Pike...fry, bake, or pickle ???

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Looking for suggestions.

Yesterday, I jokingly told my buddy to bring me some fish !
He was going ice fishing...He uses a Dark house and
a Large rectangular cutout in the ice and
a Spear to harvest Northern Pike.
He never gets anything, I think he just goes out there to Smoke and Drink.

Last last night I was over at a another friend's house helping him with some software issues.
I came home to a smelly house and one of my two cats were going crazy...there were two frozen pike thawing out in my kitchen sink.
anyone got any recipes ?
Jon

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/100_1619.jpg

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/100_1620.jpg

[Bullshop]

We mostly prepare our pike in two different ways for two reasons. One reason is because its good and the other reason is it takes care of the bones so we dont worry about kids chocking on them.
The bones can be filleted out with very little loss but it takes more time and by that point in cleaning my back is hurting so I dont often do that.
We mostly either pickle them or can them. When we can them we first brine them for a couple days then smoke them for a few hours. If canning you only lightly smoke because the canning seems to accentuate the smoke flavor.
For brining its mostly salt at about 2 gallon water per cup salt then spice to taste. I add garlic, Tabasco, brown sugar and some nutmeg. That's not a recipe its just what I like.
For the pickle recipe email or PM BS Mom (Tina) and ask her for it. She makes up the pickle brine and I will forget to ask if you dont email or PM.
Both ways are very good and enjoyed by even the youngest members of our family.

[Tim357]

We always used butter and about half ton of lemon pepper. Wrap 'em up in foil and stick them in the campfire coals for a bit. May be a little hard to do this time of year, but summer will get here too soon ( for me anyway)

[Red River Rick]

Northern Pike is very good, especially in the winter when the meat is white and firm.

Fillet as usual, removing the ribs and skin. Grind the fillets in the meat grinder ("Y" bones too). Mix in left over mashed patatoes (about equal) and green onion or chives, add salt and pepper to taste. Fry in butter until golden brown.


RRR

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Thanks for the recipes so far, and keep 'em coming if you have more :)
the large Pike was full of Roe.
My brother, via Facebook, sent me this recipe to use the fresh Roe with.
Jon


fresh roe is no joke!
It's a good substitute for caviar "for the common man";
if I can get it in Detroit, you can get it in the west suburbs of Mpls for sure.
I used it when making an appetizer called "herbed caviar roulade"
which is made by making a large thick crepe-like pancake,
with dill, in a large rectangular jelly roll pan,
and then when it's cool you spread on it thin layers of sour cream,
caviar or fresh roe, chopped red onion, chopped egg, pinch of pepper.
Roll it up along the long edge, chill, then slice into 1" to 1-1/2" slices for serving.
Serve with lemon wedges.

[starmac]

I Havn't tried the patties, but they sound like garballs, and I am planning to try them.
I also plan to can some like bullshop suggested, BUT they are excellant fried with a cornmeal crust, just like you would catfish.

[Lloyd Smale]

I love fried pike if it comes from cold water but fileting them is a pain and im not good enough to do pike well. Looking at your picture the ones you have are on the thin side and are the type that i wouldnt bother fileting. If they were at my house theyd be skinned and slab cut and canned.

[Dale in Louisiana]

We don't have pike down here, but I've been pickling fish for a few decades using this recipe (http://mostlycajun.com/wordpress/?p=385). It works well, and a quart of pickled fish, a few beers and some good friends, and you've got the makings of a fine afternoon. Or evening.

Dale in Louisiana

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Dale thanks for the link.
I like pickled fish...But not alot of it.
last time I pickled 5 quarts,
about 1/2 quart got eaten right away.
then the 4 + quarts sat in the frig for 6 months.
then got tossed :(
Jon

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

OK,
after a little research, I went with a modified version of Bullshop's canned recipe.

SMOKY PIKE
-Fillet Pike
-Brine for at least an hour (4 or 5 hours OK)
-Brine is 1/2 cup canning salt, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 gallon water
-Rinse well after brining
-Cold smoke (less than 160º) 20 minutes or so in heavy smoke
-Cut into jar length strips (removing the mud vein)
-Put the following into half pint jars, in this order:
--Corn oil - 1 tsp
--ground mustard powder - 1 pinch
--ground cumin - 1 pinch
--freshly ground Blk Pepper - 2 pinches
--Whole Mustard Seed - 6 seeds
--Rosemary - 4 leaves
--Fresh Garlic - 2 cloves smashed and Sliced
--add Fish, leave 3/4" headspace
--add 1/2 tsp more corn oil on top
-Put lids on and process for 100 minutes @ 11+ PSI (but less than 15 PSI)

-Note: Using a 5 quart Ice crean bucket and 1/2 gallon brine and 3 quarts fish,
that fills the bucket. Then the 3 quarts of fish fill Twelve 1/2 pint jars,
which is one pressure canner load.

This is kind of an experiment, I'll let you know how it turns out,
The canner is going as I type this.
Jon

[Bullshop]

You forgot to put a jalapeno in each jar.

[Lloyd Smale]

Just this year i had my first canned smoked fish. Never thought to do it but its great!

[nanuk]

filletting pike is easier than you think

first wrap the whole fish in some newspaper to dry and get most of the slime off

then slab as usual

then skin

then cut into pieces about 1"-1.5" shorter than your knife

then, use your finger and knife to find the Y bones

with the fillet laying so the Y bones are away from you, left right orientation, slide your knife on the far side and cut down right to the cutting board, following the bones

then bring your knife to the Y bones from the close side and slide your knife down along them to the board.

easier to show than tell

you get one big piece, one small strip, a little meat is left on the Y bones. I use that for bait on a long line.

[Bullshop]

You can also pickle or can the y-bones so there is no wast at all.

[Lloyd Smale]

thats what i do. Never saw a need to filet them if you are canning. One thing ill add though is if you can filet them and there caught in cold water theres no fish better tasting the fried pike
You can also pickle or can the y-bones so there is no wast at all.

[BABore]

Here's a video of the best way I've found to fillet a pike.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3-GLr9bTXM

[SPRINGFIELDM141972]

here's a video of the best way i've found to fillet a pike.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3-glr9btxm

nice!

[white eagle]

I always fillet out and around the Y bones
and deep fry
not at all that difficult
make some darn gooooood fish

[nanuk]

Here's a video of the best way I've found to fillet a pike.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3-GLr9bTXM

I used that method for a couple fish, and it wastes a lot of meat, I hope one would boil off the meat and make some stock or something.

our pike up here have bones in the top piece, a ridge of them right down the middle, easy to get out



Check out the 10second perch! Wonder if that would work for walleye?

[firefly1957]

I like to broil or grill them myself eating a flake of meat at a time it is easy to remove the bones.In another post wasupi said he liked to smoke them but would not tell which end went in his mouth?

[357maximum]

I fillet them like the video then fry them in a dry cornmeal/lemon pepper batter and eat the delicious morsels.

I take the "WASTE" section and make bait out of it. Makes great bottom fishing bait for channel catfish, large bullheads, flathead catfish, bowfin, and huge bottom sucking northern pike.

My biggest northern ever was caught at 2am on a chunk O' meat from "waste" from a previously caught northern while I was technically "catfishing".

[firefly1957]

It is funny what pike will hit My grandfather used raw bacon and did quite well for pike fishing. My daughter had a big pike on a little snoopy pole and I had a small red worm on for bait.

[Red River Rick]

Pike will strike anything!

I've seen them take baby ducks. So, anything that they think is edible..........they'll go after.

RRR

[firefly1957]

Baby Ducks! On Schlatters Lake in Michigan's Keewanaw Peninsula I have seen a HUGE pike jump out of the water and take a adult duck in flight two or three feet off the water. And had one take a jitterbug hanging a foot off the water at the side of the canoe.

[nanuk]

to prove a point and win a bet, I once caught 10 pike in 10 casts in a known good area... number8 got off and I lost the hook off the spoon (didn't know at the time) so I just slowed down my reeling and with a couple jerks, caught another on that same cast.

last two casts, caught pike with only a spoon, no hook on it...

my buddy was very skeptical, so I took off my spoon/leader, and just tied on a small stick.
lobbed it into the weeds and worked it like a top water plug and BAM.... Number 11

Pike will grab anything that is moving.... give them a half a minute and they will set their jaws and NEVER let go. then you can reel 'em in and gill 'em or net 'em

[Bullshop]

I once caught one on a bobber. I had left a baited set line for catfish but had a red and white bobber on the line. When I came to check the line I had a cat on the baited hook and a pike on the bobber. I figured the hooked cat kept working the bobber until the pike hit it. Musta been a good fight.

[white eagle]

I used that method for a couple fish, and it wastes a lot of meat, I hope one would boil off the meat and make some stock or something.

our pike up here have bones in the top piece, a ridge of them right down the middle, easy to get out



Check out the 10second perch! Wonder if that would work for walleye?

I use that way exclusively
may seem like you are wasting meat but I can tell ya you aint
at least when I do it ya don't