A couple of weeks ago I decided I should can the salmon Bryan got from his last fishing trip to AK. I am trying to clean the freezer out so we can buy some beef this fall from a farm that raises Highlander cattle. I was a little nervous about it as my sister told me I had to use a pressure canner, which I have not done in years. I have a older canner that I have not used in years so I was not sure about the seal. I ran to
Walmart and bought one for 64 dollars.
First I had to thaw the meat, I am glad I got a hold of my sister before I let the fish thaw out completely, she said it works better partially frozen. So here it is cut up and on racks to thaw.
Of course you have to wash the jars, lids and rings. I do not have a dishwasher but I use a disinfectant to sterilize the jars and rinse them well, let them air dry.
Once the salmon was thawed, I stuffed them in the jars, added the salt, kosher salt. 1/2 t per pint. For the half pints, half the amount of salt and for the 4 oz jars, 1/8 t salt. Put the lids on, which are washed and in hot water.
I had so many jars I figured I would get the old pressure canner out too. I didn't want to be up until 2 am with this project. They fish needs to be processed for 90 minutes, plus allowing for cooling time. I ended up doing 3 batches in the pressure cookers.
And, here is some of the final product. I ended up with 15 pints; 12 half pints and 12 quarter pints. I still have some salmon left in the freezer but that will taste good on the grill this summer.
