Cutting up pike for further preparation: fisherman's advice

The wish “at the behest of the pike” will not help when it comes to cleaning fish from skin, scales and bones. How to cut pike correctly and please your loved ones with delicious masterpieces? Let's find out in the article.
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Read also: Recipe for hot smoked sea bass
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Total votes: 4728

18.06.2020

Yes 86%, 4074 votes
4074 votes 86%
4074 votes - 86% of all votes
No 10%, 495 votes
495 votes 10%
495 votes - 10% of all votes
I don't eat fish 3%, 159 votes
159 votes 3%
159 votes - 3% of all votes

Total votes: 4728

18.06.2020

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Preparatory moments

To make cutting pike easy, consider the preparatory points:

It’s not worth messing with a pike weighing up to 1 kilogram: it’s bony and has little meat. Individuals weighing over 6 kg are suitable for smoking;
the optimal weight for baking, minced or frying is fish 2-4 kg;
for work, take a sharp knife with a long blade;
the board must be non-slip: plastic or glass;

To prevent the board from slipping, place a damp towel underneath;
It is more convenient to work with a fish when its head is positioned to the left and its tail to the right (vice versa for left-handers);
hold the fish by the tail. To prevent it from jumping out of your hands, sprinkle it with salt;
fresh fish is easier to clean. If the fish is frozen, wait until the scales thaw;
Pike have sharp teeth, so cotton gloves worn over rubber ones will protect you from sharp teeth. Also, the fish will not slip out of your hands during the cutting process.

How to cut pike in the field

Pike caught during fishing can be immediately cut up and cooked. There is no need to remove scales or skin.

Step-by-step algorithm:

Put the fish to sleep by making a deep puncture in the front of the throat.
Remove entrails.
Rinse the carcass with water with added salt and vinegar (2 tablespoons per 2 liters of water).
Dry with a clean cloth.
Rub with salt and black pepper.
Place an onion cut into rings and 1 bay leaf into the belly.
Wrap in foil (2-3 layers).
Move the coals to the side and bury the carcass.
Wait 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the fish.

If you don’t have foil with you, you can cover the carcass with sorrel or nettle leaves, tie it with cotton thread or paper twine, and coat the outside with a layer of clay. In this form, the fish can be placed on top of the smoldering coals.

It is preferable to cook pike weighing more than 0.7 kg on skewers. The gutted fish, without removing the scales, is cut into slices, rubbed with a mixture of salt and pepper, and threaded onto skewers, alternating with onions, tomatoes, and sweet paprika.

The resulting “kebab” is placed over hot coals at a height of about 6 cm, using a grill or several stones as a stand. During the cooking process, the rods are periodically rotated so that the meat is evenly fried. Sprinkle the top with beer or a weak solution of vinegar (1-2 tsp per 1 liter of water). Cooking time: up to 15 minutes.

Minced meat for cutlets

To make pike cutlets of the highest class, there are 2 options for preparing minced meat. For the first option you will need onions, bread, peeled fish meat and a meat grinder. The pike pulp needs to be minced 1-2 times along with the rest of the ingredients. After this, disassemble the meat grinder and remove the bones on its parts: the grid and the spiral shaft. Grind the meat through the meat grinder again.

After this, add eggs, salt, pepper, any herbs to taste and butter or lard (optional) to the minced meat.

The second option for minced cutlets is labor-intensive, but good in field conditions. Finely chop the pulp and mix with the ingredients described above.

To obtain the flesh, follow the step-by-step instructions for filleting fish below.

Pike dishes

Fish dishes often become a decoration for the holiday table. You can prepare many delicious and original dishes from pike. One such recipe is stuffed pike.

The recipe for its preparation is quite simple and you can take the most affordable products: fish (2 pieces), onions (1 piece), carrots (1 piece), white bread, chicken egg (1 piece), spices to taste. The dish is prepared in several stages:

First of all, the pike is cut and cleaned. It should be cut using any of the previously described methods. How to remove the skin from fish for stuffing is up to everyone to decide for themselves. After cutting, the carcass is washed, dried and filleted.
Start preparing the filling. It is prepared from one half of the fish fillet and white bread, previously soaked in water. All this is ground through a meat grinder.
The carrots are grated, the onions are finely chopped with a knife. These ingredients are sauteed in olive oil with the addition of ground pepper and salt.
Next, all the ingredients are mixed in a large container, into which a raw egg is subsequently driven. You can add chopped dill.
All this is mixed into a homogeneous mass. A whole pike carcass is stuffed with this content. Stuffing is carried out in compliance with the rules. The filling is placed in a dense layer. To prevent the filling from falling out during the cooking process, the belly is secured with toothpicks.
You can bake the head along with the carcass, but first you need to wrap it in foil so as not to burn it.
Cover the baking sheet with parchment and pour in the oil. Place the carcass on a baking sheet and brush with oil.

Bake the fish in a preheated oven at 180 degrees, about 40-50 minutes. To prevent the dish from falling apart before serving, you need to leave the fish on the baking sheet to cool naturally.

Cutlets made from the meat of this fish can be no less tasty. They turn out unusually tender and tasty. For cooking, available products are taken: pike fillet (500 grams), lard (100 grams), white bread (2-3 slices), milk (100 grams), onion (1 head), egg (1 piece).

Breadcrumbs are needed to coat the cutlets before frying. Spices are added to the minced meat according to taste and desire. For frying you need sunflower oil. Preparation takes place in several stages:

The fish is cleaned and filleted, which is subsequently passed through a meat grinder. The lard is also passed through a meat grinder and added to the minced meat. If you don't have it, you can take a little olive oil and add it to the minced meat.
Carrots and onions are finely cut with a knife.
The bread is pre-soaked in milk.
All ingredients are mixed in a deep bowl. Add herbs and spices to the finished minced meat as desired, and beat in an egg. The ingredients are thoroughly mixed until a homogeneous mass is obtained and balls of small diameter are formed.
Roll them in toasted breadcrumbs and slightly flatten on both sides.

Place the finished cutlets on a preheated frying pan. Fry them for a few minutes until golden brown. For better steaming of the cutlets, you can cover the pan with a lid for a few minutes.

Compared to other inhabitants of reservoirs, pike is one of the most delicious freshwater fish. To decorate the holiday table, you can prepare a wide variety of pike dishes.

Attention, TODAY only!

For fillet

How to quickly fillet a pike? Follow the four-step algorithm and you can easily cut a fabulous fish.

Remove the pelvic fins located in the middle.
Cut the fish into two parts along the body from the gills to the tail. To do this, make an incision after the gill covers near the head and, positioning the blade horizontally, cut off the upper part of the carcass to the tail. On the second part there will be a head, a ridge.
The third step is to gut the insides.
Place the second part skin side up. Cut off the head by making a cut behind the fins near the head. Place the blade horizontally again and run it along the fish, holding it firmly.
As a result, after cutting, 2 carcasses with skin and a ridge with the remains of meat remain. To separate it from the pulp, pick it up with a fork, place the tip of the knife horizontally and move it along towards the tail. It will take 1-2 actions and the ridge will separate. Important! Do not touch the gall bladder, which is located between the upper fins near the head. It may burst and the bile will leak out, ruining the taste of the meat.

There are many recipes with fillets, since boneless pike is ideal for frying or baking.

Fish stuffing process

When stuffing pike, it is important to find that golden mean that will make the fish look as appetizing as possible. To do this, it is important to put in enough minced meat so that the skin does not burst during cooking and does not hang down, which happens in cases where there is too little filling.

If cuts are formed during skin removal, they must be sewn up with thread, otherwise the minced meat will come out. Before putting the dish in the oven, the skin must be pierced in 2-3 places with a toothpick so that it does not burst. Pike is cooked for 30 minutes at 180 degrees.

Pike is a predatory fish with quite tasty meat. To cook pike, you can find a large number of different recipes, especially on the Internet.

Some of them are designed to remove the skin from the fish. Unfortunately, not everyone knows how to do this quickly and correctly

This operation requires attention and caution, as there is a possibility of damage to the fish carcass.

This is especially important when the pike needs to be cooked whole

Skinning

After the fish has been separated into 2 parts, you need to remove the skin. Use a knife to remove the bones. To do this, you need to pick up the carcass with a fork and cut off the sirloin with a sharp blade. Then you can hold the skin with your hand and separate it sequentially.

For frozen pike the process may be different. A sharp knife, cutting surface and tongs will come in handy.

You need to wait until the scales thaw.
Rinse the pike in water.
Remove fins and tail.
Make cuts around the circumference of the head, the length of the belly and back, penetrating shallowly.
Gut the insides.
Remove the skin, starting from the head. Use forceps to grab the edge of the skin and pull away from you.
Cut off the head.
Cut into pieces 4-6 cm thick. Bones and backbone are removed from the cut pieces.

The prepared pieces are ideal for frying.

Preparing pike perch fillet

Pike perch can be cooked not only in pieces or stuffing. It is also suitable for frying. In this case, it is best to use its fillet. You can prepare it yourself. This will require the same tool described above and a little patience. The following recommendations will help in this matter:

You can remove the meat from the bones immediately after the scales have been removed and the fins have been cut off. In this process, it is better to use a special fillet knife, since it is longer and has a narrow cutting part. First of all, the head and tail are cut off, all the insides are removed.

Usually the whole process doesn’t take much time once you get used to it. From the head along the back, one deep cut is made directly along the ridge. It is important not to grab a lot of meat in order to preserve the integrity of the fillet as much as possible. The pulp is carefully separated from the bones. This must be done carefully. Small cuts with a knife will help make the process easier. By moving gradually, you can completely separate one half

After which similar actions are carried out with the second one. To do this, the fish is turned over to the other side. The skin is separated from the meat by hand, usually without any difficulties. If it is difficult to grasp the tip of the skin, you can make a small thin cut. After this, the skin will simply move away from the pulp.

The result is two pieces of fillet, from which housewives prepare a lot of tasty, and most importantly, healthy dishes for themselves and their loved ones. Pike perch can become a signature dish on the table if you learn how to clean it correctly and quickly.

Fish cleaning

Cleaning scales

The scales of the fish are hard and hold up well. To cut and skin without clogging up the kitchen, gut the pike in the fresh air. If you freeze it a little, its cutting will be easier. You can clean pike scales in several ways.

Using a stocking

The stocking principle: the pike remains almost whole, and its skin is removed like a stocking. The skin also remains intact, since it will be useful in the future. For cutting pike using this method to be successful, you need to:

make a cut around the head as close to the gills as possible so that the stocking turns out to be long (you can cut off the head completely, but it is convenient to hold it with a napkin). The cut should be up to the ridge, it should not be cut;
below under the belly, cut the skin completely;
Place the fish on its side and use a small knife to carefully pry the skin 2 cm around the entire carcass near the head (if you start right away with your fingers, a lot of meat will remain on the skin). As a result, you need to get a strip of whole leather that can be removed like a stocking;
Turn the skin inside out 2 cm at the incision site, insert the thumb of your right hand under the belly, and carefully remove the meat. The other hand pulls the skin towards the tail;
smoothly pull the skin towards the tail, alternating removal from the sides;
in places where a lot of meat remains, scrape it off with a knife. Usually this is the back, fins, belly;
carefully trim the fin areas with a meat knife so that the stocking remains intact;
at the end, cut off the tail that is held on the skin;
scrape the remaining pulp from the turned out skin with a knife;
Turn the stocking skin side up and rinse with water;
If you notice that the stocking is damaged in some places, you can sew it up from the outside with ordinary sewing or culinary threads. After cooking the dish they are removed;
Separate the pike flesh from the spine, placing it in a separate container. You can separate it with a knife without touching the spine.

What is the stocking for? It produces spectacular stuffed pike, straight out of Soviet cookery books. This recipe will decorate any table and make you admire it.

Boiling water and lemon

How to reduce the time for cutting pike? Lemon and boiling water will facilitate this process and eliminate the unpleasant odor. It is necessary to scald the meat with boiling water and clean the scales. Next, rub half the lemon on the fish for a few minutes and continue cutting. Before cooking, squeeze the remaining lemon juice and pour it over the pike.

Remember! If you plan to bake fish, boiling water or frost can damage the skin.

With a knife

Clean fish can be cleaned with a knife. To do this, position it so that the tail is on the right, the head on the left. Pry the scales against the growth with a knife or scraper and move from the tail to the head. Hold the knife at an angle and gradually slide the scales onto the blade.

Another way is to fill a large container with water and place the pike in it. It should be completely covered with water. Holding it by the tail, clean it of scales, moving towards the head. Clean one side first, then the other.

Attention! To make it easy to scale fish, choose a knife with a wide blade (20 cm or more).

Useful properties of pike

Pike is a freshwater fish from the pike family. It grows up to 150 cm in length, its weight is from 2 to 35 kg. It is valued for its satiety and low calorie content. It is best to choose fish weighing 2–2.5 kg for the table, as its meat is tender and juicy.
The most popular dish is stuffed pike.

This fish has many beneficial properties.

It has low calorie content: 100 g of meat contains only 84 calories and up to 3% fat.
Is a natural antiseptic. Natural antiseptics are much healthier than chemical ones, as they help cope with various infectious diseases and strengthen the immune system.
Contains many vitamins, macro- and microelements.

Pike is a healthy and tasty fish that is available to everyone

Content of vitamins, macro- and microelements in 100 g of pike meat - table

Vitamins
Vitamin A	0.01 mg
Vitamin B1	0.11 mg
Vitamin B2	0.14 mg
Vitamin B6	0.2 mg
Vitamin B9	8.8 mcg
Vitamin C	1.6 mg
Vitamin E	0.7 mg
Vitamin PP	3.5 mg
Macro- and microelements
Calcium	40 mg
Magnesium	35 mg
Sodium	40 mg
Potassium	260 mg
Phosphorus	200 mg
Chlorine	60 mg
Sulfur	210 mg
Iron	0.7 mg
Zinc	1 mg
Iodine	50 mcg
Copper	110 mcg
Manganese	0.05 kg
Chromium	55 mcg
Fluorine	25 mcg
Molybdenum	4 mcg
Cobalt	20 mcg
Nickel	6 mcg

Separate from bones

To remove bones from pike, use the method suggested for filleting. There is another algorithm for getting rid of fish from the main bones:

rip open the belly with pliers or a knife, pull out the insides and rinse the carcass under running water (you can even rub it with a large brush);
make a cut after the gills, position the blade horizontally and guide it from head to tail. Bring the knife as close to the ridge as possible, deep;
put the first part of the carcass aside;
on the second part (where the head, tail, and ridge remain), use a knife to pick up the ridge in the middle and move the knife towards the tail, and then towards the head;
cut the meat in the head area;
As a result, 2 carcasses of meat are left without large bones, and the backbone is removed from the head.

The ridge, head and fins are used in the preparation of jellied meat or fish soup.

How to remove a stocking from a pike

How to remove a stocking from a pike is a question that most novice cooks ask. Below are the most popular and at the same time the simplest methods:

Method No. 1.

Initially, you need to cut off the fish’s tail and head, after which you need to pull out the insides from the side of the cut off head. And carefully use your finger to separate the skin from the pulp.

Particular attention should be paid to the fins - it is from them that the bones come off, which go deep enough into the flesh. You need to use your finger to separate the pulp from the seeds.

If you begin to separate the fins from these bones, then damage to the skin will occur. As it is removed, the freed skin must be tucked by turning it inside out towards the tail. There is no need to pay attention to the thick layer of pulp on the skin - the thicker this layer, the less likely it is to damage the skin. After you remove all the skin, you need to remove the layer of pulp that is on it with a tablespoon.

The bones protruding from the fins must be carefully trimmed with scissors. And you can start stuffing.

Method No. 2.

This method looks a little more complicated, but in reality there is nothing complicated in this version of removing stockings, and if you follow all the tips, you will succeed on the first try. And this method is the shortest in terms of time.

Another way to remove a stocking from a pike is to simply turn it inside out.

Initially, you need to rinse the fish under running cool water and then dry it with a paper towel.
Next, place the fish on the board (ideal when the cutting board is made of glass or ceramic). Wood absorbs fishy odor very strongly and it is quite problematic to eliminate it later.
Using a sharp knife or a specialized device for removing scales, it is necessary to clean the fish by making movements against the direction of scale growth - it is thanks to them that the skin is cleared of scales. In this way it is necessary to remove scales from all fish.
After cleaning the fish, you need to cut off the fins with kitchen or fish scissors. It is necessary to cut off absolutely all fins - lateral, caudal and dorsal.
After which it is necessary to remove the gills; to do this, you need to lift the gill covers and cut off the places where they are attached to the bone with a small sharp knife. To completely remove the gills, it is necessary to cut the cartilage, which is located between the fish's head and belly.

Read: The best weather for fishing

Do not forget that pike have rather sharp teeth, and when removing the gills you can injure your fingers.

After these steps, it is necessary to remove the fish entrails without ripping open the belly. To do this, you need to cut the skin near the head so as not to damage the spine and insides.
Then break the vertebrae that connect the head and gently pull the head up - only in this case all the insides will follow the head, and all that remains is to remove the intestines and wash the fish from the inside.
After these steps, the fish must be beaten well with the side of the knife to better separate the skin from the meat. And then begin to separate the skin by carefully cutting the skin with a knife.
Near the tail, the spine is carefully cut without damaging the skin.

In the second case, the stocking remains with the head, fins and tail.

How to remove small bones from fillets

To properly clean fish from small bones, there are two options:

remove using tweezers, regular tweezers or pliers;
cut out the area with the bones with a knife, defining the area of the thymus bones (Y bones). To do this, we determine a line with the thymus bone of a fillet piece with skin and draw it along the fish with a knife on both sides to the full depth of the bones. Do not touch the skin of the fish. The result is a strip with bones, which can be thrown away or run through a meat grinder.

To fillet a fabulous pike, you will need skill. But after a while, the result will be beyond praise: your family will appreciate your work.

Cutting pike for stuffing

The stages of cutting pike for stuffing followed by cooking as a whole carcass are shown in the photographs below.

A special feature of cutting is that the tail of the pike prepared for stuffing is not cut off from the skin; you can choose whether the fins are cut out or not. The stuffed pike has a head.

If the stuffed pike will be boiled, at the first stage of cutting we will cut out the gills. To prepare other dishes from pike, fried or baked in the oven, removing the gills is not necessary.

In the second step of cutting the pike carcass, use the blunt side of a knife blade to remove scales and mucus. The skin of the pike will remain much more intact if we abandon fish cleaning during this operation.

Next, rinse the pike and blot it with a paper towel.

Next comes the most important stage of cutting for stuffing the pike skin as a whole. The skin of the fish should be pulled off with a stocking (cut from the inside), without violating its integrity along its entire length.