Turkey is a low-acid food, so canning it safely means pressure canning only. A boiling-water canner never gets hot enough to destroy Clostridium botulinum spores, the bacteria that cause botulism. University extensions that follow the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning treat turkey the same as chicken and other poultry: hot pack or raw pack, 1¼ inches of headspace, and a tested time and pressure based on jar size, bones, and altitude.
Most people can turkey to put a whole bird or a bulk pack of thighs and breasts on the shelf for later meals. Freezing is simpler and often better for quality, but properly pressure-canned turkey keeps without a freezer and works well in soups, pot pies, casseroles, and sandwiches.
Why turkey cannot be water-bath canned
Poultry sits well above pH 4.6. In that range, botulinum spores can survive boiling (212°F / 100°C), grow in a sealed jar, and produce a toxin you cannot see, smell, or taste. Pressure canning is the only research-based home method that holds the jar contents at about 240°F (116°C) long enough to destroy those spores.
Steam canners, oven canning, open-kettle sealing, and electric multi-cookers that are not specifically rated and tested as pressure canners are not substitutes. If the only equipment available is a water-bath canner, freeze the meat instead.
What you need before you start
Use a real pressure canner (dial-gauge or weighted-gauge) large enough for the jars, with a rack so jars do not sit on the bottom. Dial gauges should be checked for accuracy about once a year; a gauge that reads low can under-process the food.
Also have:
- Pint or quart mason jars in good condition (no chips on the rim)
- New flat lids and clean rings
- A jar lifter, bubble remover, and clean towels
- Optional canning salt (½ teaspoon per pint or 1 teaspoon per quart). Salt is for flavor only and is not required for safety
Do not add flour, pasta, rice, cream, butter, or untested thickeners. Those change heat penetration, and there is no tested process for them in turkey jars. Seasonings such as a bay leaf or a small amount of dried herbs are sometimes used, but keep additions minimal and do not treat a family recipe as a tested canning formula.
Choosing and preparing the bird
Tested poultry directions start with freshly killed, dressed, healthy birds, or with fresh poultry from a reliable source. Chill a home-dressed bird 6 to 12 hours before canning. Remove excess fat. Fat can interfere with sealing and goes rancid in storage. Cut the meat into pieces that fit the jars loosely.
You can can bone-in or boneless. Boneless meat needs a longer process because bone conducts heat. Skin is usually removed; leaving large amounts of skin and fat reduces quality.
Wild turkey is covered under the same poultry guidance used for game birds, provided the bird was healthy. Strong-flavored game is sometimes soaked briefly in a mild salt brine and rinsed, the same step extensions recommend for rabbit and some waterfowl. That soak is for flavor, not safety.
Hot pack or raw pack
Both methods use the same processing time. Hot pack is preferred.
Hot pack. Boil, steam, or bake the pieces until about two-thirds done. When you cut into the center, there should be almost no pink. Pack hot pieces into hot jars and cover with boiling broth, water, or tomato juice, leaving 1¼ inches of headspace. Add salt if you want it.
Raw pack. Pack raw pieces loosely into hot jars, leaving 1¼ inches of headspace. Do not add liquid. Salt is optional. During processing, the meat releases juices, but those juices often do not cover the pieces. Exposed meat at the top of the jar darkens and dries in storage, which is why extensions describe hot pack as better for liquid cover and quality.
Either way, remove air bubbles, wipe the rims clean of fat and broth, apply lids, and tighten rings only fingertip-tight.
Processing times and pressures
Times are the same for hot pack and raw pack. Start timing only after the canner has vented steam for 10 minutes and then reached the correct pressure. Hold pressure steady. Large swings force liquid out of the jars.
| Style | Jar size | Time | Dial gauge, 0–2,000 ft | Weighted gauge, 0–1,000 ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Without bones | Pints | 75 min | 11 psi | 10 psi |
| Without bones | Quarts | 90 min | 11 psi | 10 psi |
| With bones | Pints | 65 min | 11 psi | 10 psi |
| With bones | Quarts | 75 min | 11 psi | 10 psi |
Altitude changes the pressure, not the time.
Dial-gauge canners: 11 psi at 0–2,000 feet, 12 psi at 2,001–4,000 feet, 13 psi at 4,001–6,000 feet, and 14 psi at 6,001–8,000 feet.
Weighted-gauge canners: 10 psi at 0–1,000 feet, and 15 psi above 1,000 feet. Weighted gauges cannot be set to the in-between dial readings, so the next higher weight is required.
When time is up, turn off the heat and let the canner depressurize on its own. Forcing the cool-down can break jars or pull liquid out. Remove jars and cool them upright, undisturbed, for 12 to 24 hours.
Turkey broth
Carcass bones can be turned into stock with a separate tested method. Cover the bones with water, simmer 30 to 45 minutes until the meat strips off easily, remove bones, skim fat, and reheat the broth to boiling. Jar it with 1 inch of headspace and pressure-can it using the poultry-stock process from the USDA guide or your state extension, not the piece-meat times above. Broth and meat pieces are different products with different headspace and process requirements.
Already-cooked leftovers
The tested hot pack starts with fresh poultry cooked only to about two-thirds done, then processed immediately. Fully roasted holiday turkey that has been refrigerated is a different product. It packs tighter, has already been through a full cook, and may have spent time in the temperature danger zone. There is no separate USDA process written for previously cooked, cooled leftovers, and extension guidance generally advises against inventing one. Freeze those leftovers.
If you are canning meat you just cooked to two-thirds done as part of the hot-pack method, that is the tested process. Do not shorten the time because the meat was already heated.
After the jars cool
Press the center of each lid. A sealed lid stays down and does not flex. Refrigerate any unsealed jar and use it within a few days, or freeze it. Wipe sealed jars, remove the rings, label with the date and contents, and store them in a cool, dark, dry place. Rings left on can hide a failed seal and may rust onto the lid.
Home-canned low-acid food is best used within a year for quality. Before opening, check for a bulging lid, leaks, spurting liquid, broken seal, unusual odor, or mold. Discard the jar without tasting if any of those appear. Botulinum toxin is not reliably detectable by look or smell. When you open a jar of home-canned meat, USDA consumer guidance has long recommended boiling low-acid home-canned food before tasting as an extra precaution, especially if you are unsure of the process used.
Once opened, refrigerate and use within 3 to 4 days.
Mistakes that make the jars unsafe
- Processing in a boiling-water canner, steam canner, or oven
- Using an untested multi-cooker “canning” button
- Cutting the time because the pieces looked done
- Ignoring altitude and processing at too low a pressure
- Packing jars tightly, or using jars larger than a quart
- Starting the timer before the canner is at pressure
- Cooling the canner under cold water
- Canning meat from a diseased animal, or meat that has been held warm for hours
- Adding vegetables, noodles, or thickeners and still using the plain-poultry time
Liquid loss by itself does not make a sealed jar unsafe, as long as the process was correct and at least half the contents remain covered. Heavy fat on the rim is a common cause of seal failure.
Using canned turkey
Drain or use the packing liquid as a light broth. The meat is already fully cooked by the process, so it only needs reheating. It suits soup, gravy, enchiladas, pot pie, and salads. Expect a softer texture than freshly roasted turkey; that is normal after 65 to 90 minutes under pressure. Dark meat usually holds up better than breast.
Questions people ask
Can ground turkey be canned? Ground or finely chopped meat has its own tested hot-pack process: browned or partially cooked, packed hot with broth, 1 inch of headspace in many red-meat directions, and typically 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts at the same pressures used for boneless poultry. Follow the ground-meat section of the USDA guide rather than guessing from the piece-meat table. Do not can a raw sausage mix that contains sage-heavy seasoning, fat beyond what the recipe allows, or fillers.
Is pink color in the jar a problem? A pink tint can come from curing-like reactions with nitrate in the meat or from the canning process itself. It is not, by itself, a sign of undercooking. Spoilage signs are odor, gas, mold, and a broken seal, not color alone.
Can the giblets be canned with the meat? Liver is often canned separately or frozen because it develops a strong flavor. Hearts and gizzards can be included with other poultry pieces if they fit the jar and you still follow the poultry process. Do not pack jars with liver only and assume the piece-meat time applies without checking a tested recipe.
How much does one bird yield? Yield varies with bird size and whether you bone the meat. A rough planning figure used by many canners is about 1 pint per pound of boneless meat, less once bones, skin, and fat are removed. Weigh the prepared meat rather than the whole bird if you need an exact jar count.
Pressure, time, and a tested pack are the whole safety system. Get those from the current USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning or your state extension, match them to your altitude and canner type, and turkey can sit on the shelf as a plain, useful staple.