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The Booi illustration is roughly correct, there is a second method that involves cutting three filets (two side, one top) but I don't prefer it.Prepare the fillet as you would any other fish, then:Go sharpen your knife. It needs to be sharp!I don't mind a stiffer knife but it's easier to learn Y-boning if you use a flexible one, like the Rapala knife.It's critical that you Y-bone with the skin on. If you inadvertently remove the skin first, the flesh alone isn't firm enough to make the cuts deeply and straight ... the meat will squirm under the knife too much.Locate the lateral line. It will run through roughly the middle of the filet from front to tail, and is visible to the eye (typically a reddish line half way up the filet from top to bottom).You can also run your finger along the filet; the tips of the Y-bones will be easily felt with your fingertips. I recommend anyone trying Y-boning as a novice do this step with your fingertips; it's very helpful to not only make the cuts but also it's a useful guide for you when you screw it up and want to try a second ... third ... etc time. Don't expect to be good right away; it takes a bit of practice.Anyway, those are the bones you want to remove, and ideally leave the rest of the meat intact.Using a light grip, so that only the weight of the knife is on the filet, bounce the knife along the filet just above the area where you can feel the Y-bones with your fingertips. Whether you are moving from left to right or the other way is not important, but if you are starting at the gill end it's easier, so use whichever filet fits you (left or right handed) so you can do your first one starting at the gill end, not the tail end.It's OK if this is just a straight down cut, but take care not to cut through the bones; they are fine and easily cut with any force on the kinife.The next cut is an angle cut towards the top of the filet. You use the first cut you made ... where you scored the flesh with the knife ... as your guide. This is where it will be obvious why I suggested starting at the gill end. If you're right handed, the gill side should be to your left; that makes the most natural angle of the blade in your hand.With the tip of the knife, run the blade along that scored line, at an angle similar to how the bones run in the flesh (ie the knife handle will be almost parallel to the filet, but not quite). It's easiest to use light, repeated strokes rather than trying to make a deep cut first off. If you feel a bone with the knife blade, you've gone too deep and so you have to adjust your angle shallower (more parallel to the filet).You don't want to, and you actually don't need to, cut too deeply; just enough to get past the Y-bones at the top of the filet. How well this step goes depends on how big the fish is ... a 25~30" pike is easiest, but if you're cleaning something 20~25" just take your time and know the bones are finer.The second cut can be finessed, but I'll give you the quick-and-dirty method, which works well. If you feel a need to refine your technique later, fine, but you have to walk before you can run.Just make it along the lateral line, down a bit just like the first cut where you scored the flesh, and then when you are deep enough to be below the Y-bones, at the same angle as the first. Basically the two cuts are very similar and are parallel to each other. Again, the trick is not to go too deep ... this cut should not be so deep that you are near the skin.The ideal spot is a bit above the lateral line, but really we're not talking about a huge amount of meat here, so it's OK to start as I suggested above first. Get good, then get fast.If you've followed me so far, you will have two parallel cuts which were made at a fairly sharp angle, and there should be a somewhat triangular shaped piece of flesh cut but still attached to the filet. Or, alternately, it could be cut right out or mostly cut out. Whatever works for you.Grap this piece of flesh at the gill side, and pull back towards the tail. This will remove the Y-bones and any flesh surrounding it as per your cuts, in one piece which you can discard. It will also cleanly remove the very fine bones at the tail, which you may or may not have cut well. (if you forgot and removed the skin first, this step is impossible, and you will have to have done the surgery with precise knife strokes only).Do the other one. Note that it's normal for people who are good at this to do a somewhat poorer job on the "wrong" filet i.e. the one where the gill side is on the same side as your dominant hand when the filet is laid out on the cutting board. The angle of the blade in your hand is a bit wrong but it still works."Knock the bark off" as any other fish. You should have a single piece of fish, which will basically flatten out into a thick bottom and a thinner but longer top than a filet where you don't have to remove the Y-bones.A crude illustration of the two cuts: In the illustration both the angle the Y-bones are in the flesh and the angle of the cuts would be much more parallel to the cutting board in a real pike filetBottom of filet Lateral Line Y-bone Top of Filet------------------------------------------ = ---+----------------------------| \ \ \-------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Another crude illustration:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- top of filet______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ _______ top cut++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Y-bones felt with fingertips______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ _______ bottom cut--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- bottom of filetAs for cooking, if it's fresh, you can just put flour in a bag and shake it. I prefer to cut the filet into 3 or 4 (25~30" pike) or 2 (20~25" pike) or one (anything smaller than 20"). Any batter mix will stick to fresh fish without a problem.If it's been frozen you will need to use milk, etc first or the batter won't stick. If it's been on ice for a day or two you probably don't need this step, but it's optional on any fish that has been stored.Aside from simple flour, you can season the flour or use your favourite batter mixture. Fresh fish cooks quickly but be sure it's cooked. It's OK to eat raw fish from the sea, but not freshwater fish since mammals are part of the life cycle of some freshwater parasites, so you must kill them via cooking. Properly cooked fish is safe to eat.I have many pike recipes but this isn't the place. Simple fried fish, beer batter, English style (as in fish and chips), blackened, Kentucky Fried Pike, etc. You can also bake it in foil on fire, or use a grill or in the oven. Pike makes an excellent fish for chowder because it stays firm and doesn't break up like some others (eg walleye)., it also works well in fish tacos or stir frys for the same reason.
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Topic: filleting pike ... (Read 3377 times)
