Pressure canning times for meat, chicken and broth

Updated November 2, 2026 · Fernhart Labs · sources at the end

Short answer

In a pressure canner, meat chunks (beef, pork, venison and other red meats) take 75 minutes for pints and 90 for quarts, the same as ground meat and boneless chicken. Chicken with bones takes 65 and 75 minutes; meat stock (broth) 20 and 25.

Use 10 psi with a weighted gauge up to 1,000 ft (15 psi above), or 11 to 14 psi on a dial gauge depending on altitude. Meat and poultry are low-acid: there is no water-bath option.

Meat, poultry and stock

Times from the USDA guide with the pack, headspace and guide page. Follow the guide's preparation directions for each (trimming fat, precooking for a hot pack and so on) before using these times.

Pressure-canner process times for meat and poultry (USDA 2015)
Food	Pack	Jar	Process time	Headspace	Guide page
Chicken or rabbit, without bones	Hot or raw	Pint	75 min	1 1/4 in	5-5
Chicken or rabbit, without bones	Hot or raw	Quart	90 min	1 1/4 in	5-5
Chicken or rabbit, with bones	Hot or raw	Pint	65 min	1 1/4 in	5-5
Chicken or rabbit, with bones	Hot or raw	Quart	75 min	1 1/4 in	5-5
Ground or chopped meat	Hot	Pint	75 min	1 in	5-6
Ground or chopped meat	Hot	Quart	90 min	1 in	5-6
Meat strips, cubes, or chunks	Hot or raw	Pint	75 min	1 in	5-6
Meat strips, cubes, or chunks	Hot or raw	Quart	90 min	1 in	5-6
Meat stock (broth)	Hot	Pint	20 min	1 in	5-7
Meat stock (broth)	Hot	Quart	25 min	1 in	5-7

Times from the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (2015). Use the pressure for your altitude and gauge from the next table.

The pressure for your altitude

For these low-acid foods the time stays the same at every altitude; the pressure goes up. Use the row for your altitude, never a lower one, and the table for the gauge you have.

Weighted gauge: pressure for low-acid foods by altitude (USDA 2015)
Altitude	Weighted gauge
0–1,000 ft	10 psi
Above 1,000 ft	15 psi

Dial gauge

A dial gauge that reads high gives the food less heat than you think, so have it tested every year before the season and replace it if it's off by more than 2 pounds (Guide 1, page 1-20).

Dial gauge: pressure for low-acid foods by altitude (USDA 2015)
Altitude	Dial gauge
0–2,000 ft	11 psi
2,001–4,000 ft	12 psi
4,001–6,000 ft	13 psi
6,001–8,000 ft	14 psi
Above 8,000 ft	No dial-gauge figure in the guide's tables

Seafood, soups and chili: follow the guide's directions

Fish, tuna, crab and oysters have special steps in the guide (for example limited jar sizes and, for crab, added acid), and chili and soups are tested only as the guide's own recipes, so this page gives no times for them.

Follow the guide's recipe or directions
Food	Process	Guide page
Soups (vegetable, dried bean or pea, meat, poultry)	Follow the guide's recipe exactly	4-18
Soups containing seafood	Follow the guide's recipe exactly	4-18
Chile con carne	Follow the guide's recipe exactly	5-8
King and Dungeness crab meat	Special steps: follow the guide's directions	5-9
Fish in pint jars	Special steps: follow the guide's directions	5-10
Fish in quart jars	Special steps: follow the guide's directions	5-11
Oysters	Special steps: follow the guide's directions	5-12
Smoked fish	Special steps: follow the guide's directions	5-13
Tuna	Special steps: follow the guide's directions	5-14

No times are shown for these on purpose: the guide's time holds only with its recipe or steps.

Pressure canning: the steps that keep it safe

Put 2 to 3 inches of hot water in the canner and load the filled jars on the rack.
Vent steam for 10 minutes before closing the vent or putting the weight on.
Start timing only when the gauge shows the right pressure (or the weight rocks as the maker describes).
If the pressure falls below your target at any point, bring it back up and time the whole process again from the start.
When the time is up, turn off the heat and let the canner come down to zero on its own; never cool it with water. Wait 10 minutes after taking the weight off before opening.
Let the jars cool, then check every seal after 12 to 24 hours. (Steps from Guide 1, pages 1-20 and 1-21.)

Questions

How long do you pressure can beef?

Beef in strips, cubes or chunks: 75 minutes for pints and 90 for quarts, hot or raw pack, with 1 inch of headspace (USDA guide, page 5-6). Ground beef, hot pack: also 75 and 90 minutes.

How long do you pressure can chicken?

Without bones: 75 minutes for pints and 90 for quarts. With bones: 65 and 75 minutes. Leave 1 1/4 inches of headspace (page 5-5).

How long do you pressure can chicken broth?

Meat stock (broth), hot pack: 20 minutes for pints and 25 for quarts, with 1 inch of headspace (page 5-7).

What pressure do you use for canning meat?

10 psi with a weighted gauge up to 1,000 ft and 15 psi above; with a dial gauge 11 psi up to 2,000 ft, then 12, 13 and 14 psi for each further 2,000 ft up to 8,000 ft.

Can you water bath meat?

No. Meat and poultry are low-acid and the guide gives pressure-canner times only.

Jarwise: Canning Timer & Log

Canning app: USDA-tested times for your altitude, canner timer, jar log.

Jarwise has every tested food in the USDA guide. Set your altitude once and it shows the right time and pressure for your canner, with your altitude band highlighted; combinations the guide doesn't test get no time. A step-by-step timer covers venting, processing and cool-down, and a batch log and pantry keep track of your jars, offline and with no account.

Coming to Google Play

Sources

USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (2015), Guide 5: Poultry, red meats and seafoods Guide 5 (PDF)
USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (2015), Guide 1: Principles of home canning (pages 1-8, 1-10, 1-13, 1-18 to 1-22) Guide 1 (PDF)
National Center for Home Food Preservation: the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, 2015 revision (current edition) nchfp.uga.edu

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