Canning Oregon Coast Tuna: From the Pacific Ocean to the Pantry

There is something pretty satisfying about opening a jar of home-canned tuna in the middle of winter and knowing that fish was swimming somewhere off the Oregon Coast just months earlier.

For many coastal families, fishermen, and seafood lovers, canning albacore tuna is more than a way to stock the pantry. It has become a late-summer tradition. When Oregon's commercial tuna boats begin returning to port loaded with beautiful Pacific albacore, pressure canners come out, jars get washed, and kitchens up and down the coast turn into small-scale tuna operations.

And once you've tasted good home-canned Oregon albacore, that little supermarket can of tuna has some serious competition.

Oregon Albacore Season

Pacific albacore migrate into waters off Oregon during the warmer months. The season can vary with ocean conditions, but Oregon-caught albacore is generally available from summer into early fall—often beginning around June or July and sometimes continuing into October. Oregon State University Extension notes that more than 300 family-run vessels bring albacore into 13 Oregon ports.

This is also one of the best times of year to take a cooler down to the docks and see what has come off the boats.

Buying directly from fishermen can be part of the adventure. You might arrive at a harbor to find a commercial tuna boat tied up with whole albacore being unloaded only a short distance from where you're standing.

The Oregon Albacore Commission maintains information about purchasing fish directly from Oregon fishermen, including dockside, market and online options. Availability changes constantly during tuna season, so calling ahead is always a smart move.

Where to Buy Oregon Albacore Tuna

Newport is one of my favorite places to start looking. The working waterfront along Yaquina Bay gives you several possibilities within a relatively small area.

Chelsea Rose Seafood at Port Dock 3 is a particularly interesting option because it operates right on Newport's working waterfront and offers seasonal whole albacore, with processing options available. Another option just south of the Yaquina Bay Bridge is South Beach Fish Market, where you can find fresh seafood along with smoked and canned Oregon seafood products.

Farther south, Charleston and Coos Bay are excellent tuna country. Chuck's Seafood carries seasonal Oregon seafood including albacore, while B Fishin Tuna specializes heavily in Pacific albacore and can be a good source for tuna loins intended specifically for home canning. Captain Johns Fisherman's Wharf in the Charleston boat basin is another dockside option where wild albacore is among the local catch sold when available.

On the north-central coast, The Spot in Garibaldi is a waterfront seafood market that carries seasonal local tuna and other Oregon seafood.

The trick is not assuming tuna will be sitting in the case when you arrive. Albacore availability depends on the season, weather, fishing success and when boats return. Call seafood markets ahead of time, and if you're buying directly from a boat, ask when the next tuna delivery is expected.

Buying Whole Tuna vs. Tuna Loins

If you're planning a serious canning day, you may have the option of buying whole tuna or cleaned loins.

Whole tuna can provide a more hands-on experience and potentially good value, but you're also signing yourself up for considerably more knife work. You'll need to break the fish down, remove the skin and bones, and trim away the dark bloodline.

Buying tuna loins costs you some of that dock-to-kitchen experience, but it makes canning day dramatically easier.

For beginners, I'd seriously consider starting with loins.

Bring a large cooler and plenty of ice or frozen ice packs when picking up your fish. You want that tuna kept cold from the moment you purchase it until you're ready to process it.

The Magic of Raw-Packed Tuna

One of the coolest things about canning Oregon albacore is how simple the ingredient list can be.

Tuna.

That's basically it.

According to Oregon State University Extension, raw tuna can be packed directly into half-pint or pint jars. No additional liquid is necessary because the fish releases its own juices during processing. Salt is optional.

Cut your cleaned tuna into pieces that fit your jars and gently pack them tightly, leaving the required one inch of headspace. Some people add a little salt or dried seasoning, while others prefer nothing at all.

The result is wonderfully rich tuna sitting in its own natural juices.

You MUST Use a Pressure Canner

This is the part where there shouldn't be any improvising.

Tuna is a low-acid food, and pressure canning is the only safe home-canning method for tuna and other seafood. A boiling-water bath cannot reach the temperatures necessary to safely process the fish and protect against botulism.

OSU Extension's tested instructions call for processing half-pint or pint jars of tuna for 100 minutes. Pressure depends upon your type of canner and elevation.

At lower elevations, OSU's guidance calls for 11 pounds of pressure with a dial-gauge canner up to 2,000 feet, or 10 pounds with a weighted-gauge canner up to 1,000 feet. Higher elevations require increased pressure.

Because food preservation is one place where shortcuts aren't worth taking, follow the current tested OSU Extension instructions rather than relying on an old family recipe or a random social-media video.

OSU Extension's complete seafood canning instructions

Making Canning Day an Oregon Coast Tradition

Canning tuna isn't exactly a five-minute kitchen project.

There's fish to trim, jars to fill, counters to clean and a pressure canner running for well over an hour. Your kitchen may smell suspiciously like you've relocated the Newport fishing docks into your house.

But that's part of the fun.

Make a day of it.

Pick up a load of Oregon albacore in the morning, get your jars organized, put on some music and start cutting loins. Before long you'll have rows of beautiful jars cooling on the counter.

After they cool completely, check every seal carefully, remove the rings, wipe down the jars, label them with the contents and date, and store properly sealed jars somewhere cool, dry and dark. OSU recommends dealing with an improperly sealed jar promptly rather than simply putting it into the pantry.

Oregon Summer in a Mason Jar

Months later, when the rain is pounding against the windows and another Oregon winter storm is rolling in from the Pacific, grab one of those jars.

Drain it—or don't.

Mix the tuna with a little mayonnaise, chopped pickles and onion for an incredible sandwich. Toss it over a salad. Make tuna melts. Turn it into tuna cakes. Or just grab a fork and eat a few pieces straight from the jar.

That jar represents something bigger than lunch.

You bought a fish harvested from the waters off Oregon, supported coastal fishermen and seafood businesses, preserved it yourself and carried a little piece of Oregon's summer tuna season into winter.

That's about as Oregon Coast as a pantry can get.

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