Canned Chicken and Rice Soup Base (No Rice Added)

Ingredients

Instructions

1. 1Understand before you begin that this chicken soup base is a low-acid food and must be processed in a pressure canner; a boiling-water bath is never safe for canning chicken or chicken-and-vegetable mixtures.
2. 2Wash 7 quart jars in hot soapy water or a dishwasher and keep them hot; wash new lids and prepare them exactly as the manufacturer instructs.
3. 3Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and simmer it in a pot with the carrots, celery, onion, and enough chicken broth to cover for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the chicken is about two-thirds cooked and the vegetables are just starting to soften; this hot-pack step is necessary for the mixture to pack and process correctly.
4. 4Do not add rice, pasta, noodles, barley, or any other dense starch to this soup base before canning; starches like these are dense enough to insulate the center of the jar and slow the penetration of heat during pressure processing, which can allow harmful bacteria or their spores to survive even after the recommended processing time, so no tested safe processing time exists for a canned soup that already contains rice or pasta.
5. 5Instead, can this mixture as a plain chicken-and-vegetable soup base, and plan to add freshly cooked rice or pasta to the pot only when you reheat an opened jar for serving.
6. 6Using a slotted spoon, pack the hot chicken and vegetables loosely into the hot jars, without pressing the mixture down, so broth can circulate freely among the pieces.
7. 7Leave 1 inch of headspace at the top of each jar.
8. 8Ladle boiling chicken broth over the mixture until covered, keeping 1 inch of headspace, and add salt only for flavor.
9. 9Run a bubble tool through the jar to release air trapped among the chicken and vegetable pieces, then recheck and adjust headspace to 1 inch if needed.
10. 10Wipe the jar rims completely clean of any broth or fat, center a lid on each jar, and screw the band down fingertip tight.
11. 11Load the jars into the pressure canner, add water as directed by the manufacturer, lock the lid, and vent steam steadily for 10 minutes before pressurizing.
12. 12Process pint jars for 75 minutes and quart jars for 90 minutes at 10 pounds pressure in a weighted-gauge canner up to 1,000 feet (15 pounds above 1,000 feet), or 11 pounds in a dial-gauge canner up to 2,000 feet (12 pounds from 2,001 to 4,000 feet, 13 pounds from 4,001 to 6,000 feet, 14 pounds from 6,001 to 8,000 feet).
13. 13Turn off the heat once processing finishes and let the canner depressurize naturally on its own; never quick-release a canner of chicken soup base.
14. 14Wait until the gauge reads zero, then wait 2 more minutes, slowly vent any remaining pressure, wait 10 more minutes, then unlock and open the canner.
15. 15Move the jars to a towel-lined surface and let them cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours.
16. 16Check that each lid has sealed, wipe the jars clean, label with contents (noting rice or pasta must be added after opening) and date, and store in a cool, dark place for up to about 1 year.
17. 17Before eating, boil the soup base hard for 10 minutes, then add freshly cooked rice or pasta if desired only after this boiling step; discard without tasting any jar with an off smell, spurting liquid, or a lid that never sealed or is bulging.