There are no tested recommendations from reputable sources for the home canning of ground poultry (be it chicken, or turkey, or other.)
Penn State Extension says, “No canning procedures have been tested for canning ground poultry or poultry sausage.” [1] Penn State Extension. Versatile Canned Chicken. 11 September 2012. Accessed January 2017.
Healthy Canning received confirmation in writing in January 2017 from Penn State that their caution, first published in 2012, still applies. [2] Dr Catherine Nettles Cutter to Randal Oulton. 19 January 2017. Email on file.
We also checked with the National Center for Home Food Preservation in January 2017, and, like Penn State, they don’t know either of any USDA home canning research that would support the home canning of ground poultry on its own as a meat pack.
Note that that doesn’t preclude ground poultry’s use as an ingredient in a tested home canning recipes in which its use is specifically supported.
The only example we know of, as of March 2020, is the USDA spaghetti sauce recipe on page 69 of the 2014 edition of “So Easy To Preserve“. There, the authors allow ground turkey as a substitute for the ground beef. [3]Andress, Elizabeth L. and Judy A. Harrison. So Easy to Preserve. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. Bulletin 989. Sixth Edition. 2014. P. 69.
The USDA’s general directions for home canned ground meat apply to “Bear, beef, lamb, pork, sausage, veal, venison.” [4]United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Complete guide to home canning. Agriculture information bulletin No. 539. 2015. Page 5-6.
It will seem odd in this day and age that directions exist for bear and deer meat, which are very difficult to find in supermarkets to say the least, but non-existent for ground chicken and poultry, which are all the rage these days as lean, healthy meats.
But, that’s how it is. The USDA can’t support anything that they haven’t explicitly tested, and while data does exist showing that it is safe to home can ground bear and venison, no research was done on ground poultry because it just wasn’t a thing back when the research was done. It may well be that one day the processing times for ground poultry end up being the same as for other ground meat, or they may end up being more, or less, but the USDA’s Home Canning Division is not in the guessing business. Their business instead is to be able to give home canners “190%” safety and quality guarantees based on research-tested procedures.
If you think they should do a project to develop safe guidelines for home canning ground poultry, many people might agree with you. Write to the National Center to add your vote to such a project, but, also write to your political reps to tell them to make sure the National Center gets the funding it needs to undertake such projects for the USDA. It’s lack of funding that is the hold-up on most of these questions that people have.
In any event, until such a day as we have tested times for processing ground poultry, freeze it.
References
| ↑1 | Penn State Extension. Versatile Canned Chicken. 11 September 2012. Accessed January 2017. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Dr Catherine Nettles Cutter to Randal Oulton. 19 January 2017. Email on file. |
| ↑3 | Andress, Elizabeth L. and Judy A. Harrison. So Easy to Preserve. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. Bulletin 989. Sixth Edition. 2014. P. 69. |
| ↑4 | United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Complete guide to home canning. Agriculture information bulletin No. 539. 2015. Page 5-6. |
T. Davila
Am I able to pressure can ground turkey? I would use 93% lean ground turkey, cook it, drain any fat, then hot pack in broth or water? Process for my altitude.
Healthy Canning
There are no tested procedures yet for home canning ground poultry, even if it is turkey. Freeze it instead.