover vegetable scraps from cooking in the freezer like many do. If I did it that way it would probably be just a penny or two. Talk about a frugal food! And the taste is so much better than store bought, I’ll never buy Swanson’s again.

  • I use an All American pressure canner, and was able to replace the petcock with a weighted gauge. So, I have a weight and a dial gauge, but this means my canner can never get out of adjustment. I don’t know why more canners don’t use the weight.

  • Thanks for this post! I need freezer space and this will help move the stock out of the freezer and into the pantry. I’m so grateful!

  • I’m not a pressure canner—just water bath—so this sentence confused me: “The reason for this is that a canner that has been properly relieved of its oxygen through venting can reach a higher temperature than one that is full of good old H2O.” Did you mean oxygen (O2) or water (H2O) at the end?

    1. Connie, that was a typo (that’s what I get for writing while sleepy). I meant good old O2. Thanks for catching that.

  • Since you have a pressure canner, you might try making your stock in it. I run it at 10 psi for an hour or two. Shortens the time up nicely, and extracts every bit of deliciousness. I don’t have a problem with cloudy stock either.

    Also, I tried something new this year. I cubed up some leftover turkey, and canned a couple of separate jars with it and some stock to fill the spaces. I had to run it at 10 psi for 90 minutes for quarts to can the meat (I’m at sea level) and I have yet to taste the results. If it’s not overcooked, it will be very easy to add a can of meat to a can of stock to make soup.

    1. Funny you should mention the canned turkey. I have a copy of “Joy of Canning” that’s out of print but still new enough to have the latest canning safety recommendations and they have 3 or 4 recipes for pressure canning meats and fish, in most cases, in nothing but their own juices (little or no added stock or water). There’s even a recipe for canned chicken parts on the bone (provided you can stuff it into the jar).

      I’ve been considering buying some chicken when it’s on sale and canning it up just to see if it comes out as good or better than grocery store canned chicken. I’ll admit, I buy it sometimes as a ready-to-eat convenience item for things like chicken salad, filling for quesadillas, etc. It’d be neat to make my own and, in the case of chicken, might actually work-out cheaper.

      Now, if I could only find a fisherman who wants to give-up some nice tuna or bluefish or striped bass in quantity. I can dream, right? 🙂

      1. Justin, we have eaten home canned tuna and it will make you throw rocks at commercially canned tuna. We don’t have any means to go tuna fishing and there isn’t anyone we know of that is willing to sell what they have caught, but patience….We live close to the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay so fish and crabs are easily available for us to get. Meaning we go fishing and crabbing ourselves!!

        As for chicken and turkey, we have canned both and I am not keen for either, they tend to be mealy. We have canned loads of pork and beef, just cutting away the fat, cube the meat, load the jars leaving 1″ headspace, add a tsp. salt, lid and ring on and can for 90 minutes. The meat makes it’s own juice which can be used to make a gravy by adding water and any herbs once you open the jar and bring to a boil for 10 min. We use a lot of it for soup….jar of canned veggies,jar of meat add a few herbs and tomatoes if you wish, and bingo!! soup!

        As for striped bass, hubby caught a nice one yesterday off the fishing pier, weighed 2.5 pounds, it will be tonight’s dinner.

    2. Jules,

      I can tell you that you will not be disappointed. I do exactly the same thing you describe three or four times a year. When turkey is in season and cheap I buy two, one to roast for the table, the other to pressure cook. The pressure cooked turkey comes out great. That is then canned. Other times of the year I do the same with a pair of stewing chickens in the PC when they are cheaper. When I cook them I put the seasonings and vegetables in as well then strain the whole thing after cooking.

  • I’m on the same cart as Justin and Jules. I make my stock in the pressure canner, as well. It does take some finageling to strain and defat (I use a gravy separator to dip out stock and pour it into the jars). I find the pressure canner makes a fuller flavored stock. The bones get brittle, so I know all the goodness has been pulled out of them. Yes, it’s not crystal clear, but it’s a fair trade-off for great taste and less time.

  • This is such a great, comprehensive post, Marisa! Thanks for this. You’ve got me inspired to bust the pressure canner back out…

  • Thanks for the post! I would love to see more folks get into pressure canning. With modern canners and well documented and tested techniques, there is no reason to be afraid of them anymore.

    I also second (and third) the add-on weights from Presto. I used to have to babysit my canner in front of the stove to keep the pressures constant, but once I got the weights I was home free. As long as I could hear it jiggling, I knew everything was good.

  • My Mr Wonderful said earlier this year that he was going to get me a pressure canner for Christmas. Making my own stock is one of my MAIN reasons for wanting one so badly. My question to you OH QUEEN OF ALL THAT IS CANNED is – What size should I buy . . . .this 16q seems just perfect . . . .am I overlooking something. With the exception of stock, I think all other thing I can would be in pint size jars . . . .?

    1. Maybe I can weigh-in here since I have quite a bit of experience.

      Presto is the most economical, though probably not the fanciest or best. They make two sizes. I forget the quart range but essentially, the smaller one fits 1 layer of 6 jars and the bigger one fits two layers (up to a layer of 6 quarts and 6 pints). I have the larger one and my main complaint with it (aside from the 15psi jiggler I mentioned above) is that when you want to do a small batch, you do have to waste the time making enough steam to fill the entire pot before it’ll start processing. It’s a trade-off, so you should consider how many jars you expect to can at one time.

      And as much as I dislike Walmart, they have the cheapest prices I’ve seen on the Presto pots (like $20+ cheaper than anywhere else). Larger stores stock them on the shelves, sometimes seasonally. They always have them online.

      Other things you can pressure can…

      – I do my own homemade pasta sauce, from store-bought canned tomatoes. I love the convenience of jarred sauce but don’t like the price or quality of purchased ones. You don’t *have* to pressure can sauce if you follow a tested recipe (a BWB will do), but I personally feel the high heat of pressure canning is extra insurance against my mucking with the recipe for personal taste. Officially, that’s a no-no, but for me, I’m comfortable with it after perusing multiple recipes and seeing that the time was more important than the selection of ingredients, unlike BWB canning where acidity makes a huge difference.

      – For awhile, I was making a lot of homemade canned soups and stews to bring to work or open-up and reheat on a day when I just don’t feel like cooking. If you look at a pressure cooking cookbook, most meat-based soups call for 75-90 minutes (pints/quarts) at 10psi regardless of what’s in them. The only rules are: No dairy, no pasta or grains, no thickeners. You can keep the pasta and grains frozen and toss them into the reheating soups. For thickened soups and stews, I add a tablespoon or so to the jar once opened, lid-it, shake-it, then reheat and it thickens right up.

      – Pot Roast or chicken or turkey for a big Crowd – I actually made a huge pot roast for Easter dinner this past year in my big pressure canner. It was pretty awesome. Fed everyone and there were tons of leftovers.

      1. i think you both have reinforced my opinion that 16 quarts is perfect. Im not trying to feed a family of 6 or more. I really would like to be able to preserve the “abundance” when it presents itself. Having my own stock would be soooooooooooooo worth my time. A lot of the stuff on the store shelves comes in a can that tastes better than what it contains. Also, the flexibility to “much around” has a HUGE appeal to me – salsas, sauces etc.
        Thank you for the tips

  • I have a question about sterilizing the jars. You mention filling them with a little water and boiling, but not submerging them. Do you not have to sterilize jars when pressure canning? Are you sterilizing jars first, then putting in the canner to keep warm?

    1. There is no need to sterilize the jars before pressure canning. They will be exposed to temperatures in excess of 235 degrees F for 20 or 25 minutes. That will do all the sterilization necessary.

  • I put the whole pot of strained stock in the fridge over night and it was like a jello mold in the morning- no ‘liquid’ content whatsoever. Any ideas?

    1. That’s totally normal, it just means that your stock has a high gelatin content. It will turn back into liquid when you heat it.

  • Something you didn’t address in your post that I wanted to contribute was the use of Tattler lids in the pressure canner.

    Do they work? Yes. However, I have a much higher rate of siphoning and a very high rate of bad seals with them…particularly with stock. I think it happens because you have to back-off the rings a quarter-turn and tighten them before cool-down. With the rings so loose and the liquid boiling so vigorously, it literally spews out of the jar and then the residual fat or food gets between the rubber rings and the jar.

    I was using them a lot because the things I tend to pressure can get used-up quickly and I got tired of replacing metal lids for short-term storage. However, with 1-2 failed seals with every batch, I’ve since given up on them for most foods and gone back to metal lids.

    1. Thanks for that information, every post I have read elsewhere has been full blown love for the Tattler lids, but I wanted to leave them be until I had read more about them.

    2. Honestly, the reason I didn’t address the use of Tattler lids is because I’ve stopped using them entirely. I found them difficult to use and I’ve heard far too many stories of them failing during storage.

      1. Thanks, it would infuriate me to lose a canner of food due to lids not sealing. A lot of work goes into what we do and there just is no room for failure.

      2. I started using the Tattlers with jam and had a few failures until I reread the direction on their web site. I’ve done 4 different batches of stock and dried beans with no failures but all my rubber rings are new.
        I wonder if the failure rate is due to rubber ring deterioration? Now I’m nervous about reusing them.

        1. They do behave much better with newer rings. Also, I’ve had way fewer problems in a BWB than the pressure canner.

          There’s actually an inconsistency in Tattler’s own recommendations on the rings. Some documentation says to replace the rings every time (which kind of defeats the purpose, IMHO) while other documentation claims they’re reusable. I personally find that they last maybe 1 to 3 times before they start to stretch out of shape and then they have more of a tendency to not seal.

          Wish they’d just make a squeeze-on gum or something so you can re-use the metal lids. Maybe I should invent that. 🙂

    3. I LOVE the Tattler! The cost of the metal lids adds up and when a jar is only on the shelf for a short time, well, it hurts my thrifty soul. ;>

      @ Justin – You don’t loosen the rings by 1/4 turn, it’s 1/4 inch – big difference there. Actually the directions have been changed to ‘finger tight’ because of so many people misreading like you did. The company notified me (because I’d bought direct) when they made the change and the info is clear on their website and new boxes. They’ve had a few sales recently and it was a great way to stock up.

      I can for myself using Tattler’s. I can for gifts using metal. I don’t trust people who don’t always return jars to return both the jar and lid. ;

      This year, niece and I canned 10 dozen half pint jars of tuna. No Tattler failure and 3 brand new metal lids failed. We canned 14 pints of venison and 10 pints of elk (brother had a fantastic time hunting this year) and had 2 jars of each (metal lids) fail.

      I think I first learned about the Tattler reusable lids here, and am so glad I did! I’ve canned broth for the last several years and find it gets used so much faster than when I froze it. It has left more room in my freezer as well.

  • Hmm. I’ve been boiling the jars in water to cover, removing enough water to have it at the level appropriate for pressure canning, and then moving forward with the canning. Given that I don’t do that when sterilizing media for my lab (using an autoclave, essentially an enormous pressure canner), I’m thinking that that is wasted effort.

    I use the ring weights on my Presto canner, and agree with everyone else who has endorsed them.

    I have a deck, so when I made chicken stock earlier this month and turkey stock on Thanksgiving, I put the stock in Ball jars on a cookie sheet and set them outside to freeze, and then scraped off the fat, heated the jars enough to empty them into a pot, returned the stock to a boil, and processed it. Only two of the six turkey stock jars sealed, though (the chicken ones mostly turned out fine). I think that I didn’t heat the lids long enough before using them, but perhaps I didn’t twist the rings tightly enough.

    1. My bet would be that you need to twist the rings tighter. I kept having seal failures on batch after batch of stock when I first started pressure canning. I tried more headspace, less headspace, more through de-fatting, everything I could think of. Finally I found a comment online somewhere about tightening the rings more when pressure canning and that did the trick. I haven’t had a seal failure since. So glad to see that bit of instruction in this post!

  • It seems like post-Thanksgiving feast, the turkey carcass ends up not fitting in the refrigerator…..my strategy is to cook it down overnight in the largest crock pot I can find (so it goes from serving platter to crock pot!). Then, Black Friday, I spend some time making stock (although I haven’t been ambitious enough to pressure can it, I do freeze it in jars…or if the spirit moves me, make turkey soup and freeze that in jars…). That system works for me!

    1. Thanks for the statement about freezing in jars. I was going to open kettle my stock, because I only have about 3 qts., but wasn’t sure if this would be a good thing to do or not. Wasn’t sure if you can freeze in canning jars. Thanks again.

  • Last year, after reading Marisa’s post about canning stock, I bought a Presto 16 qt pressure canner. I wanted the weighted model, not the gauge.
    I’m not a Walmart fan either but they were the only retailer I could find that carries that model,and it was online only. Presto does not even show it on their website.

  • I was so happy to find this post about the Presto, as my husband bought me the 23 qt. about 3 yrs. ago and I’ve got no way to tell if it’s going to work properly. I had the gauge checked and was told it was fine, but at the time, we had an electric stove (I’ve always had gas) and didn’t feel I could control the heat. Canning w/ the water bath was hard enough to get it adjusted; it would either boil hard or stop boiling at all.

    So if I can order a weight? I haven’t even looked at the canner in a long time, but when new, couldn’t figure out how one could be used. I haven’t had time to read all the comments yet, so this may have been addressed, but I’m looking forward to using this canner, and especially for the stock. And my husband would really like to know I’m going to finally use it.

    I just found this site last wk. and was delighted to find such valuable information, as this kind of lifestyle is right up our alley. One question I have is that I’ve spent a lot of time trying to find out how to find the blog for yesterday – Sun., as the winner for the cleaver is supposed to be revealed, but I can’t find it. I don’t have a lot of time to spend online, so am not too familiar with knowing how to find specific blogs, as these things that weren’t available a few years ago.

    1. They are the labels that come in boxes of jelly jars. I had a sheet I hadn’t used so put them to work for the turkey stock.

  • You mention having your pressure gauge checked once a year. Where would a person take their canner to have it checked? I have canned for years but have never had my gauge checked.

    1. County extension offices will check you gauge for you. If you don’t have one in your area, you can also take it to a local garage, though you may need to explain to them what exactly you need them to do.

  • One thing you can try if you lack fridge space – put the container and some ice in a camping cooler (Alton Brown does this and I do too).
    Also, I have made stock in my slow cooker.

  • What perfect timing! I have a turkey carcass sitting in my frigid screen porch right now. A suggestion – for the past several years, I have roasted the near-empty carcass then made stock from it. Deepens the flavor and the color. Now i’m going to progress happily to pressure canning the result. Thanks so much for this post!

  • Thank you! Your one tip about tightening the lids more than usual has saved my sanity. Whenever I would can stock, anywhere from a third to half my batch would fail to seal. Last night I made a batch, screwed the lids on tighter, and BAM! 100% sealed!

  • Let me clue you in on defatting the stock: plastic bags. Dump your stock into a sturdy zip-lock food grade bag. The fat will quickly rise to the top. Get TWO containers ready–snip the bottom corner of the bag, and drain your stock into the container of your choice. This happens FAST. Be ready to quickly move your bag to a different container before the fat comes out. Works like a charm.
    Now, I love my regular pressure COOKERS and have wondered if I can small-batch CAN in them.

  • Is pressure canning the only method you can use for stocks? I have a big batch of chicken stock I want to can it but pressure canners are a bit expensive. Could I use a boiling water bath method instead since I already have a pot for that? I saw something in one post about converting this type of pot into a pressure canner, but I couldn’t find the answer. If not, could I just use a smaller, less expensive regular pressure cooker?

    1. You can only can low acid foods like chicken or turkey stock in a pressure canner. It is entirely unsafe to can it in a boiling water bath canner or a conventional pressure cooker, because the heat of the water cannot get high enough to kill off the botulism spores, which if present, will develop into the botulism toxin.

  • 4 to 6 hours for a stock — I used to do that too, and resisted like heck everyone telling me to try it in a pressure cooker. Now, my stock is ready in 50 minutes and i will never go back to open pot method. It’s richer, and thicker, and more concentrated. And I’m saving a fortune in cooking fuel, to boot. And that presto 16 quart I see pictures of above is also a pressure cooker ;} I know, it’s a real sea change to make the switch to doing stock this way, it’s like changing churches. Or socks. HA! But I never regret trying it and then making the switch. Cheers :}

  • Marisa I have a question. I have been pressure canning chicken stock and it works out really well. I have been wondering if I can pressure can demi glace. I have heard that the gelatin breaks down. Do you know of a procedure that can successfully pressure can demi glace?

  • Marisa – does the 20/pints 25/quarts time stand for vegetable stock as well? I’ve only found two other recipes that say 30/35 minutes or 75 minutes (wow that seems long) for specifically vegetable stock, but that 75 minutes seems to be from the recommendation for vegetable soup, which assumes solid pieces of vegetables, if I’m not mistaken.

  • Just wondering about canning the stock you say to let the fat harden then take off ,so what do you do with the fat that you’ve skimmed off isn’t that where all the flavors. Are just wondering as I do lots of pressure canning but never stock and would like to try some,also can you add the leftover meat to the broth as well I really want to make this after Christmas dinner,and making stock do you have to use a fresh bird or can it have been a dozen one

    1. I don’t find that there’s much flavor in the fat (it’s not like bacon or pork fat). It’s just fat. You can save it to cook with if you’d like, but I typically discard it.

      If you add meat to the broth, you have to treat it as soup and increase the processing time accordingly. https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_04/soups.html

      You can use a roasted bird to make the stock.

  • Thank you for this great recipe. I tried to make chicken broth last winter and pressure canned it. It was my first attempt. Tasted good before I pressure canned it but after it was yuk! I think maybe I didn’t defat it completely but will try again, thanks to your inspiration.

  • You can save canning jars and pantry space by cooking the broth down to a thicker broth. Easy to add the amount of water you need when you make a dish later. I boil mine down until it is the color of cinnamon and can it in half pint jars. I keep one jar in the refrigerator and add a spoonful to things I’m cooking: soups, gravies, spaghetti sauce, rice, etc. It adds a wonderful depth of flavor!