Author Topic: Any hints on filleting Pike?  (Read 4764 times)

Offline GlovelessPro

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Any hints on filleting Pike?
« on: Nov 17, 2003, 04:33 PM »
Just wondering if anyone knows a good technique for cleaning Pike for eating?
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GatorSlayer

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Re:Any hints on filleting Pike?
« Reply #1 on: Nov 17, 2003, 04:48 PM »
Few different ways to go about it.

First off, if you want two nice sized pieces with absoloutly no bones, start by taking off the "tail" fillets. Fillet from the dorsal fin back to the tail, just as you would a bluegill or crappie and skin. Should leave you with two hand-sized pieces of meat.

Next, you could fillet the rest of the fish on either side. Once you get the meat off the fish, find the strip of bones and make a V cut to remove those. Then flip over and skin.

I did see a video a while back, two guys cleaned a pike in the same type of manner they clean salmon. I'll try to remember and describe as best I can. Start by gutting the fish. Then, basically what you try to do is separate the meat from the ribs/back bone, start cutting from the inside up one side of the fish, over the backbone, then back down the other side of the inside. When you get to the back tail section, leave the dorsal fin intact with all the bones. The bottom (tail) of the hunk of the fillet should look somewhat like a W. Now, lay the "cape" of meat flat and make the V cuts around the bones and you're left with one huge slab of meat

  __
  l  l   This is sort of what the fillet should look like
  l  l
  W

I also know some old timers who just take the back strip off the pike. I don't know if you get any y-bones in there, but you could always remove them with the V-cuts.

Make internet searches and you could probably find some free info out there.

GatorSlayer

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Offline kerosenecounty17

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Re:Any hints on filleting Pike?
« Reply #3 on: Nov 17, 2003, 07:09 PM »
Has anybody ever tried taking the "tenderloins" off the top of the back?  I was told this summer that the strip of meat above the back-bone won't have any y-bones.  I'm going to try it as soon as the first tip-up is re-baited, but I'd like to know how if it works for others.  If you would do that and then follow Gator's advise and fillet the tail pieces off, you'd have most of the meat.  The rest you could pickle.  I love pickled pike, and the process melts the y-bones so you don't have to worry about them.

I've read the articles, watched the videos, and had very patient friends show me how it's done, but I still mangle the crap out of every fillet I try to remove the y-bones from.  It might be a science, but to me it's mostly an art form.  I could probably get better at it with practice, but If I keep 10 a year that's pushing it.

kerosene
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-Gord Pyzer

Offline gulp

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Re:Any hints on filleting Pike?
« Reply #4 on: Dec 25, 2003, 03:40 PM »
first fellet the fish by cutting down the back bone all the way to the tail. Next remove the skin by starting at the tail and cutting stright down antill you get to the skin. Then keep your knife angled down just a bit and slide up the skin. The skin is tough and will not cut that easy.Now all you have is meat and bone. Turn your fellet so you are looking at the inside of the fish and the tail is facing you. There is a line that runs right down the middle cut a small cut on each side of this line about a inch long. Now hold the bottom half down and pull the top half it will pull off the bone and give you a strip of meat about one and a half in wide. Now hold down the small bit that is between the cuts you made and pull the bottom. This part of the meat will only go to the ribs before comming off. There you go no bones.
Take a kid fishing,they make great pack mules.
Put the big ones back for another day eat the small ones.

Offline Bob_D

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Re:Any hints on filleting Pike?
« Reply #5 on: Dec 25, 2003, 05:03 PM »
Hey Gatorslayer,
That second link looks familiar.  ;D

Offline backwoodswalker

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Re:Any hints on filleting Pike?
« Reply #6 on: Dec 28, 2003, 03:43 PM »
Gatorslayer;
Thanks alot for the links ;D ;D ;D The third is on its way to my brother in law :DI am tired of fileting all his pike for him. He can't get the hang of it. :( Maybe the pics will help him ;D Thanks alot :'( :'( :'( :'(

 



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