Canning Steelhead
I’m having to take a break from fishing during these heavy rains, so my wife and I decided to do some canning. A few days ago we found a lightly used All-American pressure canner model #930. The seller was getting rid of it for $50 it seemed to be a pretty good deal, so we took it home, cleaned it up, only to realize that neither of us had any idea how to use it, and the users manual wasn’t in the box! Anyhow, we got it figured out via the internet and this is how we canned some Stamp River hatchery Steelhead:
First we sterilized the lids in boiling water, and cleaned the jars in the dishwasher, then stuck them in the oven for 10mins at low heat. We cut up our Steelhead into steaks, stuck them in the jars, and threw some kosher salt on top. We put a lid on the jar and screwed a ring on. Then stuck the jars in the cooker, making sure that the jars didn’t touch, putting a divider between the first row of jars and the second row and added two and 1/2 inches of water. 
Placed the cooker on the BBQ side burner at high heat, and waited until there was steam coming out the open relief valve for ten minutes. After that we shut the valve kept the heat on, and waited until the gauge read 15lbs of pressure. At this point, the timer went on for 90 minutes and we varied the heat to keep the pressure constant. When the timer buzzed, we turned off the heat and waited for the cooker to cool off. Then removed the jars and set them on the table to cool for 24 hours. The juice in the jars were still boiling as they sat on the counter, and then the lids started to ‘pop’.
I think that’s all there is to it, now we have some canned Steelhead! If you have a killer recipe for Steelhead/Salmon canning, I want to know! Leave me your secret recipe for canning in the comment section below, or if you have time, put a post on the facebook page.
Tight lines,
Ian Barker
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Category: Canning, how to, Stamp River Fishing Report
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Sounds like you did things just right. And 50 dollars for an All American Canner?!? You got a great deal.
Well thats a relief! lol!
Canning Steelhead. Oh my…
I'm kind of a tree hugger when it comes to the chromers. But a brother has to eat once in a while ;0)
Ya, I kinda agree. But the hatch's are meant to be harvested. They aren't to be breeding with the wilds… IMHO.
O ya… just FYI… I release 100% of the wilds, and more than 3/4's of the hatches I catch every year. I got 6 on my permit… thats all I will take for the season.
Permit? how does that sytem work?
With the state of the West Coast Steelhead fishery one would think there would be a moritorium on the harvest of wild chromers.
What are they doing out there to protect these magnificent creatures before they go the way of the unicorn. Hatchery fish are not the answer. If done correctly Hatchery fish can be a decent alternative but if done recklessly without abandon it can be a freak show. Take a look at the South Shore of Erie…Ohio and PA…Those fish are a mutants.
There is, you can't kill wilds. BC has not got a great solution for the wilds, and they have very few rivers with a hatchery steel program, I think there is only two on the island.
nice canning job, hope they all "POPPED" for you, brings back memories of my parents canning salmon when I was a kid.It was an all day production,Dad being in the military had everything planned down to the second..lol. Mom would make fresh-cut french fries and canned salmon..MMMMM loved it! I've done it a couple times myself but not since we could keep sockeye over here on the east side of the Island. I need to make a trip to Port next year:)..cheers,SpringFever
french fries with canned salmon, on top? Sounds interesting. Sockey fishing isn't the most exciting fishing, but its not far from the marina! I tried some of the canning we did, and it tasted good.