Tis the season.....

[FISHRUS]

Tis the season.....
For springers and I didnt have the freezer space for them.

So today, I took some time out to do some canning. Im canning all the salmon and steelhead in the freezer, that also includes the smoked salmon too. As I'm starting to cut up and put the fish in the jars, I was wondering to myself, how old this pressure cooker was. That's a very good question too. :whazzup:

Have to tell you its a frightful thought too.
Well Im going to replace my seal on the pressure cooker as soon as possible. Then Im going to Appliance Repair Central to have my pressure dial gauge checked for accuracy. If its not reading the pressure correctly, it can cause your product to be overprocessed or underprocessed too. Hate the thought of that because of all the time and effort that goes into the canning.

I found article from the Oregonian about canner dial gauge testing.
Found out there are two places listed in the article that does the testing.

Appliance Repair Central
3202 NE Sandy Blvd
503-285-1828 8am to 5pm

Ace Hardware in Forest Grove
3820 Pacific Ave
503-357-3164 8am to 8pm

The article also mentioned the OSU Extension Service food safety and food preservation help line in the Portland Area, 503-725-2042. Leave a message and a master food preserver will return your call. Also they have some booklets on how to can your seafood as well. Ask about the booklets too. Some are free. This is a good number to have around, when you are canning and have questions to ask. [img]graemlins/1zhelp.gif[/img]

[Jennie@ifish]

Tis the season for salmon-ella
fa la la la laaaaaaa la laaaa laaaaa laaaaaaa
That's why I don't can salmon. I just KNOW I'd make someone sick!
Jen

[TundraIII]

Hey FISHRUS, I did some canning for the first time last fall and had great success with
salmon and crab, but terrible success with my smoked salmon. I over cooked the smoked stuff, couldnt find a recipe for canning smoked fish. So here's my question:
How long and at what pressure? I imagine it's 15lbs pressure, but the time length must
be shorter than what I did. Do you add oil to the jar? When it's done right, it's sooo good! Thanks for any help...Mike

P.S. My canner has a gauge and the weight system (5,10, and 15lb weights) for the steam pitcock. So I know
I was definately at 15lbs.

[ 03-07-2002, 11:58 AM: Message edited by: TundraIII ]

[umrules]

I do a lot of smoked salmon canning, I think it's awesome! What I do is use my favorite brine recipe just like I was going to make the normal smoked salmon, but then smoke it for only 5 hours (leaves that valuable oil in the fish). Then place 2 Jalapeno slices in bottom of canning jar, fill the jar with 1" by 2" chunks of the salmon, then top with 2 Jalapeno slices. Now it's ready for the preasure cooker. Following your cookers instructions fill the cooker with your jars and desired water level and bring preasure up to 10 psi. Once you reach 10 psi cook for 100 minutes at a constant 10 psi. Once jars cool ensure the tops pop'd to seal, if you have one that didn't, eat that one first. The rest get stored in the pantry for some future good eats!

[umrules]

Almost forgot, leave at least a 1/2 inch free space at the top of the jar when you fill it with salmon.

[Salmonator]

When canning smoked stuff, I use less salt in the brine and cut the brining time way back(like just an hour or two). I also only smoke the fish until the surface just starts to turn white (the inside of the fish is basically raw). This leaves it extremely moist after canning. The biggest mistake i've made is not cleaning the top of the jar before I put the lid on. One tiny piece of fish on the seal can screw it up... Joe

[FISHRUS]

I don't use any oil for my smoked fish. But then some do. I have done it two different ways. The first way was to smoke it until it was done, then packed them in the jars without any oil or water. Then get your pressure up to 10lbs. It depends on the size of jars you use. Half-pints are about 90 minutes and pints are 100 minutes.

The other way is the way Umrules describes....Im going to try the Jalapeno slices next time, thanks Umrules.