In my last post, I gave instructions on How to Clean a Fish Whole. Now I’ll show you how to cook it. These days, it’s very simple and easy to steam a fish. Back in the day, before there was electricity, my mom had to steam fish in a Pyrex pie plate in a big ol’ pot. She had a cool tool with three prongs that opened up and pulled the pie plate out of the pot. But now, you can have a fish from fridge to table in 15 minutes flat. Just follow these easy steps: Preamble: The Ingredients... (more...)
We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog subject to bring you a special post. The State of Minnesota insists we let the fish use their heart shaped beds and metaphorical mirrors on the ceilings these next few months so that the proverbial fish stork can bring new fish babies to the lakes. In the meantime, I’ll be informing you of stories like yesterday’s post as I find them, but today I thought I would come out of left field and post something completely unexpected. Sorry if I’m... (more...)
I don’t really consider myself an “outdoorsman.” I don’t really do anything “outdoorsy” except fish. But recently, I’ve taken to dispatching rabbits because of their destructive behavior. My wife surprised me last year when she wanted to try to cook them. I learned how to skin them via the classic Joy of Cooking cookbook and she made hossenfeffer last summer for our neighborhood wild game feast. It didn’t turn out too bad, but the meat was very... (more...)
This may be an odd subject for a fishing blog, but there is a method to my madness. This post is a preamble to a braised rabbit recipe I’ll be posting shortly. Granted, rabbit doesn’t have much to do with fishing either, but at least it has to do with the outdoors. My wife has been making homemade chicken stock for as long as I’ve know her. After making a (homemade) roasted chicken, she’ll use the carcass to make the stock. She’ll then freeze it for making homemade... (more...)
The results are in. And nobody was voted off! After letting our Northern simmer and stew in pickling brine for the minimum 8 days (we were impatient), we finally got to try some. They turned out great! The taste and texture was just like pickled herring. The difference was that our pickled Northern, especially in the smaller pint jars, was a bit more sour than store bought pickled herring. My stomach wasn’t used to it, so I couldn’t eat too much in one sitting–even though... (more...)
I know you’re as anxious to hear how our pickled Northern turned out as I am to try them. I’ve got a few more days to wait, but in the meantime, here’s the Pickled Northern recipe all in one place (click on the step link to see my result): Pickled Northern Step 1: Cut 60 to 75 bite size pieces of fish One cup of non-iodized salt to 1 gallon jar 1/2 full of water Add fish until jar is full Let stand for 48 hours Step 2: Pour off salt water, rinse Soak fish in white vinegar for 24... (more...)
After soaking our Northern Pike for 24 hours, we were now ready to finish the recipe. My wife did step 3 without me: Boil together for 5 minutes the following ingredients: 1 1/2 cup of sugar 3 cups of white vinegar 4 bay leafs 1 tsp whole all spice 3 tsp mustard seed 1 1/2 tsp whole black pepper 6 to 7 red peppers or whole chili peppers Let cool at room temp – Make sure the brine is cooled down before adding items below or your meat will not be firm !!!!! She made two versions: one spicy... (more...)
Forty-eight hours after step 1 of our Pickled Northern Pike recipe, we moved on to step 2: Pour off salt water, rinse Soak fish in white vinegar for 24 hours Drain vinegar off – discard The fish had changed color due to the brine soak. It was a little more translucent. Rinsed and ready for vinegar. Extreme close-up! Fish chunks in their vinegar bath. Until tomorrow… Share this:FacebookTwitterRedditEmailLike this:Like Loading... Read More →
I’ve never been a big fan of Northern Pike. I’m not really a catch-and-release fisherman (except when it comes to muskie), so I like to eat what I catch. But Northern aren’t what I would call a delicacy. Their many, many tiny bones and fishy smell make them one of the less desirable species I like to put on the table. But recently, I heard about pickling them. As an adult, I became a fan of pickled herring during the holidays, so pickled Northern Pike sounded like a natural... (more...)
So my Wild Game Feast story was a stretch to post for a fishing blog, but at least it had walleye on the menu. This time, I don’t even have that as a topical link. But read on, you won’t be sorry. On the first weekend after the start of school, our neighborhood gets together for a weenie roast. This year we added a new dimension to it. Ever since the Pudgy Master made his super breakfast pudgy pie, pudgy pies have been in the forefront of our minds at each neighborhood campfire.... (more...)
