smoked pike?

[Robhuntandfish]

anyone ever try making smoked Northern pike or Pickerel? A buddy of mine wants to try it this year.   

[wolc123]

Pike and pickerel are a kind of dry for smoking.   Oily fish - like whitefish, are a lot better for that.  I tried frying one of those, that we caught thru the ice up in the Adirondacks,  on the stove up there and it was horrible.   After that, I always brought them home and smoked them with apple wood and they were wonderful that way.

 If you are looking for something different to do with pike and pickerel,  try pickling the y-bones.   Those are considered a delicacy up in the Thousand islands.   Back when they were a lot more numerous up there, a neighbor used to fillet them for us in exchange for the y-bones.   He would remove all the meat in one big slab, then cut out the little sections with the y-bones, using a straight razor.   Apparently, the pickling broke down the bones. making them edible.  I never tried them myself, but judging by how excited that guy got whenever we brought in a bunch of northerns, they must be pretty good.  He would also give us back more "boneless" meat from each fish, than I was ever able to extract myself, so it was one of those elusive win-win deals.    

[Pygmy]

On  a fishing trip in Ontario a few years back, one of my Canadian buddies brought  two smoked pike filets....

They were some of the best smoked fish I have ever had...They  were smoked with the skin on and were nice and moist...The  y bones were still in them, but due to the texture of the meat it was easy to pick them out..

I would not hesitate to smoke pike, but I would keep the skin on and the temp low to avoid drying them out..

[Pygmy]

9 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

Pike and pickerel are a kind of dry for smoking.   Oily fish - like whitefish, are a lot better for that.  I tried frying one of those, that we caught thru the ice up in the Adirondacks,  on the stove up there and it was horrible.   After that, I always brought them home and smoked them with apple wood and they were wonderful that way.

 If you are looking for something different to do with pike and pickerel,  try pickling the y-bones.   Those are considered a delicacy up in the Thousand islands.   Back when they were a lot more numerous up there, a neighbor used to fillet them for us in exchange for the y-bones.   He would remove all the meat in one big slab, then cut out the little sections with the y-bones, using a straight razor.   Apparently, the pickling broke down the bones. making them edible.  I never tried them myself, but judging by how excited that guy got whenever we brought in a bunch of northerns, they must be pretty good.  He would also give us back more "boneless" meat from each fish, than I was ever able to extract myself, so it was one of those elusive win-win deals.    

Back when the pike fishery was booming on Seneca Lake I did something similar...I would filet the y bones out of the filets...The boneless meat went into the frying pan, and the y bone strips went into pint jars in the pressure canner..The canning process dissolved the y bones and  the product made excellent fish patties....

[Robhuntandfish]

ive tired some pickeled pickerel another friend of mine made and it was ok.  The Y bones i would think could be picked out after.  Was thinking of trying to smoke them then maybe make some fish patties/cakes too.  We usually just pitch the northerns back and i just cant bring myself to smoke one of those beautiful walleye fillets that just taste so good from a deep fryer .....drool..... 

9 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

Pike and pickerel are a kind of dry for smoking.   Oily fish - like whitefish, are a lot better for that.  I tried frying one of those, that we caught thru the ice up in the Adirondacks,  on the stove up there and it was horrible.   After that, I always brought them home and smoked them with apple wood and they were wonderful that way.

 If you are looking for something different to do with pike and pickerel,  try pickling the y-bones.   Those are considered a delicacy up in the Thousand islands.   Back when they were a lot more numerous up there, a neighbor used to fillet them for us in exchange for the y-bones.   He would remove all the meat in one big slab, then cut out the little sections with the y-bones, using a straight razor.   Apparently, the pickling broke down the bones. making them edible.  I never tried them myself, but judging by how excited that guy got whenever we brought in a bunch of northerns, they must be pretty good.  He would also give us back more "boneless" meat from each fish, than I was ever able to extract myself, so it was one of those elusive win-win deals.    

 

[Robhuntandfish]

4 minutes ago, Pygmy said:

On  a fishing trip in Ontario a few years back, one of my Canadian buddies brought  two smoked pike filets....

They were some of the best smoked fish I have ever had...They  were smoked with the skin on and were nice and moist...The  y bones were still in them, but due to the texture of the meat it was easy to pick them out..

I would not hesitate to smoke pike, but I would keep the skin on and the temp low to avoid drying them out..

think i might give em a try at least.  My buddy really wants to try some smoked fish. We used to salmon fish a lot but wading those streams dont appeal much to me these days.  But was thinking mid summer/ August the walleye fishing gets tough but could nab a couple large pickerel or northerns and give this a try . Smoked fish patties or maybe a dip - something new to try .  Used to catch some monster northerns in the st. Lawrence and up the dacks.  But wanna try it first on some smaller ones to see if i like it.  Just never hear of anyone doing this.   The worst that happens is we get fish jerky... - mmmm lol 

[wolc123]

11 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

ive tired some pickeled pickerel another friend of mine made and it was ok.  The Y bones i would think could be picked out after.  Was thinking of trying to smoke them then maybe make some fish patties/cakes too.  We usually just pitch the northerns back and i just cant bring myself to smoke one of those beautiful walleye fillets that just taste so good from a deep fryer .....drool..... 

 

I have also been pitching most of them back, since my brother in law got a y-bone stuck in his throat a few years ago.  He went to the Alex-bay hospital, where they tried and failed to get it out (they dont show up on x-rays).  The next morning, he spit it up after eating an Oreo cookie.

Years ago, when spearing was legal, my uncle used to grind up boney sucker fillets and make patties out of them.  I never had the guts to try that and usually just burried the whole fish around the apple trees for fertilizer.    Spearing those suckers at night was lots of fun.

[Robhuntandfish]

Just now, wolc123 said:

I have also been pitching most of them back, since my brother in law got a y-bone stuck in his throat a few years ago.  He went to the Alex-bay hospital, where they tried and failed to get it out (they dont show up on x-rays).  The next morning, he spit it up after eating an Oreo cookie.

Years ago, when spearing was legal, my uncle used to grind up boney sucker fillets and make patties out of them.  I never had the guts to try that and usually just burried the whole fish around the apple trees for fertilizer.    Spearing those suckers at night was lots of fun.

When we had trout up to camp (which was a lot) my Dad always had bread and butter with them just in case of a bone issue.  lol     Yeah i think the same, dunno if i could stomach a sucker but i have heard that people do those and carp .  

[Pygmy]

Suckers  are excellent canned and made into fish patties/cakes...Another way to do them is to filet them and then score the filets into appx 1/4"  crosshatch,  leaving just enough meat on the bottom of the filet so it stays together in the fryer/pan..  The frying softens the cut y bones so you can chew 'em right down...Also works for pickerel that are too small to bother with y bone removal..  Suckers taken from cold water in the spring are very sweet and flavorful..

I have tried carp several times and never could cook it so that it tasted very good...I removed the lateral line?mud streak, etc. but the carp always seemed to taste like it SMELLS when you take it out of the water..Hehehe..