How to Can Cod Fish
- 1). Prepare the fish for canning. Clean fresh fish immediately after catching, rinse it thoroughly and refrigerate or freeze until you are ready to can it.
- 2). Cut the head, tail, and fins of the fish off. Scale the fish and rinse the remaining fish in water. You can remove the bones if you wish, but most fish bones become soft during processing and are a good source of calcium.
- 3). Cut your cod fish into fillets or chunks of fish that will fit in your jars. You can use either quart or pint-size jars for cod fish.
- 4). Soak the fish for one hour in a brine of 1 gallon of ice water mixed with 1 cup of salt, according to canning expert Jackie Clay of Backwoods Home Magazine.
- 5). Wash your jars in hot, soapy water or run them through the dishwasher before using. Place the lids in a pot of hot, but not boiling, water on the stove for at least five minutes before using. The hot water softens the seals on the lids and helps them adhere to the jar.
- 6). Wash the jar rings, but don't worry about sterilizing them since they do not come into contact with the canned food.
- 7). Pack the fish into clean jars leaving an inch of head space between the sealing edge of the jar and the top of the liquid.
- 8). Clean the sealing edge of the jar with clean, damp cloth and dry to remove any residue left on the jar. Place the hot lids and cleaned rings on the jars.
- 9). Put 2 to 3 inches of water in the bottom of the pressure canner and place the closed jars on the rack. Be sure to read the instructions on your pressure canner thoroughly before using it. Do a trial run of your canner if it is new to you.
- 10
Process the fish in your pressure canner at 10 lbs. for 75 minutes according to the instructions for your canner.
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