Canned Salmon

Ingredients

Instructions

1. 1Understand before you begin that salmon is a low-acid food and must be processed in a pressure canner; a boiling-water bath is never safe for canning any fish.
2. 2Wash 7 pint jars (half-pint jars also work well) in hot soapy water or a dishwasher and keep them hot; wash new lids and prepare them exactly as the manufacturer instructs.
3. 3Clean the salmon well, removing the head, tail, and fins; the skin and backbone may be left in, since both soften completely during pressure processing and are edible and a good source of calcium, but scrape away and discard any dark blood line for the best flavor.
4. 4This recipe uses the raw pack method: cut the salmon into pieces the same length as your jars are tall, leaving no cooking step before packing, since fish is packed raw and cooks fully during processing.
5. 5Pack the raw salmon pieces vertically into the jars, skin-side out against the glass if desired, filling loosely so liquid and heat can circulate; do not add any water, broth, or oil, since fish releases plenty of its own liquid as it cooks and added liquid is not part of a tested safe recipe for raw-pack fish.
6. 6Leave 1 inch of headspace at the top of each jar, and add salt only if desired for flavor, never for safety.
7. 7Run a bubble tool carefully down the inside edge of the jar to release trapped air among the fish pieces, then recheck and adjust the headspace to 1 inch.
8. 8Wipe the jar rims completely clean of any fish oil or residue, since oily residue is especially prone to preventing a proper seal, center a lid on each jar, and screw the band down fingertip tight.
9. 9Load the jars into the pressure canner, add water as directed by the manufacturer, lock the lid, and vent steam steadily for 10 minutes before pressurizing.
10. 10Process half-pint or pint jars of salmon for 100 minutes at 10 pounds pressure in a weighted-gauge canner up to 1,000 feet (15 pounds above 1,000 feet), or 11 pounds in a dial-gauge canner up to 2,000 feet (12 pounds from 2,001 to 4,000 feet, 13 pounds from 4,001 to 6,000 feet, 14 pounds from 6,001 to 8,000 feet); quart jars are not recommended or tested safe for canning salmon, so use only half-pint or pint jars.
11. 11Turn off the heat once processing finishes and let the canner depressurize naturally on its own; never quick-release a canner of fish.
12. 12Wait until the gauge reads zero, then wait 2 more minutes, slowly vent any remaining pressure, wait 10 more minutes, then unlock and open the canner.
13. 13Move the jars to a towel-lined surface and let them cool completely undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours; it is normal to see some liquid released around the fish that has separated during processing.
14. 14Check that each lid has sealed, wipe the jars clean, label with contents and date, and store in a cool, dark place for up to about 1 year.
15. 15Before eating, boil the salmon hard for 10 minutes to destroy any possible botulinum toxin, and discard without tasting any jar with an off odor, spurting liquid, or a lid that never sealed or is bulging.