Tuna 9/15/2026 with Captain Clayton

[SteelHeadDave]

As far as canning vs freezing and general processing goes…

My method has been to:

• trim bloodline off loins and save for crab bait and/or cat food.
• Trim off the thin side of the loin that has the sinew/muscle fibers.
• Trim off the last 3-4 inches of the tail of the loin, which also contains a lot of the tough fibrous tissue.
• All of the trim (minus the bloodline) goes to the canner.
• All of the quality loin meat (which is the majority) gets portioned out and vac packed for the freezer.

The amount of canned tuna you get, just from the trimmed tough bits, is more than adequate for me, and a better use for this quality of meat IMO. The frozen loins are then only the best quality meat, perfect for poke bowls, sashimi, seared/grilled etc. No tough/chewy bits involved. It works for me, YMMV.

 

[Evan B]

I trimmed mine before sealing, no rinsing. A year later after thawing the outside of the loins after thawing definitely seems not as "firm" as they originally were. Other than the outer edge the rest is still great shape. Maybe this is the trick, trim later instead of before?

I see zero benefit to trimming before freezing personally.

 

[Evan B]

As far as canning vs freezing and general processing goes…

My method has been to:

• trim bloodline off loins and save for crab bait and/or cat food.
• Trim off the thin side of the loin that has the sinew/muscle fibers.
• Trim off the last 3-4 inches of the tail of the loin, which also contains a lot of the tough fibrous tissue.
• All of the trim (minus the bloodline) goes to the canner.
• All of the quality loin meat (which is the majority) gets portioned out and vac packed for the freezer.

The amount of canned tuna you get, just from the trimmed tough bits, is more than adequate for me, and a better use for this quality of meat IMO. The frozen loins are then only the best quality meat, perfect for poke bowls, sashimi, seared/grilled etc. No tough/chewy bits involved. It works for me, YMMV.

I also use all of my trimmed pieces including bloodlines, but mine go in the dehydrator to make jerky treats for my dogs. I do that with just about all of my fish craps from tuna, salmon, etc.

 

[Tallguy]

I home canned tuna for the first time last year, and I was surprised by how much I like it as well as how much my fam loves it. I also gave a bunch of cans away and the feedback was universal—best tuna fish ever and when can they get some more. Go figure.
I’d rather have it fresh never frozen but that only lasts maybe a week and by the end of that week I’m good on fresh raw tuna for a while.
The home canned tuna is good stuff, keeps well at room temp (helpful when you don’t own a separate freezer) and is portable and easily gifted or bartered. It’s more of a commodity. Raw tuna, fresh or previously frozen, is more of a treat. Also, in my family, I’m by far the biggest fan of raw or lightly seared tuna. I can only eat so much…

Same for me and my family. My kids like the tuna sandwiches, they are fast and easy and good lunches and dinners when we get home. Good protein for an after gym snack too.

Unlike most, I trim carefully and thoroughly before either freezing or canning. Simply because the bloodline and any funky surface flavors will slowly diffuse all through the meat while either canning or storage, even freezing/defrosting time. Plus for anything that will end up lightly cooked or raw, I like to keep those final cutting boards, hands, and knives as clean as possible, and trimming early prior to freezing helps that for me. I also know if I left more bloodline type materials in my canned tuna, the strong "fishy" type flavor seemed to deepen over time in those jars, so I work to remove that source early in my fish.

Have never done a blind taste test though, that's just my process.

 

[Matt B]

Hey Vevor chamber vac owners and operators— @Evan B @Josh

Do you find certain bags work better?


I was gifted a used Vevor and couldn’t get it to seal well. I put off the repair or whatever project for a while, and just now checked the thing and it sealed perfectly twice in a row using what I think are Vevor supplied bags. Albeit on a test moldy mini bagel They are almost square ish and smooth/clear and not on a roll. (I had tried these previously, and just hoping that if I slap some bagged tuna loins in there that it continues working and sealing well.)

 

[Josh]

Hey Vevor chamber vac owners and operators— @Evan B @Josh

Do you find certain bags work better?


I was gifted a used Vevor and couldn’t get it to seal well. I put off the repair or whatever project for a while, and just now checked the thing and it sealed perfectly twice in a row using what I think are Vevor supplied bags. Albeit on a test moldy mini bagel They are almost square ish and smooth/clear and not on a roll. (I had tried these previously, and just hoping that if I slap some bagged tuna loins in there that it continues working and sealing well.)

I didn't get any official "vevor" bags since I picked mine up used from Evan. But I have used a hundred or so of these bags from amazon with no issues.

 

[Evan B]

Hey Vevor chamber vac owners and operators— @Evan B @Josh

Do you find certain bags work better?


I was gifted a used Vevor and couldn’t get it to seal well. I put off the repair or whatever project for a while, and just now checked the thing and it sealed perfectly twice in a row using what I think are Vevor supplied bags. Albeit on a test moldy mini bagel They are almost square ish and smooth/clear and not on a roll. (I had tried these previously, and just hoping that if I slap some bagged tuna loins in there that it continues working and sealing well.)

I use these. I highly recommend 4mil bags

VacPak-It 186CVB4810 8" x 10" Chamber Vacuum Packaging Pouches / Bags 4 Mil - 1,000/Case

Preserve and extend your food's shelf life with these VacPak-It 8" x 10" 4 mil chamber vacuum packaging bags. These industrial strength bags will help keep your food fresh up to five times longer than traditional storage methods, making it an extremely cost-effective alternative as well! It...

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