Pickled Pike & Sauger

I have 2 pounds of pike and 1 pound of sauger in distilled water and pickling salt in the refrigerator soaking to remove the blood.

24 hours later I will rinse the fish in distilled water and cube in to inch chunks.

– 1 cup kosher salt
– 1 lb. or so northern pike fillets, cut into 1-inch chunks
– 1 quart distilled white vinegar
– 3/4 cup sugar
– 1 lemon sliced thinly
– 1-inch piece fresh horseradish, peeled and thinly sliced
– 4 slices fresh ginger, about the size of a quarter
– 2 tsp. whole allspice berries
– 2 tsp. whole yellow mustard seeds
– 1/2 tsp. whole black peppercorns
– 2 garlic cloves, peeled
– 4 cloves, whole
– 3 bay leaves
– 1 red onion, thinly sliced

Directions:
1. Make a brine by combining the salt with a quart of water in a Mason-type glass jar or glass bowl. Add the pike to the brine and soak for 24 hours. Drain the fish and rinse it. Add a quart of vinegar to the fish and soak for an additional 48 hours. Drain the fish, reserving one cup of the vinegar for use in the pickling solution, and refrigerate.
2. Combine the reserved cup of vinegar, a 1/2 cup of water, and the sugar in a nonreactive saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.
3. In a 1-quart Mason jar, add roughly a quarter of the fish, then add some of the spices and onion; repeat with the remainder of the fish, spices, and lemon and ginger and horse radish so that the ingredients are layered and evenly dispersed. Pour the vinegar mixture into the jar. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least three days to allow the flavors to develop.

I will add a photo of pike and sauger when in the quarter mason jars.

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took my sauger and pike out of the brine just now to complete pickling process. The pieces of fish plumped up while in vinegar. I cut them all in to smaller pieces and going to soak until 8pm tonight to continue process. Have the onions,lemons,horseradish, and ginger all cut in pieces in zip lock bags. I will make the brine tonight and layer with contents of zip lock bags.

bones must be gotten rid of by vinegar if I ever want Barb to eat this. Not sure if all are gone so erring on side of caution . My hands sure smell funny from all the cutting of ingredients.

Hope you froze those pike for at least 24hrs to kill the parasites.

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Hope you froze those pike for at least 24hrs to kill the parasites.

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frozen 2 weeks

My recipe calls for brining in vinegar/salt solution for 5 days. I didn’t freeze mine. Sitting in vinegar and salt for 5 days should kill any parasites, shouldn’t it?

it should be safe, the Nancy’s will insist on freezing your fish. Never froze any of the fish we have eaten for the past 40 years, neither do any of my family or friends. Looks like a great recipie. One thing I do is moved to brown mustard seed vs yellow, can’t go wrong either way though. Now the fresh horse radish sounds like and interesting twist.

The Nancey’s at the MNDNR recommend hot pickling or freezing pike to kill off the tape worm larva. I guess it’s apparent more towards Lake Superior then in the lower parts of MN.

Personally I haven’t heard of anyone that got one, but then it’s likely not something a person would post on the internet.

Broad Fish Tapeworm, Diphyllobothrium latum

Adult broad fish tapeworms are found in the small intestine of fish-eating mammals such as bears, cats, and otters. They are huge worms, often more than several yards long. Several species of fish, primarily northern pike, carry these tapeworm larvae. If you eat improperly cooked fish infected with these larvae, they are likely to grow in your intestines too.

Life Cycle: 1 The eggs pass in the droppings of the host mammal to water, where they hatch into free-swimming forms called coracidia.

2 Coracidia are eaten by microscopic crustaceans called copepods. Inside the copepods, they develop into larvae called procercoids.

3 When a fish eats an infected copepod, the procercoids move into the fish tissues. They develop into wormlike forms called plerocercoids.

4 When a mammal eats an infected fish, the plerocercoid attaches to the wall of its intestine and grows into a mature tapeworm.

Effects on Fish: A broad fish tapeworm does not weaken a fish or stunt its growth. If a healthy northern pike, for example, eats an infected fish, the plerocercoid will migrate into the pike’s flesh and encyst again. The plerocercoid will not develop into an adult tapeworm until a mammal eats the fish.

Effects on People: Warning—if you eat an infected fish, tapeworms are likely to grow in your digestive tract. They are not only gross, but they also can cause a nutrient deficiency, especially a vitamin deficiency. People have died after getting this type of tapeworm from sources such as inadequately cooked or cold-processed pickled northern pike.

To avoid this tapeworm, only eat thoroughly cooked fish. Cold-process pickling does not kill tapeworms or cysts! If you pickle fish, be sure to use heat in the processing.

Looks perty Len!

Looks tasty Len!! Going to make up a batch of pickled gillz using this.

That sounds tasty

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Personally I haven’t heard of anyone that got one, but then it’s likely not something a person would post on the internet.

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I’ll let you know if I find one.