Canning pinks

Cynnergy

New Member
Does anyone here can pinks? I don't have a lot of freezer space, but I do have a pressure canner, and canned pink seems like it would be perfect for flavored fish cakes, salmon lasagne and fish pie.

I'm just a bit worried about the flavour after canning. Some pinks are really not tasty - I think it's the belly fat? Should I cut that off before canning?
 
I hot smoke pink fillets before canning them. It's great for dips, soufflé etc.
T2
 
Everyone slams the poor pinky , I thinks it a great salmon sometimes I admit a pain in the arse when looking for big springs but if you bled them out and keep them cool they are great , on my boat I have a thru hull fitting that I put into my cooler (drilled and sikaflexed in) and then a lil bildge pump plumbed into it so when I get ANY salmon i cut the gill fill it up with water and let it do its thing draining out of the drain. every hour or so fill it back up again a few times to keep them cool and rinsed again.
I think they are great smoked and consumed, living on the coast we become spoiled and say things like oh its just a "pink" its a salmon be thankful for it and treat it right it will in return to you....

They are great canned smoked or just normal canned with a garlic clove and a sprig of dill put in the jar, remember you are cooking it add some flavor to it (mildly) it really makes a difference, i know some that put a few chili flakes into it and different herbs like i said dill,tarragon,oregano, basil, whatever you like enjoy it...

good luck Wolf
 
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Everyone slams the poor pinky , I thinks it a great salmon sometimes I admit a pain in the arse when looking for big springs but if you bled them out and keep them cool they are great , on my boat I have a thru hull fitting that I put into my cooler (drilled and sikaflexed in) and then a lil bildge pump plumbed into it so when I get ANY salmon i cut the gill fill it up with water and let it do its thing draining out of the drain. every hour or so fill it back up again a few times to keep them cool and rinsed again.
I think they are great smoked and consumed, living on the coast we become spoiled and say things like oh its just a "pink" its a salmon be thankful for it and treat it right it will in return to you....

They are great canned smoked or just normal canned with a garlic clove and a sprig of dill put in the jar, remember you are cooking it add some flavor to it (mildly) it really makes a difference, i know some that put a few chili flakes into it and different herbs like i said dill,tarragon,oregano, basil, whatever you like enjoy it...

good luck Wolf
great ideas, Wolf. Thank you
 
Great ideas everyone! Thank you! I will definitely give it a go this year and put at least one batch through the pressure canner with some seasoning (assuming the pinks come back as per usual). If I get to smoking this year, I'll try canning that too!
 
wolf Nailed it!,
theyre also pretty darn good fresh on the BBQ,
lately tho before canning I have been cold smoking my fish then canning
holy crap that's a great sandwich, not too much smoke though as the canning process really enhances/increases the smoke flavor
 
wolf Nailed it!,
theyre also pretty darn good fresh on the BBQ,
lately tho before canning I have been cold smoking my fish then canning
holy crap that's a great sandwich, not too much smoke though as the canning process really enhances/increases the smoke flavor
Good point re going light on the smoke if you're going to can after.
T2
 
I don't mind pinks at all.. For table fare give me a nice pink over a 25# Chinook any day. On the bbq or in the pan either way. They are awesome canned, when we can them we add nothing I love em just the way they are. With that said we will usually keep the big Chinook for smoking or canning and keep our smaller fish for eating Again,, in the vacuum sealers soon as possible and they are great Little fish.

As far as keeping them fresh on the boat..mine stay as fresh as fresh can be,, I have a live well,, they are still kicking when I put the knife to them at the dock.. Then into the vacuum sealer with in a half hr of dying.
 
Flavour wise they are one of my favourites. Especially fresh or fresh canned. Left in the round for any amount of time they turn to mud pretty quick. I worked in a cannery for a few summers. I will never eat commercially canned humpies.
 
Wow this is making me hungry, I've spent the past 2 hours looking into pressure canners and the different processes and recipes and am pretty stoked for the pinkies as I usually have a few nice fresh meals and then smoke a bunch up for candied jerky.

So if you're going to do a light smoke first before canning would you do a light brine before smoking or just straight in there and then into the jars with whatever flavouring you want to add?

I've read about adding water, salt, a bit of vinegar to the jars and also just putting the fish in dry, any preference?

I could see myself going a little crazy with this as there's so many good options, garlic, basil, dill, shallots, wine, lemon, peppercorn, onion, cilantro, celery seed, Cajun, etc etc etc.

So what's everyone's favorite recipes/processes that are fan favorites?
 
I usually can pinks with a few pepper corns (whole) and about a tablespoon of salsa. I find the salsa helps the appearance of the final product and has a decent amount of garlic, salt, chilli peppers which help the taste.

The worst pink I ever had was better than the best trout I ever had... I normally let the pinks go unless it's a bleeder. The bleeders get kept and canned
 
X2 on the salsa. I use 3 tablespoons and a couple teaspoons of granulated garlic. The salsa is what makes the flavor of the fish awesome!!
 
Guys,

For those of you who smoke pinks before canning, do you do the whole brining process as well? If so, what is your brine recipe? I normally use a dry bring with salt and brown sugar overnight but I have never done the smoke then can thing.

I understand the canning process to be 100 minutes at 10 lbs at sea level and you're golden.

One other question... do you freeze the fish first then do the smoking and canning later on or or do you just get started after a day's fishing?

Thanks all.
 
I do a lot of canning, specifically of beans/fruits/jams etc. I'm curious about the amount of liquid needed in each jar with the salmon? Love the idea of the salsa and I assume there are some preservation ingredients in the salsa that don't hurt.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
I do a lot of canning, specifically of beans/fruits/jams etc. I'm curious about the amount of liquid needed in each jar with the salmon? Love the idea of the salsa and I assume there are some preservation ingredients in the salsa that don't hurt.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
No liquid, pack the salmon in and leave 1" head space on the big jars.
 
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