Northern Pike [General]
2010 Jun 20
I thought beer batter right away...but that's maybe just because you posted this request. :)
As it's fresh though, I think the less you do to it, the better. I'd do it in foil on the barbeque with oil or butter, salt, pepper and lemon slices on top with maybe an onion & red pepper chopped-up and tossed in with it.
Would take about 10 minutes tops on med/high heat.
Here's more ideas:
www.beaverlodgeflyin.com
The photo is better that way...to measure the fish with a ruler. Nice.
As it's fresh though, I think the less you do to it, the better. I'd do it in foil on the barbeque with oil or butter, salt, pepper and lemon slices on top with maybe an onion & red pepper chopped-up and tossed in with it.
Would take about 10 minutes tops on med/high heat.
Here's more ideas:
www.beaverlodgeflyin.com
The photo is better that way...to measure the fish with a ruler. Nice.
2010 Jun 20
If you haven't already gone to town with those "bad boys". Pike is much different than bass or pickerel. Cook whole and watch for pin-bones when you eat. There is no way to fillet it and remove the ribs while preserving enough fish. Pike is also more oily, so it holds up better to grilling, broiling, and smoking. Frying is probably the least desirable way of cooking it.
I personally grill with olive oil and coarse salt (slit the sides through the skin). I also remove the head... it doesn't really add much and just takes room on the grill.
I personally grill with olive oil and coarse salt (slit the sides through the skin). I also remove the head... it doesn't really add much and just takes room on the grill.
2010 Jun 20
We have pickerel, pike and lake trout (in that order) at our cottage lake. With pike, we like to fillet (removing all those nasty bones). My family are pros at de-boning pike (we grew up in northern ontario and it is an art). It does have lots of bones but next to pickerel is my favourite fish (and fun to catch!) Eat it freshly caught, lightly pan fried in butter--add a sprinkle of herbs if you have them. Keep it very simple and do watch for bones.
2010 Jun 21
The bones practically fall right out of a cooked fish - was pretty easy to eat. Dude looks to me like he's wasting a lot of meat. Which was an issue I had with the guy who showed me his method of dressing it this weekend, as well.
I ate the skin and even most of the head - was pretty yummy! The skin was not scaly at all. And if I'm not mistaken there is a higher concentration of omega 3 fatty acids in the skin - so it is good for you.
I ate the skin and even most of the head - was pretty yummy! The skin was not scaly at all. And if I'm not mistaken there is a higher concentration of omega 3 fatty acids in the skin - so it is good for you.
2010 Jun 21
I might be a bit late but I'm with HHH: My key to pike is to roast them whole, stuff the belly cavity with some herbs and lemon. If you cook it well all the flesh easily flakes away from the bones and stays nice and moist, skin chars and peels away. Filleting any fish is far too wasteful for my tastes (unless you are making fish soup with the bones, which I've never really seen people do here). Trim the fins, empty the belly, scrub it down, cut the head off if it bothers you.
A classic French preparation for pike is Quenelles de Brochet, basically fish pate/dumplings poached in stock. I've never made them but I'd like to try it if I was in a proper kitchen with fresh pike, with nantua sauce made from freshwater crayfish if I could get some.
Gefilte fish is another option if you are adventurous.
A classic French preparation for pike is Quenelles de Brochet, basically fish pate/dumplings poached in stock. I've never made them but I'd like to try it if I was in a proper kitchen with fresh pike, with nantua sauce made from freshwater crayfish if I could get some.
Gefilte fish is another option if you are adventurous.
2010 Jun 21
Trac - I don't think the french Pike is the same species - recipe may work anyway.
Zym - you've got tiny little pike there (no offense) so maybe the bones aren't as bad.
Coming from Manitoba I've got a fair amount of pike under my belt. Early spring, fillet carefully, there are lots of bones to get stuck in the gullet as noted above, special concern if feeding the very young or elderly. The rest of you suck it up:) I've known some people who swear by cutting pike into steaks - but I hate going through all them bones.
Late in the year - catch and release - muddy pike/jack tastes like crap.
Pickerel get my award for tastiest of the fresh water species.
Zym - you've got tiny little pike there (no offense) so maybe the bones aren't as bad.
Coming from Manitoba I've got a fair amount of pike under my belt. Early spring, fillet carefully, there are lots of bones to get stuck in the gullet as noted above, special concern if feeding the very young or elderly. The rest of you suck it up:) I've known some people who swear by cutting pike into steaks - but I hate going through all them bones.
Late in the year - catch and release - muddy pike/jack tastes like crap.
Pickerel get my award for tastiest of the fresh water species.
2010 Jun 21
Sourdough - You and I were thinking the same thing, I was just about to mention how small those pike are that Zym got, so the bones were probably less of an issue.
Late season pike are nasty, they bioaccumulate, have parasites & are slimy!
Pickerel=the best. Next best, panfish like perch. Unlimited catch! Lots of good eats!
Late season pike are nasty, they bioaccumulate, have parasites & are slimy!
Pickerel=the best. Next best, panfish like perch. Unlimited catch! Lots of good eats!
2010 Jun 21
Yup, I know they are small - which is why I said they were small :-P
It was my first taste of Pike in any case. And I've never had Walleye (wikipedia tells me that calling it "Pickerel" is mistaken, and I"m pretty sure that is the fish being referred to since I hear the two names being interchanged so much).
Picture here is a Walleye - also commonly referred to as "pickerel", but apparently not a real pickerel.
It was my first taste of Pike in any case. And I've never had Walleye (wikipedia tells me that calling it "Pickerel" is mistaken, and I"m pretty sure that is the fish being referred to since I hear the two names being interchanged so much).
Picture here is a Walleye - also commonly referred to as "pickerel", but apparently not a real pickerel.
2010 Jun 21
Which fish are you talking about Chimi? I posted 2 of them above. I believe you are talking about the first one. Just because many people use a certain name, does not make it correct. Where I am from what we commonly called "bass" is actually a white perch. I know that lots of people use the terms "pickerel" and "walleye" interchangably, I'm just not sure it is correct.
If you google search www.ontariooutofdoors.com/ for both terms, you'll find countless hits for "walleye", but for "pickerel" you get only a few hits and all of them are ads for lodges. Same for www.ofah.org as well.
And the Ontario Fish ID chart put out by the ministry does not use the term "pickerel". Does not even mention it anywhere in the document. And several other fish in the document are listed with 2 very different names - e.g. Rainbow Trout / Steelhead
If you google search www.ontariooutofdoors.com/ for both terms, you'll find countless hits for "walleye", but for "pickerel" you get only a few hits and all of them are ads for lodges. Same for www.ofah.org as well.
And the Ontario Fish ID chart put out by the ministry does not use the term "pickerel". Does not even mention it anywhere in the document. And several other fish in the document are listed with 2 very different names - e.g. Rainbow Trout / Steelhead
2010 Jun 21
Zym - Walleye=pickerel=yellow pickerel/walleye, and don't you tell a NW Ontarian angler different or it might end up in fisticuffs ;) Whether it's proper or not, if you call a pickerel a walleye in NW ON, they'll know what you're talking about, but you're definitely pegged as an 'outsider', lol.
2010 Jun 21
Mmmm, walleye. My favorite fish to eat, though not to catch (they tend to respond well to boring fishing techniques and not fight much).
Pike is not as tasty but more fun to catch, especially the really big ones. I've never found a way to get rid of all the bones by filetting, so I take an indirect method : dissolving the bones. I cut the fish fillets in chunks and put them in hot vinegar with onions and pickling spices. Put in a jar in the fridge and, after a few days, there is no more bones and fish tasting a lot like pickled herring. (Note: If I'm not doing the actual sealed preserving with mason jars, I only consider it good for a few weeks in the fridge... )
Pike is not as tasty but more fun to catch, especially the really big ones. I've never found a way to get rid of all the bones by filetting, so I take an indirect method : dissolving the bones. I cut the fish fillets in chunks and put them in hot vinegar with onions and pickling spices. Put in a jar in the fridge and, after a few days, there is no more bones and fish tasting a lot like pickled herring. (Note: If I'm not doing the actual sealed preserving with mason jars, I only consider it good for a few weeks in the fridge... )
2010 Jun 23
Going fishing this weekend--pike and bass are way more fun to catch than pickerel (walleye for some) but Pickerel IMHO tastes best. We don't eat bass in mid summer (worms) but will check and see if they are ok now...our lake is deep so hopefully bass will be fine. Every now and then we do get a laker--good fishing and best taste! If you are fishing with kids sunfish/crappies are a riot to catch--just bad to clean and we don't eat them--we just tell the kids they are good for the lake and release them. And no internet at the cottage--anyone remember "party" lines? (I find fishing and computer free very relaxing)
2010 Jul 25
WC - I agree that bass are way more fun to catch, but pike!!??! Bass hit, jump, fight, splash...pike typically hit ansd surrender (not that I'n a huge fisherman...). Pickeral/walleye are definitely the better tasting fish out of the three. I'd always choose pan fried or smoked to pickled fish....I like pickled foods for the most part, but fish doesn't appeal to me pickled. Smoked, fried, salted, but not pickled...
zymurgist
Any recommendations on cooking them, and what to serve with them?
I got an EXTREMELY good lesson last night in dressing some of the bigger Ontario gamefish, from one of the Beaver dads who is a far more experienced fisherman than I. Wish I'd been able to capture it on video but I was the guy doing most of the work so had my hands in fish innards.