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Favorite Fish Recipes and Tips For Better Fish Care and Cleaning. |
My Favorite Fish and Wild Game Recipes
Northern Pike
The small to medium size Northern Pike that have become over-abundant in Northern Minnesota are the perfect target for folks who want to have a lot of action and really enjoy eating fish. Our Department of Natural Resources reports that these smaller fish are so abundant, that it's hard to imagine how fishing pressure could ever reduce the population significantly. Bring the kids and learn how to use some these great eating fish. Yes, you'll have to learn "How To Remove the Y- bones", but it's easy to do and the more practice you get, the better you'll like 'em.
Don't be fooled by some of the folks that don't want to fool around with Northern Pike! Lots of us know how many mouth watering ways there are to prepare these scrappy fish. In fact, there are times when the Northern Pike is the best possible choice for recipes that just wouldn't work for some of our other fish. There are a few key things to remember when you're planning to fix a meal using the Northern Pike. Clean and bone the fish while it is still fresh. The quality of the fillets depends on preventing them from deteriorating. Don't let your fish sit in the live well or ice chest any longer than necessary. When you get off the lake, clean the fish right away. Use Pike when they are fresh. Northern Pike don't remain fresh while frozen as well some of the other popular eating fish. We try to keep only enough for our next meal and plan to use them in a day or two. If we find that freezing some of the fish becomes necessary, we always try to freeze them in a zip-lock plastic bag with water. Even then, try to use the Pike as soon as possible.
Here are some of my favorite ways to prepare Northern Pike for the table. Each one of these recipes has been "Guide Proven" on fishing trips with my customers and have the official "Early Bird" seal of approval!
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Fish Boil - This is a great family or party meal! It can be prepared for any number of people by simply adjusting the size of the boiling pot. We use a 4 gallon stock pot and an outdoor propane fish cooker stove so there's plenty of room to really get the water boiling. |
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Ingredients: Boned Northern Pike Fillets 3 to 4 pounds, Potatoes 4 pounds, Onions 2 pounds, Water 3 gallons, Salt 1 1 Cup (1/3 cup per gallon), Old Bay Seasoning 3 Tablespoons, Butter as needed. Serves 4 to 6 people. |
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You can use pieces cut from larger Pike if you want, but these pieces cut from Pike of around 3-4 pounds are perfect. Each fillet is boned, then cut into pieces for boiling. |
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Cut Potatoes and Onions into halves or quarters depending on size. Peel the Potatoes if you want or leave the skins on. We like the smaller size spuds with the skin on. |
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| Add salt and Old Bay Seasoning to water, then bring water to a rolling boil. Once water is boiling, add Potatoes, boil for 12 minutes then add the onions and let the onions and potatoes boil together for another 12 minutes, then add the fish and boil all of the ingredients boil together for the final 12 minutes. Drain the fish, potatoes and onions into a colander and serve hot with melted butter. |
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Minnesota Cajun Pike Recipe - From the Early Bird Guide, Jeff Sundin Catching Northern Pike in the Grand Rapids area has new meaning for folks who have tried my "semi blackened Pike". Sometimes I refer to this jokingly as "Norwegian Style Cajun" because we prepare it using only a light coat of seasoning. Once you try this, you'll be back for more and I guarantee this will be a hit with your friends and family. |
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A delicious and healthful way to prepare Pike of 2 to 3 pounds in size. The ingredients are simple and the finished product is light and mouth watering. This is the "tenderloin" of freshwater fish dishes. *We strongly recommend preparing this dish outside using a propane cooker. Ingredients: Pike fillets boned and cut into thirds, Olive Oil, Louisiana Cajun Spice Mix (or substitute your favorite spice mix). If you don't care for the spicy version. Just use a little lemon pepper and a dash of salt. |
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1) Prepare the fillets by cutting them into thirds and coating them with Olive oil. Use only enough olive oil to lightly coat each fillet to prevent sticking in the hot pan. You do not need any only in the pan!
2) Lightly sprinkle each fillet with spice mix prior to placing in the frying
pan.
3) Pre-heat a cast iron (best), steel or other non-teflon-coated frying pan
under high heat without oil. You'll know it's ready when you begin to see
smoke coming from the dry pan. Sear
the Northern Pike fillets for a few minutes on each side until fish is cooked, but do not
over-cook fish until it dries out. Fillets should be served juicy
and hot!
This simple, healthful and delicious
dish can be prepared in just a few minutes and it only takes a couple of these small Pike make a great meal for my family of
four. |
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Northern Pike: Removing the Y-Bones Easy and Clean! Note: I've updated some of this information on May 4, 2006 click here to see the new version and watch for additional updates as soon as the fishing season opens and I can legally obtain a Pike for new photos. |
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This 24 inch Pike is perfect for most of the recipes we use. You can use larger Pike if you want, but we really encourage releasing the larger fish and utilizing some of these over-abundant smaller fish. |
Right: Begin by filleting the fish and removing the rib bones as you would with Walleye or other freshwater fish. There's no difference in cleaning these fish up to this point. Once you have taken the fillet, notice the line of light bones visible between the center line and the top (fishes back) of the fillet. We call these Y-Bones, but there is really no "Y". The shape is more like the letter "L". |
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To begin removing the Y-Bone, use the tip of your knife to make a cut just above the top of this line of bones. The tip of your knife will begin touching the bones where they turn in the direction of the fishes back. Don't cut through them! Your second cut should follow this line of bones as they turn toward the top of the fillet. Now you will see the entire row of bones exposed from one side. Your third and final cut is to slip the knife under this row of bones and simply follow the same angle as cut 2, cutting the bones out from the opposite side. |
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Above: These are the fillets before removing
the Y-Bones.
Left: These are the fillets with all of the Y-Bones removed. Notice the small notches in the Pike fillets. This is all there is to it. With a little practice, these bones can be removed in just a few seconds. Pickled fish lovers can save the strips and use them for the pickled fish recipe included in this section. |
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The finished fillets are cut into thirds. This is the perfect size for most of the recipes we use at home. | |
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