Pickled White Bass in a week

Preparing fish……

I am not a fan of the taste of fried white bass but I have found a great way to utilize this bountiful resource, pickled

The batch shown here was made from back straps removed from 28 medium sized whities.

Removing the back strap was done by cutting down the back just to the rib cage then all the way to the tail. The next cut was down the perfect horizontal line that God has painted on the fish. Probably the good Lord’s way of letting us know what the good part of this fish is

Flipping the piece over and then removing the meat from the skin was done by just keeping the knife a little off the skin so the mud line was not removed with the fillet. If any of the dark stuff did show on the meat it was removed. This process is a lot easier when your fish a some what frozen. Remember there is a fine line between frozen and workable, too frozen stiff.

This recipe works great on all fish. Pickled Sheaphead taste great also and my filets are prepared the same as these white bass were done.

I use a ice cream pail for pickling.

Cut fish into approx. 1 inch chunks.

Mix enough salt in water to float an egg.

Put in your chunks and let soak for 24hrs.

Drain and rinse well.

Put chunks back into bucket and cover with white vinegar and soak 24hrs.

Drain and discard vinegar and add brine.

The Brine….

1 cup water

2 cups white vinegar

1 cup sugar

1 TBLSP pickling spice

1 cup sweet white wine. My first choice is Shateau La Salle, my second choice and easier to find is Fairbanks White Port

Bring the brine to a hard boil for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and let cool. Do not speed up this process by placing in the fridge. You want to let it cool on its own at room temp giving the pickling spice time to leech into the brine.

Layer chunks of fish with layers of onions.

Strain the brine and cover the fillets. Place in fridge for at least one week.

Once the fish is done I place them in jars. Makes it easier for storing in the fridge and takes up less room than the ice cream pail.

Enjoy

Looks tasty Bret

Thanks for the new idea

Brett…the red strip of meat along the lateral line is the culprit for poor fried flavor. I have good friends that live on the Wolf River (Freemont WI). I had deep fried White Bass for the first time there(about 10 yrs ago) Fantastic! just like fresh Crappie. They either trim the red meat off or cut their throats upon catching and stick them in a cooler of ice head down to bleed out.

I am curious to try your pickling recipe also…Thanks!

Gotta love pickled fish I found this pickling recipe on a great lakes site.I use it for salmon/brown trout,but works for any fish.( no heating involved) 1 1/2 cups white vinegar,3/4 cup sugar,2 tablespoon pickling or kosher salt,2 tablespoon pickling spice, mix it together .(you can double or triple recipe if needed)cut fish into 3/4 in cubes,i then place them into pint mason jars til half full,put onion on top,then add the brine till everything is covered.put on the lids,place in fridge for 7 days,then its done.When i made my first batch,i let some steamfitter apprentices test out results,3 pints gone in 5 min i will have to give yours a try, cant have enough pickling recipes

Hey Brett its a good idea to hard freeze your fish for 24-36 hours before you pickle them to kill any tapeworms

Looks good i’m thinking of doing some sunfish next week

Am I the only one in the world that eats the whole fillet of the whitebass? Maybe my taste buds aren’t up to par.

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Am I the only one in the world that eats the whole fillet of the whitebass? Maybe my taste buds aren’t up to par.

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I see the Blatz box Brets can’t be that good either

I’m going to a clean water lake where you pick up a mess of sheepshead while you are walleye fishing.

Wondering how they would be pickled or smoked?? The white meat strips??

I have used the back straps out of average sized sheephead and preped and pickle the same and they were awesome

BIG THANKS.

I’ll try it this week!!

Also, has anyone ever pickled brown trout??

You do not cook the fish in the brine. You add your chunks after you have let the brine cool down.
Enjoy