Best Pickled Pike Recipe

pickled pike served with crackers

For us here in northern Minnesota, when it's late fall and we are wrapping up our duck hunting season and Thanksgiving is just around the corner, I can't help but dream of ice fishing and early ice dark house spearing. For me, it's almost nostalgic to get out on that first piece of glass ice 3-4 inches thick and saw a hole that's bigger than most people's TVs. Tossing down a red and white decoy or spoon and watching the fish swim just feet below you. We usually see lots of cisco and perch, even walleyes. But the main goal is to get those large pike into the hole. It doesn't matter who you are, it's addicting to watch the fish come in and stalk your decoy. This year was especially great spearing early ice, and we were blessed with a few large pike and some smaller size ones that are perfect for pickling. I'd say any pike under 21 inches is a great size to pickle because the bones are so small after pickling they dissolve, and you don't need to worry about trying to debone the fillet. All of our larger pike 26+ typically get cleaned and cooked.

dark house spearing

Pickling seems to be something of a lost art, but before freezers and refrigeration, this was a great way to preserve fish, and it is a fun flavor with a sweet and tangy zing. Be sure to follow these steps for a clean, refreshing snack or appetizer this year.

First, we need to clean our pike, fillet the fish, no need to worry about the Y-bones. Remove the skin, wash, and toss into a Ziploc bag. Toss in the freezer for 4-5 days; this will ensure any harmful parasites that pickling won't kill will die. Typically you will need to get it to -4°F for those 4-5 days. Most chest freezers should do that.

Defrost the bag in the fridge or under cold tap water. Cut the fish into 1/2-inch cubes, then brine your pike. Fill a quart mason jar a little over halfway with cubed meat and add 1/4 cup of pickling salt. Top it off with water, shake up your jar, and place it in the fridge for another day.

brine pike

The next day, we remove our pike and rinse off the brine under cold tap water for a few minutes. Now we prepare our pickle: 2 cups distilled white wine vinegar, 1/2 cup water, 2 tablespoons of pickling spice, and 1/4 cup cane sugar. Heat them up on the stove in a pot to dissolve, then set aside to cool.

pickle solution

Cut up a quarter of a red onion while the pickle cools.

Now we are going to layer our clean quart jar with cubes of brined pike and red onions, and keep that going until you make it to the top of the jar. Then pour in your pickling solution.

pickled pike

Make sure that your pickle is covering all your fish, then put the lid on and toss it into your fridge for 7 days. This will ensure that the bones will dissolve and you won't even notice them. You can leave it in the fridge for easily up to 3 months; I've heard some say even a year. Either way, your nose will tell you if it has turned. Typically, in my household, it won't last more than a month because it's just too darn good. I love it on a cracker, and it makes a perfect fresh healthy snack that takes you back to the dark house for a split moment watching the fish swim under your feet.

There are many recipes out there for pickling pike, all tasting completely different from one another. Feel free to add other ingredients and get crazy with it. But I find this recipe to be the easiest and most simple route to ensure an awesome tasting pickled pike that your family or friends will enjoy every bite. this jsut may be the best pickled pike recipe no doubt about that.

Here below is a button for a video that goes over the process of making this pickled pike. Be sure to follow for more outdoor recipes. Thanks.

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