Canning Tuna & Fish

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Canning tuna at home takes a pressure canner and a long process. Per the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, precooked tuna in half-pint or pint jars is processed for 100 minutes, with 1 inch of headspace. At 0 to 1,000 feet, that's 10 psi in a weighted-gauge canner or 11 psi in a dial-gauge canner. Other fish, such as salmon and trout, have their own pint and quart processes, covered below.

Fish is a low-acid food, so a water bath can't make it safe. The USDA says all low-acid foods need 240 to 250°F, which takes a pressure canner run at 10 to 15 psi. The times here come from the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) and the 2015 USDA guide. Don't shorten them or change the jar sizes.

USDA Seafood Processing Times at a Glance

Pressure for every product above

The USDA dial-gauge tables stop at 8,000 feet. Above that, contact your county extension office. Our pressure canning altitude chart explains the bands, and the calculator gives your setting.

How to Can Tuna (USDA Method)

The USDA says tuna can be canned precooked or raw, but the procedure it publishes is for precooked tuna. Precooking removes most of the strong-flavored oils. The dark flesh has a strong flavor that affects the white meat, so many people leave it out. The USDA suggests using it as pet food.

Precook and clean the tuna

1. Keep the tuna on ice until you're ready to can.
2. Remove the viscera and wash the fish well in cold water. Let blood drain from the stomach cavity.
3. Place the fish belly down on a rack or metal tray in a large baking pan. Cut it in half crosswise if needed.
4. Precook by baking at 250°F (121°C) for 2½ to 4 hours, depending on size, or at 350°F (177°C) for 1 hour. You can also steam it for 2 to 4 hours. With a thermometer, cook to an internal 165 to 175°F (74 to 79°C).
5. Refrigerate the cooked fish overnight to firm the meat.
6. Peel off the skin with a knife, removing blood vessels and discolored flesh.
7. Cut the meat away from the bones. Discard all bones, fin bases and dark flesh.
8. Quarter the loins, then cut them crosswise into lengths that fit half-pint or pint jars.

Pack and process

9. Fill hot jars, pressing down gently for a solid pack.
10. Add water or oil, your choice, leaving 1 inch of headspace.
11. Add ½ teaspoon of salt per half-pint or 1 teaspoon per pint if you like.
12. Release air bubbles and adjust the headspace. Wipe the rims with a damp paper towel, then a dry one, to remove any fish oil.
13. Put on the lids and process for 100 minutes at the pressure for your elevation.

Quart jars: The USDA tuna process covers half-pints and pints only. There's no tested quart time for tuna.

Raw-pack tuna: The USDA mentions that tuna can be canned raw but doesn't publish a raw-pack procedure. If you want raw-packed tuna, use a tested publication from your state's extension service and follow it exactly. Don't adapt the precooked times.

Canning Salmon, Trout and Other Fish in Pint Jars

This USDA process covers blue, mackerel, salmon, steelhead, trout and other fatty fish except tuna.

1. Bleed and gut the fish right after catching, and never more than 2 hours after, per the USDA. Keep the cleaned fish on ice.
2. If the fish is frozen, thaw it in the refrigerator. Rinse in cold water; you can add 2 tablespoons of vinegar per quart of water to help remove slime.
3. Remove the head, tail, fins and scales. You don't need to remove the skin, and you can leave the bones in most fish. The USDA says they become very soft and are a good source of calcium. For halibut, remove the skin and bones too.
4. Wash off all blood. Split the fish lengthwise if you like and cut it into 3½-inch lengths.
5. Fill hot pint jars, skin out for looks or skin in for easier cleaning, leaving 1 inch of headspace.
6. Add 1 teaspoon of salt per pint if you like. Don't add liquid.
7. Wipe the rims with a damp, then dry, paper towel. Put on the lids.
8. Process for 100 minutes. The USDA says half-pint and 12-ounce jars get the same time as pints.

Canning Fish in Quart Jars

The USDA has a separate process for the same fatty fish (not tuna) in quart jars. The canner steps are different, and the USDA says following them exactly is critical to safety.

1. Prepare the fish as for pints. Cut it into jar-length fillets or chunks. The USDA recommends one-quart, straight-sided Mason-type jars.
2. Pack solidly into hot quart jars, leaving 1 inch of headspace. A plastic knife run around the inside of the jar helps align the pieces.
3. No liquid is needed. Salt is optional, 1 to 2 teaspoons per quart. For halibut, you may add up to 4 tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil per jar.
4. Wipe the rims and put on the lids.
5. Add 3 quarts of water to the canner, set the rack in the bottom and load the jars.
6. Fasten the lid but leave the vent open. Heat on high for 20 minutes.
7. If steam flows from the vent in a steady stream at that point, let it escape for 10 more minutes. If not, keep heating until it does, then vent 10 minutes. Heating and venting together should never take less than 30 minutes.
8. Close the vent and bring the canner to pressure.
9. Process for a full, uninterrupted 160 minutes (2 hours 40 minutes) at the pressure for your elevation. Write down the start and finish times.

Canning Smoked Fish

The USDA process covers salmon, rockfish, flatfish (sole, cod, flounder) and other fish that have been lightly smoked by a tested method. The USDA says safe times for other smoked seafoods haven't been determined; freeze those.

• Pint jars only. The USDA says not to use quart jars. Half-pints can be processed for the same time, but quality may suffer.
• Use a 16- to 22-quart pressure canner, not a smaller pressure saucepan.
• If the fish was frozen, thaw it in the refrigerator until no ice crystals remain.
• Pour 4 quarts (16 cups) of cool tap water into the canner. Don't reduce the amount or preheat it. The water will probably reach the jar bands.
• Pack the fish vertically, loosely or tightly, with 1 inch of headspace. Don't add liquid.
• Process for 110 minutes.
• Lightly smoked fish isn't fully cooked, so don't taste it before canning.

Clams, Crab and Oysters

The USDA also has tested processes for a few shellfish, all in half-pints or pints (times in the table above):

• Clams: steamed open, washed in salted water, then boiled 2 minutes in water acidified with lemon juice or citric acid.
• King and Dungeness crab: cooked and soaked in acidified brine, with lemon juice or citric acid added to each jar. The NCHFP says the result may taste distinctly acidic, and that blue crab is best frozen rather than canned.
• Oysters: heated in a 400°F oven for 5 to 7 minutes to open, then washed in salted water and covered with hot water.

Follow the full NCHFP recipe for each one.

Equipment for Canning Fish

You need a pressure canner that holds at least four quart jars upright. With 100- to 160-minute processes, a canner that holds a full load of pints saves a lot of time, and the water level matters for the long quart process. Our best pressure canner picks compare capacity and gauge types.

The All American line uses a metal-to-metal seal instead of a rubber gasket. Our All American pressure canner review covers the 921 and its siblings.

Common Mistakes When Canning Fish

• Waiting too long to clean the fish. The USDA says to bleed and gut within 2 hours of catching.
• Adding liquid to salmon or trout pints. The fatty-fish process uses no added liquid. Tuna is the exception.
• Using the pint steps for quart jars. The quart process needs 3 quarts of water, a 20-minute heat-up with the vent open and 160 minutes at pressure.
• Canning tuna in quarts. There's no USDA quart process for tuna.
• Leaving fish oil on the rims. Wipe with a damp towel and then a dry one, or the lids may not seal.
• Smoking fish heavily, or with an untested method, before canning. The USDA process is for lightly smoked fish.
• Using an Instant Pot. The NCHFP does not recommend its canning processes in electric multi-cookers.

Storing and Serving Canned Fish

Store sealed jars without bands in a cool, dark, dry place. The USDA says below 95°F (35°C), ideally 50 to 70°F (10 to 21°C).

The CDC lists fish among the low-acid foods that need pressure canning, and it recommends boiling home-canned low-acid foods before eating: 10 minutes below 1,000 feet, plus 1 minute for each additional 1,000 feet. Never taste fish from a jar with a bulging or unsealed lid, spurting liquid, mold or an off smell. Our botulism safety guide explains how to dispose of suspect jars.

If you also can venison, chicken or beef, our guide to canning meat safely covers those USDA processes.

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