Thread: Less desirable fish

I know there have been a lot of attempts and some successes in cooking the less desirable fish that guys (and gals) usually throw back- pinfish, pigfish, remora, hard tails, etc. I've eaten hard tails and pinfish, and while they weren't amazing, they were certainly edible. I'm just wondering if anyone has any tips for canning these edible accidental catches. Some species don't can well for whatever reason. However, there have been days when I'm sure I could've filled a few dozen jars with pinfish and hard tails. Experiments can be fun... Sometimes.

A lot of folks (in some areas) turn up their nose at white bass (aka sand bass) and white perch- but if you fillet them, (pint jar) can them with a teaspoon of mustard, a tablespoon of olive oil, and 1/4 tsp of salt for 100 minutes at ten lbs pressure- you may never buy or eat canned tuna again. It's really good. I don't even trim out the red meat, its still good this way.

I find the best canned fish are bluefish, Spanish, and mullet. King is pretty good too. I bet hardtails would be good but haven't tried. I pretty much follow your recipe. These oiler fish are much better to me than those with less oil. I never trim the red meat and don't even remove the ribs because after the canning process, the bones become soft and I just eat them. The best mullet are those caught in the fall when they have that layer of fat in the rib cage. When you can these, the finished product has a layer of yellow fat on top of the jar that we call "mullet butter" which is the tastiest part. I'm sure most folks are thinking "gross" right about now, but don't knock it till you try it!

I love canning,... I do around 200 quarts a year. 75 or so are just tomatoes alone. We actually will eat all those tomatoes every year. Currently out and waiting for the garden to produce.
I’ve never tried doing fish or any meat for that matter. I do have a 7 quart and a five quart pressure canner but have heretofore only used them for okra, beans, and squash. If we get a bunch of fish on this boat trip we’re doing soon I might give it a go.

Originally Posted by Green_Steel

I find the best canned fish are bluefish, Spanish, and mullet. King is pretty good too. I bet hardtails would be good but haven't tried. I pretty much follow your recipe. These oiler fish are much better to me than those with less oil. I never trim the red meat and don't even remove the ribs because after the canning process, the bones become soft and I just eat them. The best mullet are those caught in the fall when they have that layer of fat in the rib cage. When you can these, the finished product has a layer of yellow fat on top of the jar that we call "mullet butter" which is the tastiest part. I'm sure most folks are thinking "gross" right about now, but don't knock it till you try it!

I still haven't tried mullet. I think I'm going to make them a target species on my next trip. I have to agree, the oily fish really do taste great canned. Atlantic macs are really good. Easy to prepare too. Just gut them, cut off the heads and tails and give them a good rinse. Depending on size you may have to cut them into chunks to fit the jar.

I was thinking about canning for the pinfish and bait stealers for the same reason- leave the ribs in and eat them since pressure canning makes them soft. I bet croakers would be good too.

Lol. Mullet butter sounds like something Mike Gundy might use to style his hair.

IF canning will soften fish bones, then I would suggest ladyfish.
They have a very mild flavored flesh (almost neutral).
I recently made some fish dip from one.
Just mixed in some lemon pepper seasoning and a little butter, then microwaved it for two minutes.
it was very firm white meat at that point, and had no strong smell or flavor at all.

Definitely an underutilized species for recreational anglers!

Originally Posted by Pier#r

IF canning will soften fish bones, then I would suggest ladyfish.
They have a very mild flavored flesh (almost neutral).
I recently made some fish dip from one.
Just mixed in some lemon pepper seasoning and a little butter, then microwaved it for two minutes.
it was very firm white meat at that point, and had no strong smell or flavor at all.

Definitely an underutilized species for recreational anglers!

Really? That's surprising (at least to me). The only time I attempted to clean a ladyfish it turned into a pile of mush. I ended up wrapping it in cut pieces of my girlfriend's pantyhose to keep it on a hook. Hopefully she doesn't read this post. Lol. I'm surprised it firms up that much when it's cooked. Canning makes the bones soft enough to eat, even the spine in atlantic mackerel. ladyfish ribs and pin bones should be no problem at all.
I'll just have to find a place to do the canning on my next trip to Gulf Shores. I doubt my condo would be happy about it.

Y'all made me hungry. Just got a jar of spanish from the pantry and eating it on crackers......yummy!