Home-Canned Turkey (Tushonka)

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make home-canned turkey? Gather all the ingredients. Besides the thigh and breast, you can use any other parts of the bird. The total weight of the bone-in turkey should be at least 1.4 kg. The fatback makes the canned turkey juicier.

2. Step 2:

   

   Get jars with a total volume of 1.5–2 liters ready. Wash and sterilize them well. Here's how I do it: gently pour boiling water into the bottom of the jar in a thin stream, filling about a quarter of it. Don't let the water touch the sides, or the jar may crack. Then cover it with a lid and leave it for 10 minutes. After that, drain the water and the jar is ready to use.

3. Step 3:

   

   Rinse the turkey and fatback well under running water and remove all the bones. Cut the turkey into pieces about 2×2 cm — not too small. The fatback, on the other hand, cut as finely as you can. That way it cooks faster and you won't notice it later.

4. Step 4:

   

   Add the ground pepper and salt to the cut-up meat. Mix everything thoroughly.

5. Step 5:

   

   Put a bay leaf and 3 peppercorns in the bottom of each sterilized jar. Then pack in the turkey and fatback, tamping it down a little. Don't fill all the way to the lid, so it doesn't lift during cooking and let water in. I got 3 jars.

6. Step 6:

   

   Cover the jars with lids. Set them in a pot lined on the bottom with a towel folded several times. Fill the pot with cold water up to the jars' shoulders. Cook the canned turkey for 5 hours after the water comes to a boil. Keep the heat just high enough for the water to simmer gently.

7. Step 7:

   

   Afterward, seal the jars, turn them upside down on their lids, and wrap them in something warm. Leave them to cool completely at room temperature, about a day. Then store them in a cellar or other cool place.