The sockeye (red) salmon are finally running on the Kenai River! This is the main thing we have been looking forward to since being back in Alaska. There is nothing like going fishing and knowing you will actually catch something. And I never tire of the scenery and watching the bald eagles. Yes, that really is the color of the Kenai River. Fireweed on the Kenai
Our favorite fishing hole where the fish never stop jumping.
Fish on!
Another fish on!
They are very fun to catch!
We tossed a few of these males back as they are too far into the spawning processes. They are usually silver, but change to red with a green head before they spawn and die.
Showing off our catch
After two afternoons of fishing we had caught enough fish for 40 pounds of fillets. Ready to do some canning!
Filling the jars
Filling the pressure cooker
We ended up with
32 61 jars of red salmon and more in the freezer.
Canning Salmon
Brining
Cut filleted fish into jar sized chunks. Make a brine of 1 cup of salt per gallon of water. Let the chunks of fish soak in the brine for one hour and rinse well.
Canning
Place fish in jars and fill with hot, filtered water (we also added a dash of dill to a few of the jars). Process jars at 10 pounds of pressure for 100 minutes after letting steam escape for 10 minutes.
Once we open the jars we love these lids to cover them in the fridge. With the lids the mason jars also make great margarita shakers. 😉 Here is our favorite margarita recipe.
Save some for us too! A small can of Alaskan salmon costs about four US$ here in Mex. But we still buy as many as we can get. So enjoy all 32 jars!
Happy 7th anniversary! Something great to celebrate!!!
The meat is so red. It is beautiful. We just made salmon patties tonight. I am gluten free and have had such a hard time getting these to stay together. Then I thought…oatmeal… Like my meatloaf. Googled it and it was awesome.
1 pt jar of canned salmon
3/4 cup oatmeal
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1T. Dill weed or fresh dill
2 T finely chopped onions
garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne
Mix all. Last 4 ingredients to taste. Melt 1 T. Butter in the pan and fry patties 1/2 in thick. Till golden and crispy. I served w horseradish sauce. (I like the heat)
Sounds awesome! We will have to try it. Thanks!
Yum, I love salmon. Nice instructions on the process, beautiful river and “weeds”.
We will save some for you Ruthie! 🙂