Every Step in Canning: The Cold-Pack Method

by Grace Viall Gray

As soon as fish are caught it is advisable to kill them with a knife and allow the blood to run out. Scale fish. This is easily done if the fish is dipped in boiling water. For canning, most varieties of fish need not be skinned. If the fish is very large and coarse, the large back fin may be cut out and the backbone removed, but with most varieties this is unnecessary. Cut off the head and tail, being careful to leave no more meat than necessary on the parts removed. Remove the entrails and the dark membrane that in some fish (e.g., mullets) covers the abdominal cavity. Thoroughly clean the inside. The head may be cleaned and used for fish chowder.

If you wish to be sure that all blood is drawn out before canning, place the fish in a brine made of one ounce of salt to one quart of water. Allow the fish to soak from 10 minutes to 1 hour according to the thickness of the fish. Never use this brine but once. If the meat of the fish is very soft or loose, it may be hardened by soaking in a brine (strong enough to float an Irish potato) for from 15 minutes to an hour, depending on the thickness of the pieces and the softness of the flesh.

CANNING THE FISH

1. Remove the fish from the brine where it has been placed in order to draw out all the blood and to harden the texture of the fish.

2. Drain well.

3. Cut into can lengths.

4. Place fish in a piece of cheesecloth or in a wire basket and blanch in boiling water from three to five minutes. Three minutes for the soft flesh fish, such as suckers, crappies, whitefish. Fish with a firmer flesh, as pike, muskalonge and sunfish require 5 minutes blanching. The blanching removes the strong fish flavor and cleans the outside of the fish.

5. Cold-dip the fish by plunging into cold water immediately. This makes the flesh firm.

6. Pack in hot jars or cans to within ½ inch from top. Add 1 teaspoonful salt per quart. Put on a good rubber and partially seal the jar, completely seal tin cans.

7. Place jars or cans in canner and process in boiling water for three hours. Three hours sterilization will insure the keeping of all varieties of fish, providing fresh products are used and the blanching and other work is carefully done. If canning with a steam-pressure canner or a pressure cooker sterilize for one hour and a half under 10 to 15 lbs. pressure.