About 12 lbs. should do it, but get a little more just in case. You can always use any left over for fresh eating.

This is for filleted fish. For whole fish I would double the amount.

Jim

Jim's number sounds correct. Always remember that a pint is a pound, the world around.

Thanks for the answer, I was really have trouble figuring how much whole fish to get to get enough loin to can. What ever I have left I am going to smoke. Of course I will keep a little to cook fresh.

My reasoning was the same as malonanddonna's (would that be Malon?). Pints and pounds aren't necessarily the same because we're talking weight vs. volume. But for foods which have densities similar to water, it's close. It won't work for popcorn.

Smoked tuna! Mmmmmmm.

Smoked fish freezes well. Put some away.

Jim

From MSUE website:
CANNING FISH, PREPARATION

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It takes 25 to 35 pounds of fresh fish to fill about a
dozen pint jars.

Here is a link that might be useful: MSUE on canning fish.

Thanks, Linda Lou. So my guesstimate (and Malon's) of 12 pounds plus a little extra and double that for whole fish was pretty good (pats self on back and beams with satisfaction). :-)

Jim

(would that be Malon?)

LOL, Jim. Sometimes Malon, sometimes Donna. When you've been together this long, the dividing line is hard to find.

Jim, yes, you did well with estimating the amount. I just had remembered seeing this so went ahead and posted it, even though you had given a good reply.
My husband wants to go tuna fishing so badly. It costs so much, about $150 plus gas money, food, and lodging, I suppose since he would have to be there so early. Plus, no guarantee of catching anything. We have canned tuna before. I was thankful for my pressure canner that I can stack the jars in ! It sure tasted good. Especially with the sweet pickle chunks mixed with mayo. MMm.
Maybe he would like to go for his birthday gift. Now,there is an idea.

"Plus, no guarantee of catching anything."

Those charter boat captains are quite good at finding fish. Their livlihood depends upon having lots of satisfied clients.

$150.00 is a fair price for a charter trip.

Just getting in a few points for hubby. ;-)

Jim

Jim, I know he would appreciate the help ! You are right about it being their job, but he has been lied to more than once by charter places on the phone telling him, sure we have been limiting out in just a few hours, etc.
Then, later, come to find out, they hadn't caught any at all, just wanting to get business ! He came home emptyhanded, espcially empty of money !!!

Linda Lou, my Dad and both girls went on a charter fishing trip on a trip to Maine several years ago. They came home empty handed too, but they did manage to get severely sea sick and had the experience of throwing up over the side of the boat.

I was smart enough to stay behind in the village for the day, doing laundry and wandering about. I think it was worth the money just to get rid of them all for the day! LOL

I think the trip would be a great birthday gift for your hubby, though, one he would enjoy and appreciate and far better than ties and socks. Plus, if he did catch anything, it's just a bonus. I say, send him!

Annie

Annie, I think I will do it ! Makes shopping easy, and he is getting ready to have 6 days off in a row, maybe he can get a trip during this time.

I agree, you had the better day when you stayed behind. I am one of those people who could get motion sickness in the bathtub, LOL !

Linda Lou, remind me to never allow you into my swimming pool on a floating raft. ROFL

I hope the hubby catches a BIG one, even if it would mean that you'd be canning tuna for a long time. HE has to clean it, right?

Annie

I thought the guys on the boat did that. Make them earn their pay! When hubby went fishing off the coast of Alaska, the fish wash cleaned on the boat. Then they took it to a place on shore that vacuum sealed and flash froze the fish, then put it on dry ice for the trip home.

You usually pay the deck hands some extra money to clean them for you. Nice, too, so you don't have to figure out what to do with the guts and stuff until trash day.
The drive would just be a couple hours away from home. It would be fresh when he got it home, not frozen. It would be a day trip.
Oh, he would help can it. He likes to can.

Annie, maybe that is why I never learned to swim. Really, the motion makes me feel awful.
Take me to the produce markets and I am happy as a clam !

Take me to the produce markets and I am happy as a clam !

Better make that happy as a rabbit and stay out of the water!! :o)

LOL, Malon, you're right, Linda Lou better not be happy as anything that lives in the water. (grin)

Annie

My older daughter informed me the other day, rather curtly, that clams do not have emotions. She's only 10!!

Ah, but Melly, how does she KNOW? I'm not sure there's a scientific method developed to measure the contentedness of clams. (grin)

Annie

If some of my jars didn't seal can I put them back in the pressure cooker a second time with new seals?

Yes, reprocess them with new lids for the full 100 mins. processing time called for.

Dave

I had put them in the fridge overnoight before recanning is that ok

Thanks Digdirt2

As long as it is reprocessed within 24 hours of the initial processing.

Dave

Your tuna is going to look a little dark possibly with double processing but it shouldn't adversely affect the taste.

Do you know why your jars didn't seal so you don't repeat. It's an oily fish, did you wipe the jar rims well before putting the lids and rings on? And careful not to turn your heat source up and down during the long processing time, making temps that could fluctuate inside your canner....

Yes the temps did fluctuate too much that batch 8 out of 46 did not seal but I also gave up about 3 hours after taking them out. I see I'm suppose to give them 24 hours. Also was using new seals but they have been stored 1-2 years. Usually I only have about 2 that don't seal out of 100. I am going to use new seals with 10-15 steady pressure this round. And clean the rims better. My nephew was doing that part. Also I don't think some rings were finger tight enough. We also ran out of warmed up seals and rushed the last 8 or so, so they may have not been soft enough

"Yes the temps did fluctuate too much that batch 8 out of 46 did not seal but I also gave up about 3 hours after taking them out. I see I'm suppose to give them 24 hours."

If they had not sealed after 3-4 hours they very likely would not ever seal so put them in the fridge then. If you wait 24 hours out on the counter then it is too late to reprocess.

"Also was using new seals but they have been stored 1-2 years."

No problem normally even with seals that old. I have many boxes that are 5-6 years old.

" I am going to use new seals with 10-15 steady pressure this round."

Are you using gauge or weights? Why the range of pressure? Is 15 required for your altitude? Better cleaning of the rims and better tightening of the bands is the most likely cause. ;-)

Dave

Both weight and gauge neither agree with the other. Using out door burner so temp changes fast. Left for 2-3 minutes and the babe control vibrates to more gas. So hit 20 -25 briefly once but almost all of the time it's between 10-15

when the gauge reads 13 the weight kicks in and starts to rattle. This is an all American canner. Love it just wish the gauge and weight agreed

If the weight and the gauge do not agree then it is the weight that is accurate. Ignore the gauge. The gauges on all models are noted for being inaccurate but the weights are machined to specifics. There should be 3 different weights for the AA 5-10-15. I can put the 15 lb weight on my AA and set the heat to make the weight jiggle/rock 5-6 times per min. That way I know I am canning at 15 lbs.

Tuna isn't something to guesstimate the processing on. ;-)

Dave

Thank you I have one more batch to go. I have always used the guage but tried to balance between the two. I will use the 10# weight from now on as the true test.

I have one more batch to go 140 1/2 pints and just those original 8 have not sealed.

In the past fluctuating between 10-15 on the guage trying to balance has worked ok but like you said when it comes to Tuna or any seafood you want it done right.

Ronald, Dave is right, don't fluctuate between the gauge and the weight at all, go only by the weight. You don't want to play with that heat up and down, if the pressure drops a little and you increase the heat, you can have some siphoning of the oils and juices in the jars - and then a mess, possibly some that won't seal.

My very first pressure canning experience years ago was tuna. I scrubbed finished jars over and over and could still smell tuna on the outside...and my canner had to air for days. I made 'water in the canner as clean when I finished as it was when I began' my goal and can reach that easily now. I haven't washed a processed jar of tuna in decades ;)

My canning more recently has been over gas too. Just inside the garage with the door open, out of wind. We moved, and this kitchen has a glass topped stove that won't accommodate my canner. I'll turn the gas down very, very slowly once pressure is reached so I never have increase it during processing.