Canned tuna/Tuna in oil

[MartinB]

This was recipe i got from clutchkick (many.many thanks mate!) which i thought id share.It works great with albacore/alunghi,kubrit/false albacore,plamti/bontio and probably blue fin tuna too (never tried it though).When they are ready they keep for a long time,ive opened a jar after 6months and if anthing it was better!! Word of warning you will end up eating the whole jar and a LOT of bread once you try it!!  
Here's the recipe....

Tonn taz-zejt (canned tuna)

Clean the fish and cut it into large pieces.
Prepare a large saucepan (borma) with sea water or brine*, put the fish inside it and let it boil slowly for one and a half hours.
Inside the saucepan you should also put some mint leaves, a large onion quartered in four, and a couple or red chillies.
Keep the heat low to produce a slow boil.

After the cooking is over, remove the fish from the water and clean from all the bones. You should prepare enough jars by cleaning them and sterilising them in an oven. Put the fish in portions in the jars. Use corn oil or sunflower oil to cover the fish in the jar, close the lid tightly. Cook for another one and a half hours in a Baine Marie, or thirty minuites if using a pressure cooker.

Keep in a pantry or cool cupboard for a week and then enjoy!

* Brine = 100g of sea salt per pint of water.

[shanook]

The Gozitans do it all the time with tuna family..........Thanks Martin for sharing.....yes its true it comes out very very good........

[MartinB]

Thanks tony,although like i said the thanks really goes to clutchkick as he gave me the recipe  .Its very easy to prepare,although a tiny bit time consuming....but then again i suppose all the best results where food is concerned are!
Also its a good way to use the "lesser" tunnies like kubrit/tunnag etc,etc which are abundant this time of year,and are nothing special if you put them in the oven or grill... but like this they are really nice!! And trust me,once you've tried it you won't want to even look at any canned tuna anymore!!

[clutch_kick]

I concur with what Martin said!!

[The_Gaffer]

Guys, does the water have to be that salty?, I mean in todays 'healthy' lifestyle, the more we cut down on salt intake, the better.  So, I was wondering, if I just boiled the tuna in normal water, would it have the same preservative effect.  Also, instead of using sunflower oil, can I use Extra vergin olive oli?

[robby017]

no, you need the salt to preserve the fish......... wait for my reciepe, then decide..... i use olive oil with mine, as you end up eating it with the bread.........

[Shaftbomb]

I was hoping that it could be done without salt but just realized i cannot do my tuna as i cannot have any salt intake at all...

[robby017]

you could try but i'm not promising it will preserve well

[clutch_kick]

The salt is probably there to increase the boiling point of the water.  i would give it a try without the salt, it will probably work anyway.  As for the oil... it says sunflower oil, I use Olive oil.

[Shaftbomb]

As any other preservative, it will work without salt but it will not last.  Besides the taste of salt that all of us maltese are so used to, salt is imperative to cure and preserve.

[EmicMalta]

maybe this is out of topic, but last week I was on the ferry to gozo after a van. This van has wraped a picture of the tin of tuna but instead of tune it had "sawrell ta l imperjal". Sounds funny but its true

[The_Gaffer]

As any other preservative, it will work without salt but it will not last.  Besides the taste of salt that all of us maltese are so used to, salt is imperative to cure and preserve.

Salt is also a silent killer; like raising your blood pressure, overworking your kidneys, disrupting the digestive enzymes..etc

[shanook]

tooooooooooooo much salt is a killer............especially the refined table salt but the natural one taken from the sea is different it is actually good for your health...........As always with everything else, if you take in excess it is not healthy.

[clutch_kick]

maybe this is out of topic, but last week I was on the ferry to gozo after a van. This van has wraped a picture of the tin of tuna but instead of tune it had "sawrell ta l imperjal". Sounds funny but its true

Emic most fish can be preserved this way.  lampuki and fanfri are a good option, i bet sawrell will be really good too.

Now i want to try and build a smoker, to smoke my own fish.  When i was in California studying, one of my flat mates used to go fishing for trout and catfish and he used to smoke them.  They were fantastic.

[shanook]

ah its the type of wood that u use in a smoker that makes the difference.....