This Isn't Chicken of the Sea

We have had such a successful Sockeye season so far. Our freezers are full so we will be eating delicious salmon through the winter! We filet, vacuum seal and freeze the fish as soon as possible so that it stays as fresh as possible. Here is a picture of Dana and Chris prepping a stack of filets for the freezer.





Yesterday Dana and I turned our attention to filling our pantries with canned salmon. I will share the technique we used but you should always check the official guidelines from the National Center for Home Food Preservation whenever you can food at home.

Tools you will need:

Pressure canner
Clean 250ml or 500ml wide mouth jars
Seals and rings for the jars
Vinegar
Salt
Jar lifters

We like to skin the salmon before canning, but many people leave it on for it's nutritional benefits. Cut the fish into chunks.






Next pack the jars tightly with salmon, use a non-metal utensil to get out any air pockets (I use a chopstick). We did 250ml jars yesterday an added 1/2 tsp salt to each one.







Wipe the rims with a clean paper towel soaked with vinegar. The rims must be free of residue to ensure a tight seal.







Soak the seals in hot (but not quite boiling) water for a few minutes to soften the rubber. Place a seal on each jar and then twist on the ring (turn until tight but don't twist too hard)







My canner calls for 3L of water to be added, but check the manufacturers instructions for your canner. Stack the jars in the canner.






Time and pressure needed depend on your altitude. Since we are at sea level we canned at 11lbs of pressure for 100 minutes.







Once the canner has cooled enough to depressurize, remove the jars and listen for the satisfying 'pop' of the jars sealing.







Let the jars rest for 24 hours before wiping them off and storing them. The ten sockeye we did yesterday filled 45 250ml jars with fresh, delicious fish our families will enjoy this fall and winter. Each time I open one of those jars I will be reminded of the great time we had catching the fish!