Don’t throw back skipjack, give them to me. Skipjack is very low in mercury compared to other tuna and highly sustainable.
If you catch some skipjack and don’t eat it all fresh then pick up some mason jars with new lids and get a big pressure cooker. Clean up the fish, throw in any spices you like and a clove of garlic. Very loosely screw on the lids and fill the pressure cooker half way up the jars with water. Bring up to pressure and cook for 90 min. Turn off heat, release pressure, and move the jars to a cloth to cool and dry.
This part is very important. If the dimple on the top of the jars doesn’t vacuum seal while it cools then it is a bad jar and you either have to eat it right away or use a new lid and cook it again. If you skip that step and let it spoil then eat it, you could die.
Tuna prepared this way is far and above better than anything in a can. Tuna in cans in the store is actually steamed before they put it in the can and lots of the flavor is lost. Look at the last picture and you can see the natural oils and juices that come out of the meat. This stuff makes a very mean tuna salad with mayo and celery.
There are plenty of good videos on youtube if you need more information.
Clean up the fillets. Make sure to get all of the blood line out. I freeze the scraps and cook them up for dog food.
I put nothing in the jars but fish and a clove of garlic. The liquid is the oils and moistures that come out of the fish. Very tasty vs commercial canned tuna where they steam it first and loose all of the flavor then add water when they put it in the can.
If you smoke the tuna with hickory, and then can it, you’ll have a TON of flavor as well, for variety. You may need to add some liquid though since some of the juices will cook out… you could reclaim those if you smoke them in a metal pan. They’ll still get plenty of smoke.
“Sire, it belongs in truth to the Church of God, in whose name I speak, to endure blows and not to inflict them. But it will also please your Majesty to remember that she is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.”…Theodore Beza
I scored a ton of blackfin this past weekend and I had so much left over that I could’t bring myself to freeze so I canned it. The biggest of the bunch was well marbled with fat/oil and it was eaten fresh but all of the other fish were leaner and wouldn’t have frozen as well so I canned them. My girlfriend has already tried a few jars and said they were excellent. I put a Habanero in a few jars too so that will be interesting to try.
I made your recipe yesterday and threw some home grown hot peppers in there as well. Surprisingly wasn’t much an added kick to it but thanks for the recipe. It was great and first time canning tuna. I used skipjack
I made your recipe yesterday and threw some home grown hot peppers in there as well. Surprisingly wasn’t much an added kick to it but thanks for the recipe. It was great and first time canning tuna. I used skipjack
Yeah I threw in a few Habaneros into a jar in the last batch and all of the heat was cooked off. Garlic still comes through though a little bit though.
I’m glad you all like the idea. Just remember to read up on it online and be careful to check your seals. Botulism is real.
Don’t throw back skipjack, give them to me. Skipjack is very low in mercury compared to other tuna and highly sustainable.
If you catch some skipjack and don’t eat it all fresh then pick up some mason jars with new lids and get a big pressure cooker. Clean up the fish, throw in any spices you like and a clove of garlic. Very loosely screw on the lids and fill the pressure cooker half way up the jars with water. Bring up to pressure and cook for 90 min. Turn off heat, release pressure, and move the jars to a cloth to cool and dry.
This part is very important. If the dimple on the top of the jars doesn’t vacuum seal while it cools then it is a bad jar and you either have to eat it right away or use a new lid and cook it again. If you skip that step and let it spoil then eat it, you could die.
Tuna prepared this way is far and above better than anything in a can. Tuna in cans in the store is actually steamed before they put it in the can and lots of the flavor is lost. Look at the last picture and you can see the natural oils and juices that come out of the meat. This stuff makes a very mean tuna salad with mayo and celery.
There are plenty of good videos on youtube if you need more information.
Clean up the fillets. Make sure to get all of the blood line out. I freeze the scraps and cook them up for dog food.
Bought a pressure canner to can some tuna, finally. Mostyly Backfin with a little Yellowfin. Thanks, Jordan for the tip. I put a small amount of Olive oil in jar, clove of garlic and a bit of Kosher salt.
It was the first time using pressure canner and had me a bit nervous, lol.
