I did my first batch of pressure canned fish last night. I only canned 4 pints because I don't know if we will like it. I had one seal failure. I'm blaming the lid because it was a single leftover lid from an older box.

The jars were on the counter overnight (10 pm to 7 am). Normally I know it's okay to refrigerate and use the one with the seal failure, but this is FISH! Is it really and truly still okay to eat? I'm planning on using it for fish patties tonight, if I can get the courage to try fish that's been on the counter at room temperature overnight!

Another question is how tight should I have packed the jars? The fish is all covered by liquid, but the jars are now only 2/3 full. There was no siphoning. I filled the jars with the fish to the 1" headspace, but just loosely dropped them in to the 1" level. Raw pack, no additional liquid added, per instructions. Will the long term storage of the fish be affected by the jars having so much remaining space?

A side note about this: this is my first attempt to can fish--specifically, CATFISH. I have been warned that I may not be happy with the results, but my husband brings home catfish, a free food for us. I wanted to at least try canning a shelf-stable fish because I already have enough in the freezer. Depending on how we like it, I was hoping to use it to make fish patties or in casseroles. It was certainly easy to do. Surprisingly, except for the actual time in the canner, it was faster and easier to prepare than packaging them for the freezer.

Jill in Texas