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Canning catfish

I have been harvesting my larger catfish and freezing most of them. You can eat them only so fast. Then I got to thinking about possible power outages etc.

I decided to can some fish in my pressure canner. The first batch were plain except for canning salt, no added water. I was surprised just how much fat and water catfish meat has. I canned 10 1/2 pints holding a net weight of just over 6 ounces each.

This weekend I harvested another dozen fish. I went with pint jars this time, and to reduce the moisture content, I smoked the meat beforehand. I added a small amount of salt and Tony Chaceres (which also contains salt). Then a little olive oil on top. Net weight is 14 oz.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Chris Duke on July 7, 2014 at 9:47am

Pretty cool idea. Have you canned fish before? How does it come out? Texture wise I'm sure tuna would be like store bought, but I'm wondering about the catfish. How long do you think it would stay fresh in a jar? Do you have any recipes for canned catfish?

Permalink Reply by Pat James on July 7, 2014 at 11:49am

The texture the first time (unsmoked) was close to canned tuna, maybe a little softer. I mixed it like you would tuna to make a spread . I just used plain whole catfish cut up into sizes that would fit I the jars, nothing fancy. I'd heard of people canning carp and figured if it would work ther, then a catfish would also.

Permalink Reply by Candis Kalley on September 24, 2014 at 8:10am

I think this is a cool idea - canning the fish! Seems like it would be easier and faster to use. I was wondering IF you had tried the smoked catfish and how was the texture?