Canned tuna

We are in the middle of the tuna season, it is time to prepare it blunted, this way it can be consumed throughout the year. You can make this recipe in several ways, with raw tuna, with cooked tuna, with sunflower or olive oil, with more or less cooking time, we must take advantage of the fact that we are in the best moment because the fish is in its point and at a good price. Once we have the finished canned tuna, wait a minimum of three months before consuming it and it is in its best moment to taste.

Ingredients: 3 jars of 350 ml

• 1 bonito weighing 2,000 kg (best from the North)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 head of garlic, cut in half
• 4 cloves
• 20 g of mixed peppercorns
• Salt to taste
• 1 l of mild olive oil 0.4º
• Clean and sterilized jars
• Mild olive oil to finish filling

Preparation:

1. Ask the fishmonger to cut the tuna into loins or slices and place them in the low saucepan, add the head of garlic, the peppercorns, the bay leaf, salt to taste and the cloves, cover with olive oil and We put it on low heat covered so that it starts to congeal.
2. The oil should be at about 70ºC. We can use a thermometer. When it reaches this temperature, we lower the heat and let it cook for about 20 minutes. We turn off the heat and leave it in the pot until it is completely cold.
3. When it is ready, we carefully remove the skin and bones and put a little salt and oil at the bottom of each jar, this way we will avoid possible bubbles that are created while bottling.
4. Distribute the loins between the three boats, so that the boat is full of fish. We will start with the walls of the boat and finish in the center, where we can also put the crumbs we have left.
5. Fill the jars with the candied oil once filtered and finish filling to the top with clean olive oil. Give the jars a few gentle taps so that the fish finish sitting down and also so that the bubbles that are created during bottling finish coming out. We can wait a while before closing the lids.
6. Cooking the jars: Place the jars in the 5l Optima pot, tightly closed but without them touching each other. To do this, we can put a cloth or cardboard plate at the base of the pot and between the jars, strips of cardboard or also a cloth so that there is no risk of breaking when boiled. Bring the water to a boil with the jars and leave over medium heat for an hour, from when they come to a boil so that they are ready. At the end of the time, leave it in the pot with the heat off until the water has cooled, store it in the pantry.
7. Sterilize the jars: Wash the jars and lids and rinse well. Place the lids and jars in the 5l Optima tall pot and cover with water, let it boil for 30 minutes. Once everything is boiled, place lids and jars on a clean cotton cloth and let them dry.
8. Trick: The garlic that we have used in the confit can be used by storing it in a jar with clean olive oil. We will keep them in the refrigerator to use in other preparations that contain garlic.

Photographs and recipe by Silvia .