There are four ways to clean fish, Filleting, Skinning, Removing Innards, Scalling.  How to scale a northern pike, the principle is the same for all fish species with large scales. Not recommended and it is not advised to eat scales. Fish from the trout and salmon species have very, very small scales and you can consume them, but why would you?  In future articles I will give you instructions for how to clean Trout, How to clean Perch.

 

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Where do you start?

1) How big is the fish, less than 5lbs, You probably want to fillet it. 

2) Decide how do you want to cook the pike?

Fillet for frying the pike fillets.

Scale for poaching or baking in the oven.

Scale for foil wrapping on BBQ,

Scale and cut into steaks instead of fillets.

 

Lets start with you have a fish about 8lbs (any bigger should be released), and you want to stuff one and bake it. In this case you have to scale the fish and remove the inards.

 

HOW TO SCALE NORTHERN PIKE

To scale the fish, you want to be outside, at the lake or in a cleaning house, this can be messy and the wife will have no sense of hee-haw about scales all over her kitchen. However, it can be done at the kitchen table IF you are careful and follow this Practical advice.  GET A LARGE BLACK GARBAGE BAG about 3 feet square and use as a cover over the fish or put the fish in it as you scale them. It’s too late, you’re already home and didn’t scale the fish at the lake, so…..

 

Step 1:

Put the fish on the table in the Garbage Bag or spread the plastic out over top of the fish. Take a good stiff knife or scaling tool, reach into the Bag and scrape from the tail towards the head, you will see the scales come off, and the fish change color from green to white.  You have to do this for all sides of the fish including the back and belly. Notice the scales flip up at the plastic bag, if the bag was not there, imagine the mess, and the yelling, aren’t you glad for that garbage bag, you just avoided the dog house.

 

Step 2:

When done scaling all sides, no more come off, take the fish out of the bag, if you have more than one scale each in this bag the same way. When done scaling open the bag because you need to remove all the insides and finish cleaning the fish.  Simply take your knife insert the tip in the anal area and cut up the belly all the way to the head, then cut behind the gills down to backbone then to the belly, on each side to slit fish throat. Pull out all the innards and put in the plastic garbage bag. Repeat for all fish.

 

Step 3:

You have to cut off all the fins, tail and head from each fish putting them in the plastic bag. All that will be left is the body of the fish. When done all tie up the bag and take the mess to the garbage can.   

 

Step 4:

Wash the fish, while rinsing and cleaning make sure to use your thumb nail to remove the blood sacs along the back bone.

Remove any unwanted pieces at this time, missed fins, partial fins, etc.

 

Step 5:

Clean up the rest of the mess.  

Excellent, Simply put in double freezer zip lock bag or you can cut into 1 inch thick steaks.  Lay the fish on it’s side and cut entirely through fish at 1 or 1.5 inch intervals. You can fry, bbq or bake these now or when wanted, if you are going to bake in the oven or on the bbq right now, here is a simple recipe.

 

Baked Northern Pike

1 box of croutons, garlic or buttered

add spices to croutons (salt, lemon pepper, thyme)

2 teaspoons of melted butter, mix well

place mixture in cavity,

put a lemon slices on top of stuffing in the cavity, 

wrap in double aluminum foil and bake on the BBQ in medium heat

or

put in roaster and bake at 350 degrees in oven 

about 1 hour until flakes easily

 

If poaching just do not add the stuffing to the cavity.

 

You followed this Practical Advice on how to scale fish or northen pike, your choice now is how to use up the fish and when can you get out to catch more.  Enjoy Northern Pike it is a true fish of legends and dreams of catching a lunker is in everybody.  Plan a Pike Fishing Trip to Saskatchewan.  Every day on any of the hundreds of lakes, rivers and water bodies we hear fish are biting and big pike were caught, like everyone says, "A poor day of fishing beats a good day of work!"

 

 

Other Recipes:

Italian Baked Pike

Baked Trout

Canned Northern Pike

 

 

 

 

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