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Garden Green
01-13-2009, 11:07 PM
A lot of talk on the forums about raising fish for food and I thought I'd research a little.

Canning Fish

Begin by scaling and gutting the fish. Remove the backbone, there is no need to remove the small bones, they will dissolve. Cut fish into chunks and immerse them for 24 hours in a brine solution of THREE cups of salt per gallon of water. Remove the fish, rinse well, drain and pack the chunks snuggly in sterilized canning jars. Add to each jar, 2 tablespoons catsup, 2 tablespoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and put canning lids on. Place the jars in canner and fill with water to the shoulders of jars. Boil for 4 hours, then take out and seal the jars. When the jars are opened, the fish will resemble canned salmon.

onesmallshift
03-04-2009, 05:38 AM
We can salmon every summer so I thought I'd add my two cents :) We clean the fish and only remove the head, fins and tail. The bones, even the spine, are softened by the canning process and provide extra nutrients. When you use the fish you can remove the bones if you want and, if you want, it is easier to remove the skin now than when it was fresh. We cut the fish so that it kind of curls around the jar as in a side, the spine, other side. Add some salt and that's it. Put the lids on and place in a pressure cooker (I'll have to check the pressure and timing later).

You can use it like tuna in sandwiches, you can put it in a food processor and make pate with maybe onions, mayo, or cream cheese, or you can mix it with cooked rice (remove bones and skin) for a really simple dinner dish.

Kevin
03-04-2009, 01:02 PM
We can salmon every summer so I thought I'd add my two cents :) We clean the fish and only remove the head, fins and tail. The bones, even the spine, are softened by the canning process and provide extra nutrients. When you use the fish you can remove the bones if you want and, if you want, it is easier to remove the skin now than when it was fresh. We cut the fish so that it kind of curls around the jar as in a side, the spine, other side. Add some salt and that's it. Put the lids on and place in a pressure cooker (I'll have to check the pressure and timing later).

You can use it like tuna in sandwiches, you can put it in a food processor and make pate with maybe onions, mayo, or cream cheese, or you can mix it with cooked rice (remove bones and skin) for a really simple dinner dish.
Hey O.S.S., Are you using any liquid to cover the fish ( either water or oil) in this method .Also could you please post the the pressure and time if possible.I have been looking for a method to can smoked mullet and trout down here in florida. This sounds like it may be the answer. Thanks, Kevin

boyd3
03-04-2009, 03:56 PM
:P Almost the same recipe I use to can suckers! :) And no, not poking fun if you aren't sure what they are, suckers are a kind of migratory carp. I also love smoking them! Here's one of my favorite links for recipes (http://www.southendwalleyeslayer.com/sucker2007.pdf).

Many of the recipes, you can substitute many different kinds of fish instead of the sucker.

Kevin
03-04-2009, 04:58 PM
:P Almost the same recipe I use to can suckers! :) And no, not poking fun if you aren't sure what they are, suckers are a kind of migratory carp. I also love smoking them! Here's one of my favorite links for recipes (http://www.southendwalleyeslayer.com/sucker2007.pdf).

Many of the recipes, you can substitute many different kinds of fish instead of the sucker.

cool link Boyd3, We use an almost identical smoked fish dip recipe down here in florida. Thanks , the canning recipes may work for our local varieties , Kevin

Kittikity
03-04-2009, 09:56 PM
Ok, I know this is a totally newb question.. But why is it called canning if its in jars? I always thought canning something was in cans.. Couldn't figure out how the ordinary person would make or use cans.. lol

Garden Green
03-23-2009, 11:42 AM
Canning dates back to the late 18th century. Nepolean offered money to whomever could come up with a way to perserve food reliably. There was a gentleman, Nicolas Appert, who put 15 years into working a process of sealing food in bottles like wine. To further the process, Peter Durand devised a way of sealing food in unbreakable air tight tin containers which was perfected by Bryan Dorkin and John Hall, who set up the first commercial canning factory in England in 1813. Thus we have the term canning.

Jars were used, but it was a mess, sealing waxes and tin lids and long processes. The lids and wax were of course, not reusable. It wasn't until the mid 1800's that John Masson came up with an rather in geneous way to cut threats in a jar lid and also into his jars. The Mason jar was born with it's resuable screw on lid. His zinc lid with a rubber ring revolutionized the home canning industry.

So there you have it, a very brief explanation and I do apologize for taking so long to get to you!