WHAT ARE YOU CANNING TODAY?

[Hinotori]

Taking some of it to Mom and Dad. We've about ruined them as well on canned tuna. The stuff in metal cans in the store sucks in comparison to the home canned. Hubby has tried every store tuna he's come across. Only the specialty artisanal in jars was as good. That stuff ran $8 or more a jar.

The problem with the big commercial tuna is that it's mostly mush with water or oil added. Kind of has to be to fit in a 3 oz tin. "Hi, here's your sample of tuna. It's not enough to make anything but we'll still charge you more for it." You should hear the rants Mom can go on about canned tuna. She's taken to trying differently off brands from Grocery Outlet (food overstock store). Some have been good and she's gone back and cleaned them out.

All the old recipes Mom has for tuna noodles or anything calls for 7 oz cans. That's part of why I use the oyster jars. With the 1 inch headspace and meat shrinkage during processing, half pints just weren't quite enough. Granted Mom says it's still more than needed, but she'd rather have more tuna than less.

 

[wyoDreamer]

A little extra tuna in the jar lets the cook sample while cooking - it's the chef's cut.

Canned tuna sounds wonderful. Especially smoked, canned tuna.

I wonder how canned whitefish would be? It may be too soft of a fish to can.

I am hoping I get pick some more tomato's tonight after work to make some sauce for canning. So far just canned diced tomatoes and the leftover juice.

 

[Hinotori]

I tried one jar of sea bass one year. It wasn't very good. I asked around after. Only oily fish are good canned.

 

[Beekissed]

Oh, that canned tuna sounds delicious!!! What a blessing to have REAL tuna. That would spoil me for sure...you are right, the canned tuna we can get is just mush in a can.

It's that time of year...the canning of the meats, stocks and soups. That's my most favorite things to have on the shelves, as they form a large part of our protein needs for the winter months.

This year I hope to can up pts for Mom to keep on our cupboard shelves...she says she forgets we have canned items in the pantry/mud room, so she buys crappy store bought soups that she tries and then never eats. It will be necessary to clean out the cupboards just to make room for the homemade soups, but it was needed anyway. We have stuff in there we will never consume...I'll box it up and take it to the local homeless shelters.

Since I can't eat all the wonderful tomato soups I made the past two years(gout trigger for me), I'll use those to make her some vegetable soup with any deer meat we get, then make Eli some chilis and deer stews for his lunches. That will help clear the shelves for these canned items...right now I'm tight for space and will have to shift and sort, move and eliminate.

Harvested more banana peppers and a thousand and one habanero peppers(not really....just a gallon, but the plants are hanging with more unripened peppers, which I may make into hot sauce later on...if the cold weather doesn't take them before they can ripen) to make fire jam and this time, it will be HOT. The habaneros keep their heat during cooking, while the banana peppers seemed to not do that this year. Will also substitute the brown sugar for honey this year.

 

[Beekissed]

Been canning up chicken stock today and also the last batch of fire jam....I think it's the best batch I've ever made. The flavor is out of this world, the heat is perfect and the balance of sweet and sour are perfect. Instead of using the brown sugar I used honey and only used a pound of it, though the recipe calls for 3 lbs of brown sugar.

Turned out GREAT!

So 14 more qt. of stock on the shelf and 11 pts of fire jam, the last of the peppers have been used.

Still have to butcher a few more chickens that need to grow up a little more and that will bring the flock to winter numbers...that will come later. Probably the next thing to can will either be deer meat and/or soups.

My canned goods shelves are full to overflowing, so not sure where I'll put the deer meat, but the soups will take the place of the space the stock is using, as I'll be using some of the stock for soup bases.

 

[CrealCritter]

My wife also subs honey for sugar in her jellies and jams. I like them they are not overly sweet and honey allows the fruit flavor to come through.

 

[Hinotori]

Not canning as it's being vacuumed sealed and frozen, but hubby got some hatchery chum salmon. Only good for smoking or salmon burgers at this stage. Texture goes mushy when they are spawning. But free fish is free fish.

So 12 pounds of fillets. Dry brined and smoked. Will make good salmon dip.

I could can them after. It tastes like the Pacific Northwest smoked salmon you can buy in foil packets if I do that. I have canned them before.

And hubby just piped up that I should can the last batch. It firms the fish a little, too. Mom would love some of that then.


Dry brine, though you can disolved it in hot water and use as a wet brine after it cools. Did that on the tuna bellies.

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Cover with brine for 8-12 hours
Rinse. Let air dry in fridge 2-4 hours until pellicle forms.

Low smoke 4 hours

 

[frustratedearthmother]

free fish is free fish.

You are right about that! Congrats! That brine sounds really good.

 

[CrealCritter]

Just about any meat that is smoked is good meat. Smoked Salmon tumbs_up

 

[Beekissed]

Not canning as it's being vacuumed sealed and frozen, but hubby got some hatchery chum salmon. Only good for smoking or salmon burgers at this stage. Texture goes mushy when they are spawning. But free fish is free fish.

So 12 pounds of fillets. Dry brined and smoked. Will make good salmon dip.

I could can them after. It tastes like the Pacific Northwest smoked salmon you can buy in foil packets if I do that. I have canned them before.

And hubby just piped up that I should can the last batch. It firms the fish a little, too. Mom would love some of that then.


Dry brine, though you can disolved it in hot water and use as a wet brine after it cools. Did that on the tuna bellies.

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Cover with brine for 8-12 hours
Rinse. Let air dry in fridge 2-4 hours until pellicle forms.

Low smoke 4 hours

Makes me hungry just reading about it!!!