Cold water Pike...
- Thread starter jammer
- Start date
Love pike. Grew up on it
FlyingViking
Well-Known Member
A resort I go to has a “blind taste test” every Thursday. Bass, walleye, pike, perch are all fried up but “behind closed doors”.
EVERY single time, the ballots are in, pike wins. Just a pain in the ass to filet! I can’t do it…
EVERY single time, the ballots are in, pike wins. Just a pain in the ass to filet! I can’t do it…
I went to a wild game meal that had something like that, turned out it was skunk of all things!!!! Surprisingly it wasn't bad until I found out what it was lol
Octavius Brine
Well-Known Member
@FlyingViking you are right, the taste is fantastic. I have a tip for you to make it easier to fillet a pike, that I came upon by accident recently:
On the day you catch the fish only gut it, remove the gills and wash it well. Store whole fish in the fridge (or on ice in your cooler) overnight until the rigor mortis sets in. Once they're stiff as a board they are are so much easier to clean! The meat is much firmer and easier to handle with less waste as you debone.
No difference in eating quality that I notice or read about, although if this is fish you plan to freeze for later the best bet is always to keep it cold from the time it comes over the gunwales and get it processed and into the freezer ASAP.
On the day you catch the fish only gut it, remove the gills and wash it well. Store whole fish in the fridge (or on ice in your cooler) overnight until the rigor mortis sets in. Once they're stiff as a board they are are so much easier to clean! The meat is much firmer and easier to handle with less waste as you debone.
No difference in eating quality that I notice or read about, although if this is fish you plan to freeze for later the best bet is always to keep it cold from the time it comes over the gunwales and get it processed and into the freezer ASAP.
I used to do the same thing with my walleye. I would leave it on ice overnight and clean it the next morning. Meat was firmer and fish were easier to clean at the beginning til my hands turned hypothermic from the fish being on ice all night. Now I clean and fillet them on the boat before coming back in. They still stay in the cooler or garage fridge overnight and next day I just remove the skin and the bones. It breaks up the chore for me since I am the one that usually cleans our fish cause I ain’t too happy with how other guys do it. As you all know it becomes an art form after a few years