Should canned fish be flaky?
Properly cooked fish is meant to be flaky and not tough or chewy.
I just had some canned mackerel and noticed it was not flaky but rather a bit tough and chewy. Is it just a bad batch or does the cooking process cause it to be like this?
Best Answer
Fresh fish is considered ready for serving at 60-65°C (plus minus a bit, depending on what kind of fish, cut, personal preference etc.). At that point, fish will fall apart into moist flakes if pressed with a fork, but not crumble on its own. Heat the fish further, and the proteins will denature in a way that the fish is perceived as tough and dry.
Safe canning for non-acidic protein-based foods requires temperatures of above 117°C, in practice up to 130°C. This is necessary to ensure food long-term safety and to destroy heat-resistant pathogens like the infamous C. botulinum.
In short, you can either have perfectly cooked, juicy and tender fresh fish or a shelf-stable product. They are mutually exclusive.
Your canned fish is perfectly fine for canned fish, not a bad batch, but simply can not have the taste and mouthfeel of a freshly cooked à point mackerel.
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Is canned fish taste good?
It's also genuinely delicious, especially used in salads, crisp seafood cakes, pasta, and more. And it's cheap \u2014 a whole lot cheaper than a fillet of fresh or frozen fish, and that's where the snobbery comes in.How do you eat canned mackerel?
Mackerel has a firm texture similar to canned tuna, so that it can be flaked without falling apart. Try swapping it in where'd you'd typically use chicken\u2014like on a salad with a mustardy vinaigrette, tossed in a pasta, or tucked into a sandwich with buttered bread, sliced avocado and some fresh greens.Is fish in a can Cooked?
Canned fish, whether it is tuna or canned salmon, is only cooked twice when you purchase a pre-cooked canned dish and then cook it once again after coming home.Is canned mackerel safe to eat?
Canned products can be high in sodium. However, draining canned seafood, which many recipes call for, reduces the sodium content. To avoid carcinogens and toxins such as mercury that are present in some \ufb01sh: Choose small, non-predatory \ufb01sh such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, anchovies, and herring.Healthiest and Worst Canned Fish - Buy THIS not THAT
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Answer 2
(if I remember correctly)
Mackerel is not quite flaky (or at all), at least compared to Tuna or Salmon, even in cans.
Different fish, different result.
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