Poor Man’s Lobster (Pike)

Just had a buddy swear by this recipe. Basically equal parts sugar and salt in boiling water. Boil chunks of pike. Eat with melted butter like lobster. Has anyone tried this?

My old man has done this. I never cared for it much but it’s another way to cook up more of those unwanted slimy 21 inchers. By all means it’s worth trying since the bag limit is currently 10/day.

Never tried myself but have heard of similar recipes. I know a guy who is a die hard spear fisherman in ND. Swears that the best fish ever is pike boiled in Mountain Dew and dipped in butter.

Huh, interesting. I am assuming you don’t add sugar if you are using Mountain Dew! Maybe I will have to give it a try next time I get a pike in the gills when bass fishing

I just soak them in milk and fry them like everything else. You can also soak them in something a little acidic….like orange juice to take the fishy taste away when the water is warm like this.

Soak em….rinse em….fry em.

I’ve done it several times. No soaking nuttin, no sugar, just salt. Melt butter add lemon juice and eat. Boiled in water, never did the dew.

gimruis wrote:

My old man has done this. I never cared for it much but it’s another way to cook up more of those unwanted slimy 21 inchers. By all means it’s worth trying since the bag limit is currently 10/day.

Did your old man do this back in the day when they kept only big pike up to 40″+?

I’ve had it years ago and it can be quite delectable.

However, you want large pike to cut into large thick chunks which hold together much better after being boiled and will maintain a nice chewy texture similar to lobster.

Smaller 21″ pike cut up or fillet to thin and don’t hold up near as well when boiled. Close to just falling apart, not what you want for a “Pike Poor Man’s Lobster”.

Those 21″ pike work much better for fish cakes if you want to harvest.

7-Up was used for boiling years ago.

Them 21 inchers are super great pickling material.

I’d done it many times. We boil in 1/2 7up and 1/2 water. It works just as well or better with lake trout. We try and keep a few lake trout each spring Canada trip to do up a large batch. Hard to get a lake trout In the slot size where we fish. Most are over.
On the small pike I would only use the back strap part for this. The boneless tail portion get fried. Best tasting fried fish if you ask me.

I have not but will be now, I love eating pike.

Dan wrote:

I have not but will be now, I love eating pike.

Try it you will love it. I have never made it for anyone who has not liked it. Even normally none fish eaters like it.

I don’t care for the 7up and just boil in salt water, then dunk in butter

It’s also a great way to cook bigger bleeding walleyes. They are amazing that way

I tried it for the first time a month or so ago. I boiled a couple of smaller ones in 7up. They were a bit sweet, so I think I’ll have to try the half 7up/half water next time, or maybe just water/salt.

I filleted a couple 21″ers into 3 different “boneless” filets, but the backstraps still had a ton of small bones in them. Is that typical of the smaller fish, or did I cut down too far?

One of my go to recipes for fresh Halibut

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

Did your old man do this back in the day when they kept only big pike up to 40″+?

Haha, I don’t think my Father has ever kept a big pike like that in his life…at least since I’ve known him. He used to keep some that were in the 30 inch range but I’ve got him convinced that those need to go back to keep the small ones in check. He boils the small ones too, or pickles them. I’m not a big pike fan but I know they need to be reduced in numbers so I’ll choke one down on occasion. Its the slime that really bothers me. I would prefer to have them pickled to be honest.

I have heard of it with Eelpout as the poor mans lobster.

I had a friend that was good at cleaning them cut one up when we stayed up at his cabin and we fried it just like the walleye’s and you could barely tell the difference!

Rodwork wrote:

I have heard of it with Eelpout as the poor mans lobster.

I have a co-worker that swears by this. I have yet to confirm it.

My son in law loves them boiled in Mountain Dew or 7Up. I didn’t particularly care for it. I call them slimy stink fish. I hate it when someone in the ice house hooks into one. By the time you realize it’s a pike he’s got every damn line tangled up!

I have heard it is good with eelpout. Eaten a fair amount of fried pike but I think I might have to try this out based on the responses. Thanks for the input!

John Rasmussen wrote:

I had a friend that was good at cleaning them cut one up when we stayed up at his cabin and we fried it just like the walleye’s and you could barely tell the difference!

To me the only difference is they taste better. I would eat a ton more of them but I just hate to clean them. All that slime just turns me off keeping them. Most of my harvest for them are in the winter months and most end up being pickled.

fishthumper wrote:

To me the only difference is they taste better. I would eat a ton more of them but I just hate to clean them. All that slime just turns me off keeping them. Most of my harvest for them are in the winter months and most end up being pickled.

I wouldn’t necessarily say they taste better, but they aren’t bad if you can catch them out of colder water and clean them properly, I’ll admit that. I get hung up on that slime too. Its just nasty and stinky.

Yeah, I’ve never understood why people say pickling or nothing with pike. I’ve always filleted them just like any other fish and they end up tasting just as good. Breading, eggs, and oil end up becoming the dominant flavor anyway.

Give me the huge fillets of easily caught pike any day while others fish all day for the two walleye.

i’m 62 years old and grew up eating fried pike with the Y-bones in. picking out the bones was just the way ya did it. to this day it still doesnt bother me. pike are my second favorite fish to eat after a skin on sunfish.

the slime………..meh!!!!!!!!!!!! not a big deal to me. pretty sure you guys had your hands in worse things!!!!!!!

pike are good fried, pickled or smoked. when i get a pike say 4 lbs or bigger i take the Y-bones out. the way i was taught how to remove the Y-bone, there is enough meat there yet i pickle that.

gimruis wrote:

Haha, I don’t think my Father has ever kept a big pike like that in his life…at least since I’ve known him.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to single your dad out as a meat hog.

I do know though, a generation ago all…and I mean all large pike went under the knife. And all those 21″ pike went back in the water.

And now today we know why there’s so many hammer handles.

glenn57 wrote:

i’m 62 years old and grew up eating fried pike with the Y-bones in. picking out the bones was just the way ya did it. to this day it still doesnt bother me. pike are my second favorite fish to eat after a skin on sunfish.

Yes, I ate plenty of pike growing up too although I’d argue separating meat from the bones on whole cooked sunfish was a lot easier than getting a mouthful of pin bones in every bite of pike.

There wasn’t a lot of education back in the 1970’s about properly removing the Y-bones (no You-Tube videos) back then.

After filleting best we could, we’d toss the cut up pieces in the blender with other tasty ingredients and seasonings and make fish cakes we’d pan fry. No more mouthful of bones, it was a favorite on family fishing trips.

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>gimruis wrote:</div>
Haha, I don’t think my Father has ever kept a big pike like that in his life…at least since I’ve known him.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to single your dad out as a meat hog.

I do know though, a generation ago all…and I mean all large pike went under the knife. And all those 21″ pike went back in the water.

And now today we know why there’s so many hammer handles.

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>glenn57 wrote:</div>
i’m 62 years old and grew up eating fried pike with the Y-bones in. picking out the bones was just the way ya did it. to this day it still doesnt bother me. pike are my second favorite fish to eat after a skin on sunfish.

Yes, I ate plenty of pike growing up too although I’d argue separating meat from the bones on whole cooked sunfish was a lot easier than getting a mouthful of pin bones in every bite of pike.

There wasn’t a lot of education back in the 1970’s about properly removing the Y-bones (no You-Tube videos) back then.

After filleting best we could, we’d toss the cut up pieces in the blender with other tasty ingredients and seasonings and make fish cakes we’d pan fry. No more mouthful of bones, it was a favorite on family fishing trips.

dude…….you bring back memories………frying and eating whole sunfish!!!!!!

then i got divorced with custody of 3 little kids……..got to the point i never got to eat hot fish.
so i improvised, still scaled then filleted!!!!!!!! i ve tried the fish patties thing..just not a fan!!!!

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

Sorry, I didn’t mean to single your dad out as a meat hog. crazy

I do know though, a generation ago all…and I mean all large pike went under the knife. And all those 21″ pike went back in the water.

And now today we know why there’s so many hammer handles.

Oh absolutely. I know several of his friends that are still solely meat hunters. They spear the big ones and let the small ones swim. Luckily quite a few of them are just getting to the point where they don’t do it anymore so they aren’t having a significant impact nowadays. They don’t see the point of even fishing Mille Lacs unless there are legal walleyes to harvest which is a shame because they are missing out on some spectacular fishing. 15 years ago my Father would have definitely been more inclined to keep larger fish than he does now. He’s more selective now. I know that I have had an influence on that over the years.

gimruis wrote:

They don’t see the point of even fishing Mille Lacs unless there are legal walleyes to harvest which is a shame because they are missing out on some spectacular fishing.

Talk to some of the older generation living in the cities right around Mille Lacs. You’ll hear that sentiment a lot. They’re protesting by not fishing the lake. I know a guy who lives in Isle who drives all the way to Gull or Farm Island to walleye fish so he can come back with a pound of meat.

I’ve tried it, but they are way better fried! Take your time to filet em boneless (5 cut method), or like Glenn just fry with the bones in! Might be central MN thing, but that’s what we always did growing up on a hammer handle lake. You can make vertical cuts in the filet too, and that helps dissolve most of the bones while frying on a smaller pike.

7 up, Eelpout and melted butter are a match made in heaven though!

Just want to clarify that poor mans lobster is the almighty eelpout