Canning smoked salmon

[diver57]

A few ? about smoking salmon
1/ if i smoke it for 5 or more hrs and get the temp to 175 to kill bacteria why would you need to put in pressure cooker for 90 min which is what everyone seems to say . I have tried this for 90 min and had to throw it out it was so bad.
Does any one have the proper way to can it in 1/2 quart jars. thanks for any info

[aces-n-eights]

We've smoked and canned a lot of salmon, but not much together - i.e.: canning smoked salmon.  So take this advice with a huge grain of salt...

A couple of options come to mind...  We hot smoke salmon and add a piece of that to a jar of raw fish and then pressure cook/can as you would raw fish.  The small piece of smoked salmon flavors the entire jar. 

Another thought is to cold smoke salmon and pressure cook/can as you would raw fish.  To me 5 hours is a lot of smoke, so i would go a couple of hours of smoke with no heat and then into the pressure cooker.  I can see why 5 hours of smoke and 175 degrees and then canning - basically cooking it again - would produce a poor product.

Good luck!

[Smokeville]

I can't find it but there was a thread here a few years ago about this. The fellow had a First Nations recipe and it had some peanut butter in it. That's why I remember it but I can't find it by searching for peanut butter.

[viper125]

Actual fish in pints should be processed for 100 min. And qts should be 160 minutes. All we add to the jar is 1 tsp salt to a qt. or 1/2 tsp to a pint. 90 minutes really isnt enough for qt jars to be safe. Here is a good link for those who doubt. Some also add vinegar,tomato sauce and other things.

http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/food-preserving/canning-recipes/fish-jars

[devo]

I also suggest to not smoke it as long, maybe 1 hour to 2 at the most. Canning will bring out the smoke 2 times over. Also try putting some honey into a few jars for that candy salmon taste.  ;)

From everything I have read on this its when people smoke it to long and can it. I guess the canning really makes the smoke to strong and thats probably what happened to yours

[Salmonsmoker]

175F is not high enough temperature to kill food borne pathogens. Pint jars(1/2 qt) need 100 min. @ 240F. (10# pressure @ sea level). You can do your 2-4 hrs.of smoke, what ever your smoke level preference is, hot smoking with skin on will hold the pieces together better until they are at least partially cooked and then the skin will peel off easily wthout the pieces falling apart. Putting a tablespoon of olive oil in each pint jar will help keep oil and moisture in the fish from draining out at high temps, which makes the pieces hard and dry. It doesn't matter how much you cook or don't cook the fish in the smoker, pints still need 100 min.@ 240F. 

[SiFumar]

My brother in Alaska cans smoked salmon...I know he uses willow to smoke, but never asked him how he cans it.  He had sent me some...it was good...I'm still alive....so I guess he does it right.

[viper125]

Well 1/2 to 1 hour is all the smoke you'll need.  Most the time I use nothing bot a little salt and make patty s. But this is another way to o it with lots of flavor.
This straight from an  Alaska cookbook. Add a couple tablespoons to each pint jar and don't open it for at least a month, it gets better with time. Yummy enough to eat right out of the jar. Just throw it all in a pot, heat to boiling and add to your jars before processing.

1 pint ketchup
1/2 pint oil (any good salad oil will work, I use rice oil)
1 heaping tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup cider vinegar
10 large, fresh, crushed garlic cloves

[devo]

Excellent read and guide lines for canning smoked fish.

Canning Smoked Fish - Oregon State University Extension Service

Click Here

[aces-n-eights]

Devo, great read - thanks for posting that article.

[tsquared]

I smoke then can pink salmon in 1/4 pint jars. I fillet the pinks and give them the 12 hour kummok brine, dry for a few hours then into the smoker for 2hrs smoke. I put a touch of vinegar in each jar but no salt as there is plenty in the flesh already from the brine. Process for the reg amount of time--delicious! All those annoying tiny litle pink bones are dissolved by the canning process and you have a great sandwich spread or the base for a great smoked salmon dip.
T2