Whole Canned Chicken Looks Wild, But Here's How You Can Make It Work

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Canned meats are nothing new, dating back to the early 1800s, when this food preservation method was invented. But every now and then, something truly bizarre comes along. Sure, there were those canned ribs that failed as a concept, but there's another type of canned meat that may come as a shock: whole canned chicken. It's literally a fully cooked, whole chicken stuffed into a 50-ounce can. A once-popular canned meat decades ago, only one brand of the stuff remains available today. Sweet Sue Canned Whole Chicken is listed on Amazon (though it's currently unavailable at this time of writing) and in some grocery stores, but how do you eat it?

The taste of whole canned chicken isn't the issue here — it's the visuals. Out of the can comes a small chicken smothered in a sort of gelatinized broth (sometimes the whole thing even plops out canned-shaped, which looks both cool and less-than-appetizing), though other times the chicken separates and comes out in pieces. Rest assured, it does actually taste like regular chicken — that is, chicken that's a bit dry, without added seasonings other than salt. There aren't any instructions on the can aside from a recipe for chicken salad and some suggested uses (though old internet posts show previous batches had instructions for heating the chicken up in the oven with its broth). The truth is that you can make it work hot or cold, but make sure you're adding moisture and plenty of flavoring agents to it.

Canned whole chicken comes fully cooked. But unless you're cool with eating cold, goopy chicken, you're going to want to prepare this stuff before you dive in. The key here is to stop seeing it as a whole chicken or as an entree by itself. Since the chicken itself doesn't contain much flavor aside from some saltiness, you have a lot of room to play here using more pungent, savory ingredients. For example, you can use it for this French onion chicken and rice casserole with melty cheese and caramelized onion. Or, throw the chicken and broth in a crockpot with beans, sour cream, and some spicy seasonings for a deliciously creamy white chicken chili. Scroll through the comments of people who've previously purchase canned whole chicken from Amazon, and you'll also see recommendations for campfire meals. Just separate the chicken out over tin foil with some seasoning and vegetables, and it's ready to roast over flames.

Lighter and sweeter ingredients certainly work too. Rinse off the gelatin and char the chicken pieces in a pan, and you can also add it to salads as a protein topper or use it as the base for your favorite chicken salad recipe. The Sweet Sue can itself recommends adding celery, pineapple chunks, diced apples, grapes, lemon juice, and walnuts for chicken salad. The point is, it just takes a few extra ingredients and little creativity to turn whole canned chicken into your next go-to easy meal.