Cajun Pickled Pike
* 4 cup white vinegar
* 3.5 cup white sugar
* 7 bay leaves
* 15 whole cloves
* 2 tsp. whole allspice
* 4 tsp. whole mustard seed
* 2 tsp. whole black peppercorns
* 2 cups sweet white wine
* 4 cup pickling salt
* 2 qt. cold water
* 4 lb. skinless pike, bones removed, cut into 1 inch chunks
* 4 cups additional white vinegar
* 4 medium onion, thinly sliced
* 2 lemons, thinly sliced
* 1.5 tsp Cajun spice
First day:
Combine 1 cup vinegar, sugar, bay leaves, cloves allspice, mustard seed, cajun spice and peppercorns in a saucepan. Bring ingredients to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 5 minutes. Cool. Add wine. Pour into a plastic or glass container. Let pickling syrup sit at room temperature for 4 days.
Mix pickling salt with cold water; stir thoroughly to dissolve salt. Pour over cutup skinless fish and refrigerate 48 hours.
Third day:
Rinse fish with cold water and cover fish chunks with vinegar. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
Fourth day:
Drain fish and discard vinegar. Loosely layer fish, onion and lemon in glass or plastic containers. Completely cover with pickling syrup and cover tightly. Refrigerate for five days, stirring once or twice during that time.
Ninth day:
Pickling is done. Pickled pike may be stored covered with the pickling syrup in a closed container in refrigerator for up to 5 weeks. Makes approximately 4 qt.
