This winter I had the chance to sample some home-canned whitefish and thought it was very tasty….and a novel way to preserve your catch for later use. With this in mind, plus a few well placed hints before Christmas, lo and behold, what’s this I see under the tree? Your right, my very own pressure canner!
Well now that I had the shiny device what to do next. The instruction manual had nothing constructive to say about canning fish but this is the beauty of the internet….seek and you shall find! Seems pretty simple but before I can begin someone needs to catch a fish!
Joanne’s husband, Ron was nice enough to volunteer his Eagle Lake trout to the canning process. As it turns out the whitefish ended up in a recipe involving potatoes and onions that I will detail in a later post.
The recipe is very simple…salt, vinegar and Russian salad dressing. The fish is packed in tight with a bit of space at the top. Boil the lids and close up the jars.
Once in the canner the lid is locked on and the contents brought up to a boil. In the center of the lid is the valve device that releases pressure. You can control the pressure by adding the correct control device…either 5, 10 or 15 psi. In this case I used the 15 psi control and cooked the fish for 80 minutes. To do the same job without a pressure canner you would need to boil the jars for about 6 hours!
If you like canned salmon then you will like canned lake trout, or any other canned fish for that matter. I was told that canned pike is very good, so I will be looking for my next “victim” in the near future. Thanks Ron for the trout…there is a jar of canned lake trout here with your name on it!
This is a first class resort located on Vermillion Bay on Eagle Lake. The cabins are very clean and well kept. The boats are new with new motors and are in great shape. The owner will also clean your fish for you after your day on the water. Make no mistake the fishing on Eagle Lake is world class.
The Lodge is owned by Gord and Susanne Bastable who will make you feel welcome and before you know it you feel like family. They are the best of hosts. The atmosphere is low key and laid back leading to a great vacation.
This is my 19th year of enjoying the hospitality of the lodge and i can’t think of going anywhere else on Eagle Lake.
