Tuna canning question

[flapbreaker]

I was wondering if anyone has any recipe's or instructions on canning albacor tuna? I am perticularly interested in if people are pre-cooking then canning (there is an article on the internet that suggests that precooking removes the strong flavor of the dark meat). If not then do you add any oil or water to the raw tuna to fill the jar? Thanks for any info.

[blubeast]

Suggest you do a search on this topic... its been covered many times with several different approaches. It's all good.

[Keta]

Pre cooking results in a dryer product. Can the dark meat for cat food.

Cut fish into jar size pieces
If you want smoked tuna put unsalted/unbrined fish into cool smoker (Little Chief with the box removed and the lid cracked open) for 1 or 2 pans of chips, 1 is better as tuna takes on smoke fast
Put fish into clean jars
Add 1/2 tsp salt per pint and tablespoon ea. of good quality olive oil and distiled water (I use well water, no chlorine)
Put lids on and loosely tighten ring
Put in pressure cooker and fill with water to within 1" of the top of jars
Put lid on pressure cooker and heat until all of the air is purged from cooker and pure steam is coming out
Seal pressure cooker and when the pressure reaches 10 psi start the timer for 100 min (some books recommend more time) Keep a close eye on the pressure and keep it between 12 and 15psi if it goes below 10psi start the time over
After 100min shut of heat and reduce pressure
When pressure is zero remove lid and take jars out.
Tighten rings
Let jars cool away from any breeze
Clean oil and fish juice from jars and store
Eat and enjoy :yay:

[elkhuntr28]

Good reply Lee. I am going to print it out for future reference. :cheers:

Nathan

[Keta]

If you need help or a loan of a canner give me a call. Next time we have a mini meeting I'll bring a jar of tuna.

[BUGLEMAN]

Good post Keta, But I wouldn't suggest tightening the rings as you may never get them off.

[STGRule]

After I know they are sealed, I remove the rings for storage. For me, it makes it easier to open the jars later.

[Keta]

I don't tighten them down real tight but just snug. That's the way grandma showed me how to do it over 40 years ago and I still do it this way.

[flapbreaker]

Keta,

Thanks for the reply. After adding the olive oil you say to add water. This might be obvious but how much? To within an inch of the rim?

[STGRule]

LOL, removing the rings was the way I was taught too. :flowered:

[Keta]

Flap,
1 tablespoon each olive oil and water.

STG,
Leaving the lid on can protect the seal if you are moving/handling/shipping the jars. On the shelves at home I don't see the need. I sure miss my grandmother :depressed: I spent many hours with her in the garden, fishing and in the kitchen.

[rvalong]

Great recipe. I might add to remove all the fat and red meat off the fish.I do not add any water and the fish comes out great. :cheers:

[flapbreaker]

One more question.

What of jars are most people using 1/2pint or full pint? And how much meat do they put in there? Do cram them full so there is no space around the meat except for the top 1" or is that not too important? Thanks.

[Woody]

My opinion....remove the red meat but not the fat. That's where all the good omega 3's are.

I use both 1/2 pints and pints. 1/2 pints are great for gifts and they work well for making tuna salad for sandwiches. Full pints work good for recipes that take more fish, like a cassarole.

Pack 'em tight with 1" of head space. The first couple of batches I made I didn't fill them full enough and some of the meat was high and dry. This last time I jammed it in there and the liquid is over the top of the meat...real purty :dance: It looks so good I think I might enter some in the Clackamas County Fair just for the heck of it.

:yay: :yay:Woody's Blue Ribbon Tuna :yay: :yay:

[Keta]

"1/2pint or full pint"

Depends... If you have many eating it the full pints are the only way to go. If there is only 1 or 2 the 1/2 pints are better. We are big fish eaters and use only full pint jars.

[WaterDog]

Sometimes quarts would be just about right. :grin:

Keta, Thanks again for introducing me to cold smoking the fish before we can last year. Adds a little more time but well worth it. I asked the wife if she wanted it smoked. She said, "yes, smoke all of it."

[Keta]

Yup, cook it once in the pressure cooker not twice in the smoker and pressure cooker.

[flapbreaker]

So what's this about "cold" smoking?

[Keta]

85 to 90 degrees max. To do this with a Little Chief toss the box and crack the lid.

[avid]

Keta,



85 to 90 degrees max. To do this with a Little Chief toss the box and crack the lid.



Am I following along correctly? Two pans of chips for two hours and then two more hours before canning. Or am I mixing recipes? Thanks for your assistance.

David

[Pete]

Newbie question ... the National Center for Home Food Preservation (OSU Extension service) (http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_05/tuna.html) says to cook the fish first. It doesn't sound like that's what people are doing. What's preferable? What's the difference?

[NorthRiverRick]

Keta,

Thanks for the recipe help.

I hope to have the problem of "What do I do with all this TUNA!?" this coming weekend.

Rick the Tunagin :redface:

[Pete]

The USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html) says "precooked or raw", but the same procedure either way - does that sound right?


TUNA
Tuna may be canned either precooked or raw. Precooking removes most of the strong-flavored oils. The strong flavor of dark tuna flesh affects the delicate flavor of white flesh. Many people prefer not to can dark flesh. It may be used as pet food.
Note: Glass-like crystals of magnesium ammonium phosphate sometimes form in canned tuna. There is no way for the home canner to prevent these crystals from forming, but they usually dissolve when heated and are safe to eat.
Procedure: Keep tuna on ice until ready to can. Remove viscera and wash fish well in cold water. Allow blood to drain from stomach cavity. Place fish belly down on a rack or metal tray in the bottom of a large baking pan. Cut tuna in half crosswise, if necessary. Precook fish by baking at 250 F for 2-1/2 to 4 hours (depending on size) or at 350 F for 1 hour. The fish may also be cooked in a steamer for 2 to 4 hours. If a thermometer is used, cook to a 165 to 175 F internal temperature. Refrigerate cooked fish overnight to firm the meat. Peel off the skin with a knife, removing blood vessels and any discolored flesh. Cut meat away from bones; cut out and discard all bones, fin bases, and dark flesh. Quarter. Cut quarters crosswise into lengths suitable for half-pint or pint jars. Fill into jars, pressing down gently to make a solid pack. Tuna may be packed in water or oil, whichever is preferred. Add water or oil to jars, leaving 1-inch headspace.

Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt per half-pint or 1 teaspoon of salt per pint, if desired. Adjust lids and process.

[avid]

Pete,

The Ball Blue Book, a.k.a. the Home Canner's Bible, calls them "Raw" or "Hot Pack." Both require the 1:40 minutes at 10# pressure. Note: there are additional pressure requirements based on the elevation of your home. I have to use 12# pressure because my house is at 2300'.

David

[flapbreaker]

About how many ounces of fish are you able to fit in a pint jar? The obvious answer would be 16 ounces but that's liquid weight and tuna is more dense than water so I am just not sure how to plan.

[WaterDog]

I cold smoke it for 1.5 to 2 hours with one pan of chips. Once that is done it goes from the rack, to the jar, to the canner.

[Pilar]

Pete, cooked twice is what you buy in the starkist can at the store. They pressure cook the whole fish then pack it in cans and cook it again. This process removes many of the oils in the fish and they add vegetable oil to compensate.

I have tried baking and then canning. It seemed much drier than the fish that was raw packed. I'm guessing the oils thing again.

Either way you know where it has been and it is very good eating. The 100 minutes is about killing anaerobic bacteria like listeria and botulism. The fish is probably cooked clear through after 15 minutes in the canner.

The oils in TUNA! are full of Omega III fatty acids and this is claimed to have health benefits.

[flapbreaker]

What type of wood is good for smoking tuna?

[Fishplay]

Trim all dark meat away and discard or as Lee says feed it to the cat. This should have already been done at the carking station as far as I'm concerned; but then I hate cats. :wink:

Do not trim fat from meat! If anything add some belly meat to the jar for a little added oil and then eliminate the olive oil.

I like my bellys smoked and eaten fresh though.

Cold smoke and use no more than one pan of smoke.....canning really intensifies the flavor.

Alder chips is all I use for fish!

Pre-cooking leads to a drier product and is not necessary.

The salt thing is according to taste. I like mine salty so I add a little more than what Keta's recipe calls for.

I also omit the added water and the meat seems to stay plenty moist.

About half of what I can is flavored with jalapeno. Just ram a whole one in the jar with the meat. Mmmmmm Godlike results!

[Keta]

avid,
One pan of smoke and as soon as the smoke clears can it.

Pilar is right about the dry twice cooked fish.

[CrazyFish]

Adding some minced garlic with the salt realy adds a good flavor too. :yay:

[LQQKASTAR]

Thanks again Keta

[South Paw]

Flapbreaker,

I like Alder and Apple but I'd guess that any mild wood would work well. Hickory and Masquite are to stong of a smoke in my mind and way over powers the tuna. I prefer lighter smokes on all types of fish and generally don't go to the stronger smokes unless I'm smoking game and then not often. I just got some Filbert and Pecan and am going to try them on a couple my next batches of tuna.

I broke down and purchased a Traeger last year and love it. It really makes smoking a snap even when I have to open the lid for a cold smoke. But I've done a several hundred if not a few thousand pounds of fish and game in a Little Chief and they do a great job as well.

[South Paw]

That's what I forgot in my last batches. GAAAA how could I forget the garlic. :whazzup: :depressed: :whazzup: :depressed: :whazzup: :depressed: :whazzup:

[Keta]

I prefer to have just fish in my jars (salt and a bit of oil in tuna) and add whatever when getting it ready to eat it.
For eating out of the jar it would be nice to add some zip (bam?) to it and I might try somethings on the next few batches. I guess you can teach an "Old Dog" new tricks.

[Lipripper]

Any one try doing more than the recommended 24 1/2 pints? I'm wondering if I couldn't do like 36 1/2 pint. I'm using a 23 qt canner.

[flapbreaker]

Any one try doing more than the recommended 24 1/2 pints? I'm wondering if I couldn't do like 36 1/2 pint. I'm using a 23 qt canner.



Do you mean that your wanting to put 36 1/2 pint jars in your 23qt canner? I don't think the standard 1/2 pint jars would work but I think you could get away with triple stacking the "wide mouth" 1/2 pint jars. They are short and squaty (sp) almost like a tuna can. The only problem is they are about the same cost as whole pints. I have seen them for about 7.99 per 12pack.

[Lipripper]

I have been triple stacking 1/2 pint jars but wondering the effects of stacking 4 high.

[LQQKASTAR]

pat, i dont see how you can possibly put 36 jars in a single layer. i dont know how big my cooker is, but it seems big to me and i can only get 12 1/2 pints, rember you dont want to fill past the lids


jack

[flapbreaker]

I have been triple stacking 1/2 pint jars but wondering the effects of stacking 4 high.




Hmmm.. your 23qt canner must be really tall to have been stacking 3 tall unless you already are using those short wide mouths I mentioned. I have a 23qt and can only stack 2 high (24 1/2 pints)? :shrug:

[Lipripper]

I use the short squat 1/2 pints. I have 30- 1/2 pints in there now. I'll let you know what happened in a couple of hours

[Lipripper]

Stacked 'em 4 high. Got 30 in there. They all came out fine. Second batch is warming up now. Finish the rest next weekend. Thanks all for the help.

[puffins crew]

I had a jar break during canning, and the whole batch of jars is coated with nasty goo. What do you use to clean the jars after cooking/cooling?

Thanks, Tom

[wthr4d]

I believe it was oceanBlue that said she uses Vinegar to clean the rims before sealing, Im sure that would work.

since they are sealed, I don't know why you couldn't just hand wash them with dish soap :shrug:

anyone who knows from experience??

Paul

[Woody]

Just leave the rings on and give'em a good scrubbing with dish soap and water.

[puffins crew]

Thanks for the replys. I will post how each method works.

Peace, Tom

[Keta]

I use the Woody method.