canning fish

[C.C.]

My family and I love tuna salad for just plain sandwiches or tuna melts. My question is, has anyone tried canning any of their pan fish or any other fish then tried making kind of a tuna salad out of it?
          Jim

[Master Angler]

I've had canned pike and lake trout.  It is very good, better than anything store bought.  My grandma has the recipe, I've made it myself once.  Its a very simple recipe, I think just ketchup, vinegar, and salt, but I'll try get the recipe on here soon.  I'm sure there will be many replies on this one.  It should be good to see the different varieties.

[Barleydog]

I can salmon and some lakers and char on a yearly basis.  I've messed with canning Albacore tuna, razor clams, oysters, and sturgeon.   It's great having fish around that doesn't gain the "fishiness" like the frozen variety...  I add hot sauce, olive oil/garlic, catsup, liquid smoke, chipolte tabasco, ect...  Adds a little "pop" to the flavor.  A small piece of smoked fish,(of the same variety as the fish your canning) added to the jar before canning, adds great flavor. 
I don't know about panfish C.C.?  To delicate for my taste...  You won't be happy with tiny bits of fish that explodes after canning.   Look into canning fish with a little body to them, and oil content dosent' hurt either.  Guess you could can almost anything, but I'd look at fish with some bulk.  I had a jar of canned carp some 20 years ago that was FANTASTIC!  It surprised me that such a trash fish could taste sooooo good.

[Skiff]

Haven't done it for a few years now, but I used to can a lot of suckers.  Just the ordinary white sucker that's so full of small bones.  Clean them as normal, you can scale and de-rib them or fillet them.  I usually removed the skin.  Get rid of the excess fat by slicing off the bottom of the belly.  After packing the fish into glass salmon jars almost to the top, I added about 1/2 tsp salt.  Nothing else, but you can add whatever spices you want, or a bit of tomato sauce for color. Then I canned them in a Presto pressure cooker for about 100 mins at 15 lbs pressure.  There's not a bone to be felt after canning.  Mmmmm...tastes like salmon.

Here's a link to my method on MFF:

http://www.myfishfinder.com/fishing_forum/index.php?topic=9434.0

[tundra1]

  i just got done canning 8 pts of pickerel, used the recipe from presto canners. I had some made into salad this summer and was great....

[IDbasser]

I can the trout I catch because I am not a trout fan.  We use it to make sandwiches like tuna, also it to make fish cakes.  I found that it is alot better when I smoke the trout first.  It is an extra step, but makes for better canned trout.

[er-e-is]

I have canned lake trout before, very good with saltine crackers. Been a few years, might have to do some again this year.

[Snakehunter]

I can whitefish mostly. My wife does not like the skin or the big spine bones or rib bones so I clean it up and then chunk it. I place the chunks into a mason jar fairly tightly and to within about 1/2 to 3/4" of an inch of the top. For a canned salmon type of look and taste I add a teaspoon of vegetable oil, a 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of ketchup. I pressure cook the jars for 90 minutes.
Stuff is awesome on crackers with cream cheese. First time I made it the wife and I ate a whole pack of crackers this way.
Bon Appetit,
Glen