PICKLING FISH

[RIVERRAT2]

DONOT EAT RAW FISH you caught,they have lots of PARASITES, and pickling doesnot kill all of them.
to kill all parasites you MUST freeze the fish at 0` for 48HR,or more with that said here is what i have
done for picking for over 50years
1-salt makes fish tough,meat will not turn to mush
2-vinegar-brakes  down fish fibers,and bones
3-use only canning or kosher salt
4-donot use any kind of metal pan or bowl;use only glass or food grade plastic,or you may get a bad taste,or color
5-you can use[potassium nitrate[saltpetre].] this helps stop fish from going bad[ONLY A PINCH PER QT.JAR]
here is what i do if i want to pickle my fish
1-keep fish on ice after you catch them
2-clean,scale or skin,and fillet them
3-put fillets in bowl of water[gal water to cup of salt] keep refrigerated over night this will pull the blood out,which
--will stop the fish from going bad.
4-FREEZE-as above stated[PICKLING DOESNOT KILL ALL PARASITES] TAPEWORM is a real bad one.
5- flat bottom bowl,cover bottom with 1/4in of salt,pat fish dry,put on salt,cover with salt,and do this till bowl full
---REFRIGERATE for 5 days,or for what you like,this makes the meat tough so it doesnot fall apart
6-now wash salt off SEVERAL times,i do it 5 times
NOW THE RECIPE IS FOR 1 qt, and is for HERRING,but can used for almost any fish
one pound of herring about [6fillets or 3 herring
three tablespoons of spring water[city water has chems]
one teaspoon of allspice,OR two teaspoons of picking spice
3/4 cup of sugar
one large onion sliced[thin] or more
three cups of white vinegar[DONOT cut back on this]
three bay leaves
1/8 teaspoon of black pepper
now the pickling solution for one quart
in small glass pan boil 3 tablespoons of water with 1teaspoon of allspice[this is done to get the allspice mixed well
and started.
in a bigger glass pan boil 3cups vineger,3/4 sugar,3 bay leaves,1/8 black pepper,OR OTHERS LIKE,ginger,hot peppers,
DONOT CUT BACK ON THE VINEGAR,add sugar if you want it sweeter,
all the solutions MUST BE cold
now in the quart jar put 2cups of pickling solution,some onions,cut herring[2in pieces] till full
refrigerate 4days before trying,keeps refrigerated for about 6 weeks
RAT 
 

[UP jigstick]

What?? No fresh water fish sushi?? 

[RIVERRAT2]

What?? No fresh water fish sushi?? 

it is not a real good idea,but each to his or hers own[tape worms just dont stay in the stomach,WILL go the the brain]
salt water fish most times donot have as many as fresh water,good luckbut please check
 
RAT

[Redneck Fishfinder]

I followed the directions exactly to pickle some shad and it is really good! This is a great recipe.

[kb]

I have to try this

[Nozzlejocky]

I was just thinking I should pickle up some of the fish I have in my freezer.  Might have to try this recipe out. 

[emtorn]

Sounds interesting. May have to give this pickling a shot.

[kb]

Every year I say that I'm going to pickle some pickerel, but never get enough to give it a try. The acid in the vinager softens the bones to make them edible.

[rgfixit]

I pickled up some walleye and crappie I had in the freezer. I wasn't happy with the results. Perch and pike seem to take the process much better. The walleye and crappie came out too soft.

RG

[Fisherman 1]

I'm willing to try this but one problem.  How on earth do you boil 3 tablespoons of spring water with one teaspoon of allspice.   3 tablespoons is barely 1.5 oz of water in a measuring cup.

[kb]

Microwave. That's how they did it in the pioneer days.  The Indians taught them how to do it.

[Rebelss]

RIVERRAT2: You sir, know what you are talking about! An excellent post with great points!!! This should be followed exactly by all. Only difference I make is to leave out the saltpeter and add whole peppercorns. I find hammerhandles (small northern's) make nice, firm chunks. Yum.

[BIGCREW]

I had a bunch of pan fish fillets in the freezer and pickled them,my recipe is basicly the same,and like rgfixit said I prefer to use pickeral,it wasnt bad by any means it was very good I just prefer bigger chunks of fish and the flavor of the  pickeral is a little better than pan fish,and for some reason the calico fillets did get a little mushy after a while when the perch and gills stayed firm,I like to use lots of onion also.

[J_Edwards]

Is this recipe at all sweet?

[wyotoach]

add sugar if not sweet!

[RIVERRAT2]

I was just thinking I should pickle up some of the fish I have in my freezer.  Might have to try this recipe out.

I have worked on this for over 50years,if it doesnot work for you P.M. I will help
 
RAT

[Jim_R]

Here's a simple recipe for pickled fish that i found on Cooks.com.  I've used it a number of times (as stated above, only with previously frozen fish) and it always comes out great.  It almost tastes like the herring in wine sauce you can buy at the store, and might even more so if one added some wine at the end.  One other note, the recipe recommends pike, but I have used perch and bluegill fillets with great success.

PICKLED FISH
Printed from COOKS.COM
______________________ __________________
4 lbs. fish (Northern best)
Cut fish in bite-size chunks, rinse clean. Soak 3 days in 1 quart water and 1 cup pickling salt. Drain, rinse off. Soak 2 days in white vinegar.
BRINE:
4 c. white vinegar
2 c. sugar
4 tbsp. pickling spices
Boil 5 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Add 3 tablespoons lemon juice and sliced onions. Drain fish. Pour cooled brine over the fish. Put in jars and refrigerate. Make sure fish are completely covered with brine. Wait a week before using.

[J_Edwards]

add sugar if not sweet!

I hate sweet pickles, I know some sugar is used on most pickles, but if the sugar does more than knock off the edge of the vinegar I'm not interested.

[perchnut]

Henry, I would try the recipe, if too sweet, Im sure friends or relatives would gladly take some pickled fish off of your hands for you........as I used to tell my kids...'how do you know if you dont like it if you havent tried it??'

[dwhitlock]

Sounds good