Canning walleye, perch and crappie

[wiperhunter2]

Last question, will these same methods work for catfish?

As you might guess, I HAVE tried bottling catfish.  As with most bottled fish, I kept the added flavorings and seasonings to a minimum...just some sea salt and a little pepper.  While catfish is a "heavy-fleshed" fish, the bottled product turned out fairly soft.  But it was super when mixed with some saltine cracker crumbs, creole seasoning and an egg and turned into fried fish patties.  A few drops of lemon juice and hot sauce on the finished patties and it was downright delish.

You ain't gonna find any fish better than bottled kokanee.  But all of your other potential subjects will turn out fine.  And since the extended high heat cooking while bottling renders the bones soft it is a good way to use some smaller perch, bluegills or crappies...without having to fillet them.

Haven't tried it on any Utah fishies, but in California I bottled some American shad (very bony) in a mixture of tomato paste, mustard and other seasonings to produce something akin to canned sardines.  Don't remember the exact recipe but you can probably find a good one online.  The final result was tasty and made great salads and sandwiches.

Thanks for the info Pat, I've been putting off bottling the white fleshed fish but now I'm looking forward to giving it a go, sounds like this might turn out better than I thought it would.