Jar not filled up enough

by Carol
(Maryland)

I canned cooked cubed chicken today and I didn't have quite enough to fill that last two quarts up to the inch headroom. They were probably about 1 1/2 inches below the top. I filled each quart with boiling water and processed for 90 min. Now that they have settled it looks like the jars are only a little more than half full of meat, plenty of water though.

My question is this: will they be safe to eat? Everything sealed fine I'm just wondering if the lower level of food will affect the shelf life somehow.

Thanks for any help.
Carol

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Answer:

Hi Carol,

As long as the jars sealed and you used the correct pressure for your area, your chicken should be just fine.

It is good that you added the liquid to the correct head space. It sounds as if you did it just right!

Sharon