# Canned mullet



## joerotorrn

A few years ago I was fishing on the Navarre pier and Danny had a bud who was sharing some canned mullet, it had been canned with peppers and I dont know what else but would love to get the recipe if anyone has it. It was great stuff !


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## ReelDuel

Dang canned tuna is pretty bad stuff but canned mullet must be plain nasty, just my H2O


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## Jason

> *ReelDuel (3/18/2009)*Dang canned tuna is pretty bad stuff but canned mullet must be plain nasty, just my H2O


I DON'T CARE FER CANNED TUNA BUT CANNED MULLET IS FANTASTIC!!!!!!! My buddy cuts up chunks then puts a few slices of jalepeno in the bottom with a small amount of olive oil, then pressure cooks it. unfortunately don't know how long or what temp??? My aunt in Va does deer meet too, and that is purty good too! All canned meats looks nasty, but makes good snacks!!!! Oughta be able to find out on line some where??? Good luck!:letsdrink


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## Team Bloody Waters

I've heard it was great from every one I've talked to but never got a chance to try it myself. I'd love to have a way to preserve all the extra mullet I give away!


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## Travis Gill

I don't know how to do it but it is good


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## fla_scout

<SPAN id=_ctl1_ctlTopic_ctlPanelBar_ctlTopicsRepeater__ctl5_lblFullMessage>Alot of different ways that people can them. This is the easiest way to me: 

Take several fillets of mullet and add them to about the bottom of the lid line on a mason jar (about 1/4 inch from the top). You can put hot mustard, jalapeno's, hot sauce or nothing at all to them. Do not add water or oil as the mullet will put off enough liquid to keep it moist. Seal thejar with new seals and rings, tighten them and place in a pressure cooker (don't forget to add water to the pressure cookerto about halfway up the outside of the jar) and pressure cook for 1 hour. Let the pressure cooker release and remove the jars (use an oven mitt or towel), place them on something heat resistant and tighten the lid again (use the towel!). You will begin to hear the seals popping as they cool. This let's you know that you have a good seal. It's kinda neat to look at the jars15 to20 minutes later and they are still boiling inside the jar. I swear this will be some of the best snack food you will eat out on a fishing trip or hunting. It will beat the hell out of a can of tuna. If you need some help just holler at me and I can walk you through it.


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## Ultralite

i read a recipe on the old forum from our admin. chris couture...maybe he'll chime in later...i've never had any canned but, it sounds like it ought to be good...smoked mullet is pretty dang good...


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## NavySnooker

i'd rather eat a can of assholes.... just my two cents.... then again, i do eat some weird shiznit...


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## Chris Couture

Cook it for 90 minutes at 10 PSI (90 minutes once you reach pressure)... I'll post some old links from recipes I posted a few years ago. Everyone who tries it always wants more. It's nothing like canned Tuna!!!



Let me find the old links... BRB...


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## Chris Couture

Here you go... posted this almost 5 years ago...



http://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/forum/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=215&posts=6



I'll copy and paste so you don't have to click unless you want to...



Man that is some good stuff! Mullet seems to work the best! Everyone I give it to loves it! It's a lot of work but well worth it. It keeps for months and can be eaten right out of the jar without heating it or anything.



Interested? I've canned Mullet, Mingo, Cobia, King, Tuna, Wahoo, Dolphin and Red Snapper. The best to me is Mullet.



Requires a pressure cooker. The bigger the better!



Cut up the fish into chunk 1" or so and the thickness of the filet. If a larger fish, you may want to split. 1/4" or so works well. Put on ice...



Chop up a good onion or a few depending on your batch. Put in a bowl.



Get some sliced Jalapinpos and place in a bowl.



Get some whole bay leaves and place in a bowl.



I like the pint jars because they are just enough but any would work. Wash well and boil the tops to get the seal to get sticky.



Lay out fish on wax paper or whatever and sprinkle with Tony's, Garlic Salt and whatever else you want. I usually only do those two.









Remove all water from jars and load with fish, onions, pepers and repeat until 1/4" from the top. Place a bay leaf on top and hand tighten the lid on.



Repeat until you have filled the pressure cooker and put on heat with water in the cooker. Amount of water depends on size of cooker but put enough to last 90 minutes. Set on 10PSI and cook for 90 minutes once the pressure valve jiggles.



Let cool, open and remove the jars. Wait an hour and check the lids to make sure they sealed. If not, eat at once or discard.



The others will have about 1/2 liquid in the jar... this is normal. Put up and eat on a ritz! I've eaten it 9 months later and didn't get sick!



Try it, you will love it!


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## wflgator

Man this thread brings back memories. My grandfather used to can mullet when he had a small net boat. I was always amazed that that old arthritic man could pull net twice as fast as me. Of course he did always put us kids on the lead line!

Papa used to can mullet like it was going out of style. His utility room looked like something out of a biology lab.


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## fla_scout

I've eaten pretty much all the mullet I canned last year. Nothing better while in the deer woods than a pack of crackers a little hot sauce and a jar of mullet. Oh well I guess it's that time of the year to re-stock and get about 50 jars put up for next hunting season. Chris, I'll have to try your recipe it sounds good. I never thought about a bay leaf, I usually season up like you and add peppers or hot mustard.


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## angus_cow_doctor

A little off topic, but I thought while we are at it.......

If you freeze mullet, they become the fishiest thing known to mankind. I have found out that if you will add some skim milk to the water around your mullet fillets in the freezer bag, that they will taste just like they are fresh. Works with all kinds of fish. Only have to add enough to make the water slightly cloudy. Somehow, the cacium in the milk ties up the fishy taste or something. All I know is that it definitely works....

Just my .02. Never tried canning mullet. Sounds good though! Smoked some mullet before and ate it while hunting, and that was a good snack too.


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## SClemente

Have been canning mullet for several years. It is not only a great snack, but can be used in any recipe that you would use canned tuna or salmon, and is great!


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## reelthrill

Canned mullet is awesome!


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## excelrfg

Thanks for all the replies. Thank you Chris for the recipe, it sounds great. I went and threw my cast net and came home with about 60 mullet. Wanted to can but didn't have a recipe. My father used to can mullet all the time when I was younger and he took his secret with him. 

Thanks for the freezing method as well, will definately try this one. Will report back later on both. Ended up frying the mullet and I will have to catch some more and buy a pressure cooker because I only have a canning pot. :letsdrink To all a good day!!!


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## Matt Mcleod

I have eaten Chris's canned mullet and it was awesome, I am going to try it.


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## Seachaser 186

I had never heard of canned mullet until last Friday. I was talking with some friends of mine that make it. They cut up a jalapeno and thenput salsa in with the mullet.


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## reelthrill

Canned mullet is one of the best things you will ever eat. I can remember when we used to eat it all the time at Navarre Pier, but cannot remember who made it.


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## collardncornbread

Here is another GREAT one for the pressure cooker post. 

:usaflag


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## fla_scout

Word of advice from my last canning experience. I thought about how good crab boil is so I put up about 15-20 jars with some of the bagged crab boil thinking it would be good. Well I was badly mistaken! It is some of the nastiest tasting, bitter, inedible stuff I have ever tasted. I managed to ruin all of it.


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## coop

*canned mullet*

ok, after reading this thread and what little else i could find on the topic, i spent the afternoon canning last night's catch-22 medium black mullet. i kept it simple-few jalapenos and bell pepper slices from the garden, texas pete, mustard and did one batch of 8 pints and another of 12 half pints. the "steaks" didn't cook down so much they fell apart, the consistency is very much like canned fish steaks, the bones had a slight crunch and the flavor comes from the seasoning. i expect that in january, it will go very nicely with a saltine and cold coors light when i get down from my stand. basically, the end result is an effective way to store an abundant and nutritious food source. nothing more, nothing less.


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## shootnstarz

Use 1/2 pint jars, 15lb for 90 minutes.

Rick


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## coop

always follow the recommendations in the manual with your canner. if you live at an altitude over 1000 feet, increase the pressure to 15 pounds. on the coast here, use 10 pounds for 100 minutes. increasing the pressure decreases the boiling point of water. the botulism you are trying to kill can survive the boiling point. 10 pounds at our elevation allows the fish to reach 240º for the required time to kill the bad stuff.


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## Combat Pay

I can quite a bit of fish and use the same recipe for all of them and it is always good. I take to hunting camp and fishing trips, everyone eats it right out of the jar on crackers and loves it. 

I have never canned mullet but I bet the recipe would work. 

In pint jars pack to the fish (skinned, debonned and any dark/red colored flesh removed) as tight as you can to the line at the bottom of the treads. Add one tablespoon ketchup, one tablespoon vegetable oil and one teaspoon salt. Dont add any other liquid, any fish I have ever canned has plenty of water content. 

Seal with fresh lids and rings. Can at 10lbs of pressure for 90 minutes. Let canner cool and remove jars and set on towel over night to cool and seal. Wipe clean and put in a cool dark place for storage. 

Just two hints: some people will tell you can hurry up the cooling of the canner by running water over the canner. You can do that but it causes a lot of the water to blow out of the jars leaving you with dry fish. 

Second, if you are able can the fish outside do it!!! The smell in the house is awful for at least a week. My wife was hot after I canned some salmon in the house a few years ago. 

Good luck Dave


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## hjorgan

So how do you prepare the mullet prior to canning? Head, gut and scale? Fillet? Skin on or no?


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## coop

*canned mullet*

here's what i've learned:

(this stuff is awesome btw)

1. if you do the canning for 100 minutes at 10 lbs. you don't have to worry about whether you killed the bad stuff when you open it for all your buddies at hunting camp months from now, and the bones, if any are noticeable at all, are barely crunchy/crumbly and delicious. (in small fish you won't notice any bones left at all- a big back bone will just have a little crunch)

2. however long you can for (at least 90 minutes), make sure you have water in the pot at least covering the jars so it all doesn't cook out. if it all cooks out (the sound will change) and you're at 90 minutes just turn off the heat and don't get curious about what's going on inside. here's what's going on: the very hot jars are sitting on a very hot dry surface and don't need to come into contact with anything cooler than them. their contents are boiling and just fine. let it all cool, meaning until all the valves close and pressure dissipates on its own before you try to take the top off and you definitely would not want to try to add any more water.

3. inside the jars, don't add water but pack your jars tightly and add your choice of liquid seasonings (oil, texas pete, mustard, barbeque sauce (mmmm), ketchup, whatever) to about 1/3 full. the process will draw the water out of the fish and boil all that together back into it. smells like awesome fish chowder while it's cooking. you want the end result to have a liquid line no higher than just below the threads.

4. use 1/2 pint jars. perfect serving size; more jars per canning. seems like about a dozen medium fish will fill 10 or 12 1/2 pints in one canning

5. scale the fish, cut off the fins, remove head and guts. scrape out all the black stuff. leave the skin on.

6. i made a mark on my cutting board the height of the jar (to just below threads). if you cut all pieces this length it's easy to pack top to bottom and not have a gap. use smaller fish whole, fillet the bigger ones, but cram the backbone in the jar also. seem like having some of each helps fill gaps. along the way, add peppers, etc to fill gaps. just cutting them into steaks or cramming a steak chunk in with the other cuts works well also-you would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between a canned fish steak and mullet canned this way.

(in about 3 weeks i'm going to can some deer meat and see how that turns out!)


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## coop

100 minutes at 10 lbs, not 110


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## coop

going to try roe also next time i have it


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## collardncornbread

Hey "Combat Pay" Dave. I wander how freshwater catfish would do. I didn't know if you are talking about fresh water fish or saltwater. 
also I have canned mullet with and with out the skin. and we have always fillet and de-bone it. 10# @ 90min. some Jalapeno pepper and salt. 
But I am thinking the ketchup and Louisiana sauce sounds good to me.
Last year we bought one of the all American tall canners. I canned some field peas. been canned for 15 months now. still look perfect. opened a jar back in the spring and they were good as the frozen, but wasnt having to pay for the freezer space.
Good way to have food when the hurricanes blow the power out. The canners will over pay for their self. JMO


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## coop

*canning*

my mom has always canned vegetables, but i was never involved in that part and didn't pay attention. seems like an ideal way to preserve most foods and not have to rely on power period. 

how long did you do the field peas?


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## johnf

NavySnooker said:


> i'd rather eat a can of assholes.... just my two cents.... then again, i do eat some weird shiznit...


 
What do they taste like?


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## johnf

Could you smoke the mullet then can them like the smoked kippers? That would be nice. Anything is good with a little hickory smoke on it.


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## shootnstarz

coop said:


> my mom has always canned vegetables, but i was never involved in that part and didn't pay attention. seems like an ideal way to preserve most foods and not have to rely on power period.
> 
> how long did you do the field peas?


Yes it is the best way to preserve food without refridgeration.

The Ball "Bluebook of Canning" is the canners bible, it will tell you all you need to know.

Rick


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## jakec

johnf said:


> Could you smoke the mullet then can them like the smoked kippers? That would be nice. Anything is good with a little hickory smoke on it.


 man that sounds good! i tried to can some but i had an old pressure cooker and it blew up. i had mullet and jalapenos and glass all over the kitchen and myself. im just glad the kids werent there i dont know how i didnt get glass in my eyes but i did get cut up and burnt pretty good. if anybody has some canned mullet i would like to buy some.


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## flukedaddy

I thought the last time I was in Jim's fish camp they had some jars for sale.


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## mike potter

JIMS HAS IT AND IT IS GREAT:thumbup:


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## jakec

ill be headed to jims soon then thanks yall.


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## captken

*I ate a ton of canned Cobia and Kingfish when I was a kid.*

Canned Cobia is pretty darned good. Home canned YF and black finned Tuna is good too. Seasoning seems to be the secret. I like peppers and mustard. Try a can of Sardines packed in Mustard. They are a heck of a lot better than the ones packed in sardine oil or whatever.

If you use salt, definitely use non-iodized salt. (Pickling salt)

As I remember, canned Kingfish tastes like I'd imagine canned A$$holes would 
taste like.

If Obama gets back in we'd all better learn how to can. This year we canned Strawberry, Blueberry, Peach, and Loquat Jam. BGreen beans, squash, pickled onions, stewed tomatoes, several different relishes and catsup. We froxe lots of stuff too.


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## jakec

yea man i love sardines in hot sauce or mustard. i like the jalapeno one but they put that oil in there instead of mustard. if you could get them with jalapenos and mustard or hot sauce i would never have to cook again. i bet that canned cobia is good but i think id rather grill it. how does the catsup yall made taste? that sounds good.


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## Combat Pay

collardncornbread said:


> Hey "Combat Pay" Dave. I wander how freshwater catfish would do. I didn't know if you are talking about fresh water fish or saltwater.
> also I have canned mullet with and with out the skin. and we have always fillet and de-bone it. 10# @ 90min. some Jalapeno pepper and salt.
> But I am thinking the ketchup and Louisiana sauce sounds good to me.
> Last year we bought one of the all American tall canners. I canned some field peas. been canned for 15 months now. still look perfect. opened a jar back in the spring and they were good as the frozen, but wasnt having to pay for the freezer space.
> Good way to have food when the hurricanes blow the power out. The canners will over pay for their self. JMO


I have done both fresh and saltwater fish. The only fish I have done so far that didnt turn out well was bluefish (however smoked they are quite yummy) The next salt fish on my list is Mullet. This year once I see them swimmming in the surf out comes the cast net and the canner. 

Dont know about catfish but it is fish and I imagine it would be fine. Give it a try and see. 

Two years ago a buddy gave me a bunch of fresh water suckers he caught to have me can them just to see. They are some of the best fish I have ever canned. Ask most people about suckers and they would rather eat cat poop. However, they are like really mild tuna once canned. This year I took my son out when the sucker run was on and we caught a cooler full of them and put them in jars. I dont tell people what they are until they are past the everyones lips. The problem is my son keeps snickering before people dig in and they know something is up. 

And whoever mentioned the bones go away is correct. Light bones, like pin bones in pike and suckers seem to just evaporate. On bigger fish like salmon I remove the bones. Not beacuse they are bad I just prefer the texture of the finished product without bones. 

Dave


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## Sammy

Hmmm...must try it.


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